WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The government shutdown jeopardizes national security, James Clapper, President Barack Obama's principal intelligence officer, told a Senate hearing Wednesday.
Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on an unrelated matter, Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence and top adviser to the president, the National Security Council and the Department of Homeland Security, said the shutdown "seriously damages our ability to protect the safety and security of the nation," noting the U.S. intelligence community has furloughed 70 percent of its employees.