[indiscernible conversation] i call this hearing to order. I would like to welcome our witness. Besident trumps nominee to the next director of National Intelligence. Dan, congratulations on your nomination. Welcome back. I am sure you did not expect to be welcomed back to these holes so soon after your retirement. I would also like to welcome back your wife and my good friend, marcia, and i would like to thank her for sharing you with the rest of us. Ive known both of you for many years and seen firsthand the strength of your relationship that you so thoughtfully described in your statement for the record. Our goal in this hearing is to direct the committee to consider tor coates for the consider him for the nomination. He is already responded to more than 100 questions. Today, of course, members will be able to ask additional questions in both open and closed sessions. Withoats comes to us Honorable Service in the house, the senate, and as an ambassador. Those of us who have had the good fortune to work with them know the depth of his commitment to the Intelligence Community and more importantly to its work force. Senator coats, youve been asked to lead the Intelligence Community at the time of profound threat and challenge. Were facing threats from state and nonstate actors alike and are engaged in a robust debate at home on the scope and scale of intelligence collection and what authorities are right, appropriate, and lawful. I expect you would be forceful advocate for the Intelligence Community in those discussions while maintaining an unwaivering respect for the rule of law. I have complete trust that you will lead the community with integrity and ensure the intelligence enterprise operates lawfully, ethically and morally. One of your tools is the authorities under the surveillance act scheduled to sunset later this year. They enable the Intelligence Community to protect our troops, anticipate terrorist threats and mitigate cyberattacks all while safeguarding privacy and civil liberty ests American People. Simply put it is essential that congress authorize these authorities to help keep the country safe while protecting our constitutional rights. I look forward to working with you and all of my colleagues to reauthorize fisa as soon as possible. Dan, ive known for many years, and believe your years of service to our nation and unique experience make you a natural fit to lead our Intelligence Community. Natural fit to lead the Intelligence Community. As mentioned in the directors nomination i can assure you the committee will continue to faithfully follow its charter, conduct vigorous and realtime oversight over the Intelligence Community, its operations and activities. We will ask difficult questions of you, your staff and expect honest, complete and timely responses. I look forward to supporting your nomination and ensuring it consideration without delay and i want to thank you for your years of service and i look forward to your testimony and recognize the vice chair for any comments he might make. Thank you mr. Chair and i also want to welcome you. Congratulations to your nomination as the director of the National Intelligence. Weve known each other for many years and i believe the president has made an excellent choice and asking you to serve. He also echoed the chairmans comments and acknowledging your wife marcia. I remember the wonderful trips we have had together. I would point out that the only thing i might potentially hold against you is that your socalled sherpa that you brought along raises some questions of judgment in my mind that i wont hold that against you throughout the whole hearing today. Senator coats is wellknown to the committee. He served as a Senior Member of the committee for men to become many years and has been an advocate for the oversight of the committee throughout his tenure. He firmly believes in the value of intelligence and the importance of its timely, relevant and absolutely free political influence. As the nations chief Intelligence Officer, your job will be to find and follow the truth regardless of where it leads. It all comes down to the obligation we talked about on the committee when we served together. Tell truth to power, to the president , the power of the executive branch, members of congress, maintaining your integrity and independence even in the face of political pressure is an absolute requirement of this position. The job for which youve been nominated as many rewards and possibly any to become even more challenges. You will be expected to lead the enterprise as we talk about as 17 diverse intelligence agencies and in some areas you will have authority to direct actions as we know in most areas they have to also convince rather than simply direct authority. You will be expected to serve as the top Intelligence Officer ever to coordinattocoordinate ae community activities, to lead the work to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the intelligence enterprise and ensure the integrity of the analytical product. These are just a few of the many issues. I need to make clear even in my Opening Statement when of the first challenges i will ask you to take on is to support our efforts to understand the rush was interference and 2016 president ial election. As you know the committee is conducting an investigation into that interference. We are also looking into what are individuals associated and campaigns in appropriately inapy engaged with officials of the russian government and we will seek to determine what the intentions of those interactions were. We take this matter very seriously. The chair man and i as well as members of the committee on both sides of the aisle have made commitments that the outcome of this investigation will not be prejudged and the committee will follow wherever the information leads. We need to get it right. Its my intention that this investigation will remain bipartisan and seek to be as transparent as possible. And it will remain free of any political consideration or interference and including interference from the white house. I will not accept any process that is undermined by such political interference. This will be thorough and exhaustive because at the end of the day with ego boost his answer to the American Public. You know how important it is. Its not about being a democrat or republican or reiterating the election. It is about upholding the values and the sanctity of the democracy that all americans hold dear. Our plan is to review the intelligence and to understand how the community made its conclusions on the russian interference. And i will ask you today again to connecto pay againto connecte kennedy that he will fully cooperate in this review and that you will direct all the Intelligence Community agencies to provide all the information we require including the wrong information to make sure that we get it right. On other topics, you and i have a good conversation in my office a few weeks ago where we talked about the fact we didnt think he would be back in so quickly. I very much appreciated the conversations. You assured me there you will not support the return of waterboarding or other socalled enhanced Interrogation Practices nor will you support reestablishing secret detention sites operating. You also assured me you always will present to the president an,his cabinet and advisors and congress the unvarnished facts as represented by the best judgment of the Intelligence Community. Whether that analysis is in agreement or disagreement with the views of the president or for that matter anyone else, again i will ask you today to reaffirm those commitments you made to be and make them publicly to the American Public. Finally, if confirmed, and i look forward to supporting you, you will have a unique challenge of working for a president whose comments i believe the time has denigrated some of the work of the Intelligence Community for whom it is an incredible Important Role to make sure the men and women that serve us often in anonymity that you will have their back and make sure that the morale is increased in this respect it to the. Thank you for being with us today and for your willingness to serve. I look forward to working with the chairman as we go through the hearing. I would now like to recognize the former colleague in the former vice chairman of the committee on intelligence and my good friend saxby chambliss. Thank you very much mr. Chairman. [inaudible] put on the microphone, with you. I know its been a long time. [laughter] when i was in the senate, someone did all this for me. Ive had to adjust to a lot of things like that. It is good to be back in front of so many friends on the committee and as much as i miss each of you individually i have to tell you im happy to be on this side today. Im here today to introduce to you a friend of all of us. Senator dan coats who has been nominated by President Trump to be the fifth director of the National Intelligence. S. 2465 was introduced by senator feinstein, rockefeller and bob graham on the 19th of june, 2002. Then after two and a half years of discussion and debate, the intel reform and terrorism prevention act of 2004 was passed overwhelmingly by both the house and senat the senate d signed into law by president bush. That act created the office of the director of National Intelligence and placed all at the head of the 16 member intelligence agencies. The dnr was charged with directing and overseeing the National Intelligence program and to serve as an advisor to the president in the executive officeand the executiveoffices y council and the Homeland Security council about Intelligence Matters related to the National Security of the United States. Today i understand that odni has somewhere around 2,000 employees who support the dni oversight responsibility for the entire National Intelligence program of some 53 billion. Some have recently questioned the structure and effectiveness of odni and perhaps after 12 years of the creation of a new agency, particularly one as sensitive as this, perhaps a review is in order but there is one thing that cannot be overlooked and that is during 12 years with strong leadership from a commitment of security by the dedicated employees, theyve produced intelligence to the customers that have prevented another largescale attack against america on u. S. Soil. We all know the world is a more dangerous place than ever today. Bad guys are greater in number and more sophisticated in their operations than ever before, thus the strong leadership is more important today than ever. No one is better suited to give the leadership as our friend and former colleague dan coats. As ambassador to germany, he was a customer. As a longtime member of the committee, he participated in conduct an extensive oversight. Now he will be providing the intelligence that is to be subjected to that oversight. His experience prepares hi prepl for these new roles. Ive traveled the world with him many times visiting our counterparts, our allies as well as World Leaders and while for the most part we all know they are friendly and easygoing, i have had the opportunity to observe him and became very firm and direct in addressing sensitive and difficult issues with all of those individuals that we have visited and doing so in a very professional manner. Hes been in Public Service since 1976 when he was the district director for the then congressman dan quayle. He then served in the house of representatives United States senate ambassador to germany and then again in the u. S. Senate. Now after that remarkable 40 year career, he is willing to continue to serve his country as the dni. Lastly, let me say that a lot of this strength comes from his constant support received from his wife, marcia and to whom hes been married over 50 years. I believe it to him to introduce her but suffice it to say she has been a great teammate. Using a little sports nomenclature there since i still have my topsecret clearance, i get some pretty good intelligence from time to time and one piece of intelligence i picked up on is that h hes a he chicago cubs fan. Felt pretty good last fall. Thats one other thing i found out about him is the day after he and marcia were married, he took her to a cubs game and the marriage still survived. [laughter] its my pleasure to introduce senator dan coats and i urge all of you to send the nomination to the floor of the Senate Quickly and to very quickly confirm him as the new director of National Intelligence. Thank you. If yo you would stand pleas and raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear to give the committee the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god . I do. Please be seated. Before we move to your statement, i would like to ask that the answer five questions the standard for the committee that we posed to each nominee that appears before us that just require a simple yes or no answer for the record. Do you agree to appear before the committee and at other venues when invited . If confirmed to agree to send officials from her office to appear before the committee and designated staff . Yes. Do you agree to provide the documents or any other material requested by the committee in order for us to carry out the oversight and legislative response of these quick yes. Will you ensure that your office and staff provide such materials to the committee when requested quick yes. Do you agree to inform and bring to the fullest extent possible all members of the committee of intelligence out of activities and covert action rather than only the chair and vice chair man when appropriate . Yes, where appropriate. I want to thank you very much and we will now proceed to the Opening Statement. You are recognized. I have remarks thanking saxby, he has to leave and i want to jump ahead of what im going to say in my written remarks to you just to thank him. A great friend and someone i had the pleasure of serving under this committee. He has left his mark in many ways including friendship among his wife and between my wife and me and i just want to thank him for being willing to come today to make remarks on my behalf. Members of the committee, i am honored to appear that for you as the nominee for the position of director of national directol intelligence. It is a great privilege to have served on the Senate Select committee on intelligence and to see up close the great work done by all the members of the staff and their supporters. I will admit however the view is different down here than from up there. I recall many days sitting up there looking to whoever was down here and say im glad i knocked down there. Well, here i am a grade i would like to begin by thanking President Trump for nominating me for the position. Im humbled by his confidence in me and i will work tirelessly to believe what i believe and most believe is the finest intelligence enterprise in the world. I would like to also thank the Vice President , my indiana colleague and someone im honored to cali amhonored to cas support. I deeply appreciate his faith in me. Id also like to acknowledge the work of the previous gmi. Christie 69 jim clapper and stephanie sullivan. The stewardship of the community over the past years has been commendable and the guidance and helping me to prepare for the position has been most helpful. Ththey left in place and experience in the team that has beebut hasbeen instrumental in a smooth transition for the odni. And also i want to recognize my fellow hoosiers who elected me several times in the house of representatives and to the senate in the past year. Ive always done my best to represent them and i i am honod by the confidence that theyve put in place time and time again and while i will always be a hoosier at heart if confirmed as the next director o director ofl intelligence, i will represent the dedicated men and women of the office of the director of National Intelligence and the broad Intelligence Community to the best of my ability. Finally, saving the best for last, i would like to thank my wife, marcia, my children were here today. Together my children have produced according to our observation, ten almost perfect grandchildren. My career in Public Service is a direct reflection of my families support and love and without their encouragement i wouldnt be sitting today. Its been a long road of Public Service thats brought me here today. After 34 years of service in the house and senate and as ambassador to germany, i was ready to make a transition and planned to mov move onto on to t chapter of my lifelong journey back home again to indiana. But as ive learned over those 34 years, life doesnt always work out the way you think it is going to work out. Ive been called upon to consider the positio position mt console to play most important advisor my wife marcia as i examined the responsibilities of such a significant office. As a former teacher and family therapist, she understands me probably better than anybody, and the importance of Public Service. She is the rock that provides stability an and counsel, shoulr to shoulder with me in every aspect of my life. While im no