A GOP strategist slammed Trump's pick for national intelligence director and his recent performance at a confirmation hearing.
While speaking on a panel with CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins and senior legal analyst Elie Honig, GOP strategist Douglas Heye evaluated one of the comments made by Jay Clayton during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
When asked why former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard attended an FBI raid that seized voting records in Georgia, Clayton admitted that the question "just wasn't something that was on my mind before the preparation for this hearing."
"Not a great moment," Heye said. "Not a great moment that we all got to see."
Heye explained that when he helped people prepare to testify before Congress, he advised people to think about "how are we going to limit as much damage as possible?" Clayton had to keep in mind that he also had to impress Trump and remember that "Donald Trump could sweep the leg out from under you, and your nomination is over," Heye explained.
"Terrible moment to be a witness and not be able to answer those sorts of fundamental questions," Heye said. "But the audience is the president, and you want the president's support. You're going to contort yourself however you can."
Honig, who was a prosecutor at the Southern District of New York before Clayton took it over, spoke to the reputation that Clayton had in that regard.
"The reputation of Jay Clayton is that he's a chameleon," Honig said. "He goes by to get by. He goes along to get along, and he lacks the backbone to stand up for that office."