Trump says his acting spy chief is free to declassify records, including on the 2020 election
WASHINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his acting spy chief had broad permission to declassify records, including those potentially tied to the 2020 election, even though his close ally was only briefly involved in intelligence management.
Trump appointed Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence last month, elevating a political stalwart with no national security experience at a time of war and global tensions.
Following political backlash over his selection, Trump nominated Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney general in Manhattan, but then abruptly postponed Clayton’s confirmation hearing in an effort to force Congress to pass a strict voter ID law.
“Bill’s there for maybe a month or two or so,” Trump told reporters as he left Joint Base Andrews for an event in North Dakota. “But while he was there, I told him, ‘You can declassify whatever you want.'”
Asked if that included records related to the 2020 election, Trump added: “I told him he could do that, that’s fair. You should ask him.”
Trump, who won the White House for a second time in the 2024 elections after losing in 2020, has long claimed widespread fraud in US elections.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the office of Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
ODNI oversees the leading foreign spy service, the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, the massive agency that eavesdrops on foreign communications and helps protect the United States from cyberattacks.
It was unclear when lawmakers would act on Clayton’s nomination, but Trump told reporters a hearing would be held within two weeks.
Congress is in recess for the July 4 holiday and no hearings are listed on the Senate Intelligence panel’s website.
Pulte currently heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency but will also remain ODNI until Clayton is confirmed by the Senate. Pulte has reportedly already moved to cut hundreds of intelligence jobs.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Jonathan Landay; Editing by Michelle Nichols and Bill Berkrot)
