Intelligence nominee faces Senate
At hearing, Ratcliffe questioned on loyalty to Trump
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nominee for national intelligence director sought at his confirmation hearing Tuesday to shed his reputation as a loyalist to the president, insisting to skeptical Democrats that he would carry out the job free of political influence or partisan bias.
The comments from Rep. John Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican, were aimed at quelling Democratic fears that he would be vulnerable to pressure from the president. Those concerns are amplified at a time when intelligence agencies are investigating politically sensitive issues, including election meddling and the cause of the coronavirus pandemic.
Senators repeatedly pressed Ratcliffe on whether he could stand up to Trump by presenting him with analysis he did not like. They also asked if he agreed with the president’s assertions that intelligence agencies had “run amok” and were infiltrated by the “deep state.” Ratcliffe refused to endorse either claim and insisted he would not shape intelligence findings to meet the desires of anyone.
“Let me be very clear: Regardless of what anyone wants our intelligence to reflect, the intelligence I will provide, if confirmed, will not be impacted or altered as a result of outside influence,” he told the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the committee chairman, said after the hearing that he was satisfied Ratcliffe would serve “in an independent capacity.” He promised a quick vote on his nomination.
But Sen. Charles Schumer, speaking on the Senate floor as the hearing was underway, spoke for many Democrats by dismissing Ratcliffe as a “deeply partisan cheerleader for the president, a yes man in every sense of the phrase.”
The confirmation hearing, the first in-person one held under new distancing rules for the coronavirus, comes at a tumultuous time for the intelligence agencies. About a half dozen intelligence community leaders have resigned or been ousted over the past year, and agencies already grappling with the prospect of Russian interference in November’s election are now probing the question of whether the coronavirus is man-made or originated in a Chinese laboratory.
Ratcliffe’s path to the job has been similarly topsy-turvy, with the original nomination withdrawn after bipartisan criticism that he was unqualified to oversee 17
U.S. spy agencies. Trump unexpectedly renominated him in February. His chances of securing the job appear better this time around.
Democrats revealed their skepticism in occasionally contentious questioning, with Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California pressing Ratcliffe over past comments about whistleblowers and Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico asking for instances of when Ratcliffe had ever “spoken truth to power,” particularly involving the president.
“I have to say that while I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt at this hearing, I don’t see what has changed since last summer when the president decided not to proceed with your nomination,” said Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the panel’s top Democrat.
Ratcliffe took pains to break with the president, including by saying he believed Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and was prepared to do so again. And he answered “of course” when asked by Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine whether he would communicate to Trump the intelligence community’s findings even if he knew Trump disagreed with them and might fire him.
When it comes to investigating the coronavirus origins, Ratcliffe pledged that he would be “laser-focused” in that task.
Ratcliffe initially said he had not seen intelligence that it had come from a lab, but under questioning later in the hearing, he also said he had not seen intelligence that it had originated from a market. As a caveat, he noted that he had not received a recent classified briefing on the subject.
Tuesday’s hearing tested the Senate’s ability to conduct business safely with coronavirus cases still on the rise in the Washington area. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called his chamber back to work Monday, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., kept the House away, saying she had been advised by the Capitol physician that it was not yet safe to convene.
Attendance at the Senate session was restricted, with members encouraged to watch as much as possible from their offices and go to the room when it was time for their questions. No more than two dozen people were there at any point, with the public barred from the Capitol complex.
With seats spaced at least 6 feet apart, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., joked that he could barely see Ratcliffe across the cavernous hearing room.