Reed Grills Trump’s Pick to be Nation’s Spy Chief

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held a confirmation hearing for Walter "Jay" Clayton III, President Trump's nominee to be the next Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Mr. Clayton currently serves as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The hearing follows a previous controversial postponement in June when President Trump derailed Clayton's confirmation hearing at the last minute to demand that Congress prioritize unrelated legislative goals, leading to the appointment of Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, who has no national security experience and is unqualified for the job, as 'acting director.'

The DNI leads the nation's 18 intelligence agencies. In his role as acting director, Pulte has undertaken troubling steps to terminate dozens of U.S. Intelligence officials.

During today's hearing, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), an 'ex officio' member of the Intelligence committee, asked Mr. Clayton about President Trump's unexplained pardon of convicted drug trafficker Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, who was convicted in 2024 after a successful prosecution by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Hernández was serving a 45-year sentence in an American prison when President Trump granted him a "full and complete pardon" in 2025.

During the hearing, Reed stated: "In a speech in September last year, you highlighted the great successes of the Southern District of New York, specifically calling out, and I quote, the successful prosecution of the former president of Honduras and other high-level Honduran officials for narcotics trafficking and firearms charges for partnering with some of the largest and most violent cartels in the world to distribute tons of cocaine to the United States."

Reed asked Clayton if he was consulted about the pardon and Clayton reported he was not.

Clayton responded: "I'm not going to get into the pardon process here. The president's pardon power, I think there's only a few powers in our Constitution that are unreviewable and absolute. That's one of them."

"Are you aware of any quid pro quo regarding the pardon?" Reed asked.

"I'm not aware of any such thing," Clayton replied.

"Why would the President of the United States pardon someone that you had convicted and described as being involved in violent activities and allowing tons of cocaine to enter the United States?" Reed asked.

Clayton refused to discuss the pardon, claiming that it falls under the president's authority.

Reed replied: "Well, it seems to me that all of the rhetoric that we have heard about fighting drugs and in fact we have killed over 200 people in the Caribbean and Pacific because they were not presidents of countries but minor dealers or transporters of heroin, and yet here is a kingpin… who gets to walk."

By overriding the conviction of the former president of Honduras, President Trump undermined his own Justice Department's credibility, signaling that high-level officials may be shielded when it suits President Trump's interests, despite the facts and evidence clearly showing abuse of power and influence to support violent drug trafficking.

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