Hillary Clinton criticizes acting DNI Bill Pulte, says he may not get information sharing across intelligence agencies

Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Bill Pulte has drawn renewed scrutiny from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said she hopes there are “career and even political appointees” in intelligence agencies who would not impede information flow to the DNI. Clinton’s comments were made on the Wednesday episode of the “Defending Democracy with Marc Elias” podcast, according to The Hill.

Clinton argued that the DNI is “at the hub of all of our intelligence,” describing it as having access to whatever “they want to see.” She said that since the DNI role is designed to coordinate the work of multiple intelligence components, the broader system should be structured so information can be shared through the DNI rather than blocked or delayed.

In her remarks, Clinton pointed to what she described as an intelligence coordination problem and said critics should be concerned about the possibility of obstruction. She used language saying, “You should definitely be worried about everything,” and characterized the situation as a “naked partisan takeover of the Director of National Intelligence,” which was created after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to improve coordination among intelligence agencies.

Clinton’s specific concern centered on other parts of the intelligence community potentially “slow-walking or refusing to share information” with Pulte, The Hill reported. The former secretary of state said she wished there were both career personnel and political appointees within agencies who would not obstruct information sharing directed through the DNI.

The acting DNI, Pulte, has been in the job only since last month, The Hill reported. The article said critics had raised questions about his early actions and that he carried out President Donald Trump’s stated wish to lay off staffers at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) shortly after taking the acting role.

Clinton’s remarks come as the intelligence role of the DNI and how it coordinates the intelligence agencies remains a focal point for lawmakers and oversight groups. The DNI was created after 9/11 to centralize and better coordinate intelligence activities across agencies that include the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA), according to the description in Clinton’s comments as reported by The Hill.

Beyond the immediate dispute over intelligence coordination, The Hill also reported that Democrats have criticized Pulte’s previous role as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), alleging he used his position to help support Trump’s efforts tied to mortgage records. The article did not provide additional specifics in the portion available for this reporting package, but it framed those earlier criticisms as part of the broader attention on Pulte’s tenure.

Neither the Hill article nor the provided reporting package included a direct response from Pulte or ODNI to Clinton’s remarks at the time of publication. The practical impact of the dispute, if it reflects a real breakdown in inter-agency information sharing, would involve whether the DNI can effectively obtain and disseminate intelligence across the system it is tasked with coordinating. The controversy is likely to continue as oversight and political figures debate how authority and access work across intelligence components under the acting DNI structure.