Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf is sworn in before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on September 23, 2020.
CNN  — 

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf called allegations of modifying intelligence assessments for political purposes “patently false” and a “fabrication” during a Senate panel hearing on his nomination to serve as chief of the department on a permanent basis.

Earlier this month, Brian Murphy, who headed the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, filed a whistleblower complaint alleging Wolf and his deputy, Ken Cuccinelli, repeatedly instructed career officials to modify intelligence assessments to suit Trump’s agenda. Wolf denied those claims.

“Regarding the Intelligence and Analysis whistleblower complaint from Mr. Murphy, is patently false. It’s a fabrication, completely. I reject any claim that I attempted to influence or retaliate against any individual at DHS, but specifically, Mr. Murphy,” Wolf told lawmakers.

Murphy was reassigned in August after it was revealed his office had gathered intelligence reports on two US journalists.

Murphy’s attorney, Mark Zaid, disputed Wolf’s claims about his client’s whistleblower complaint. “We outright challenge Mr. Wolf’s testimony and we look forward to the opportunity to provide classified testimony to congressional and OIG (Office of Inspector General) oversight authorities to describe details to the contrary,” Zaid wrote in a tweet Wednesday afternoon.

The complaint filed by Murphy is one of a series of recent allegations – including another whistleblower complaint alleging medical misconduct against detained immigrant women – that have been leveled against Wolf and the department.

Wolf’s tenure has been marked by civil unrest, the department’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and his handling of intelligence assessments.

Ranking Member Gary Peters, a Democrat, pressed Wolf on accusations that he withheld from release in July an intelligence bulletin warning of a Russian plot to spread misinformation regarding Joe Biden’s mental health.

“I did not withhold it. I asked for the product to be improved, which they did over a period of time and then that product was released at the beginning of September,” Wolf said, adding that it was the quality of the report that was the issue, not the underlying intelligence.

When pressed whether the report was elevated to his attention because it was about the President’s opponent, Wolf said, “no.”

Wolf also addressed White supremacist extremists, saying that, particularly over the previous two years, they were the most “persistent and lethal” threat facing the US among domestic violent extremists. But he rejected the idea that it was the overall deadliest threat facing the homeland, pointing to nation state threats, pandemics and hurricanes.

The department’s categorization of the White supremacist threat was the subject of recent controversy when leaked drafts of the “State of the Homeland Threat Assessment 2020” showed the department changing the way it wrote about the threat.

President Donald Trump announced Wolf’s nomination to head the Department of Homeland Security in late August – nearly a year after Wolf came into the post in an acting capacity. The department hasn’t had a confirmed secretary since April 2019 when Kirstjen Nielsen was ousted, a point repeatedly mentioned by lawmakers who’ve urged the administration to fill the role permanently.

On Wednesday, Wolf testified before the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee regarding his nomination. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz introduced Wolf at the hearing, praising the acting secretary’s “strong leadership” and response to the sometimes violent protests in Portland, Oregon.

But his tenure as acting secretary also came under question by Peters, who called out the Trump administration for relying so heavily on acting officials, particularly at DHS.

“Vacancies and acting officials are part of every administration but they should be rare. This administration has abused vacancies to the detriment of this department,” Peters said.

Since assuming the job in November, a federal judge and government watchdog have cast doubt on the validity of Wolf’s appointment.

The Government Accountability Office said in an August opinion that Wolf and Cuccinelli were appointed as part of an “invalid order of succession.”

In response to the GAO and federal court filings, the department affirmed and ratified previous DHS actions carried out during Wolf’s tenure as acting secretary, according to a Federal Register notice on Monday. Wolf wrote that the ratification was done “out an abundance of caution,” given the challenges to his appointment.

Before assuming the top DHS post, Wolf was nominated by Trump to serve as undersecretary for the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans at DHS.

During his Senate confirmation hearing for the undersecretary role, Wolf, who worked alongside Nielsen, faced questions over his role in the administration’s zero-tolerance policy that led to thousands of children being separated from their parents at the border.

When asked if he had concerns about the policy at the time, Wolf said, “My job wasn’t to determine whether it was the right or wrong policy. My job, at the time, was to ensure that the secretary had all the information.”

He was eventually confirmed by the Senate for the policy role on November 13, 2019. The same day, he was designated as the acting secretary.

When Trump announced Wolf’s nomination, Peters said in a statement that given Wolf’s record since assuming his role, he has “serious questions and concerns about his suitability for the job,” saying the department “needs qualified, principled leaders to safeguard” the nation.

At the start of Wednesday’s hearing, Chairman Ron Johnson allowed Wolf to speak to other concerns that have come up related to his nomination, including an NBC report that the consulting firm where Wolf’s wife works has been awarded millions of dollars in federal contracts from the Department of Homeland Security.

Wolf denied any involvement in the procurement process. “Whether I was chief of staff, whether I was the acting secretary, the undersecretary or any other position at the department, I have no role in procurements. I don’t even see procurements until they are released, until they’re in the news, and on the street,” Wolf said.

“If I was involved in procurements – which I am not – I have recusals in place to not only include her firm, but clients I had before arriving at the department,” he added.

In a letter submitted to the Senate Homeland Security Committee and obtained by CNN, Wolf disclosed his wife’s employment at Berkeley Research Group and noted that he wouldn’t participate “personally and substantially in any particular matter that to my knowledge has a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of Berkeley Research Group,” unless he obtains a waiver.

Wolf has also fielded criticism from current and former officials who argue Wolf is politicizing the department in seizing Trump’s law-and-order message and admonishing Portland, where civil unrest persisted for weeks. A department spokesperson told CNN last week the view that Wolf is further politicizing the department “is a talking point by one party. The vast majority of Americans would say that acting Secretary Wolf is just doing his job.”

Democratic lawmakers said they had hoped to pose questions to Wolf last week, but a decision not to appear before a House panel left them unanswered. DHS said his pending nomination barred him from testifying. Instead, Wolf met with Senate committee staff to discuss his nomination to get the job leading the department on a permanent basis.

Ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, sent a letter to the panel’s leadership saying Wolf failed to comply with his committee, including Wolf’s decision last week not to testify despite a subpoena compelling him to attend.

“Mr. Wolf’s obvious and blatant disregard for Congressional oversight and his repeated failure to provide even the most basic information required by the Committee to understand the Department’s actions render him unfit for confirmation as Secretary of a Cabinet-level department,” Thompson wrote.

It’s unclear whether Wolf will get a Senate vote before the November presidential election. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Wolf an “awful choice” in a tweet, citing Wolf’s performance at DHS.

This story has been updated with comments from Murphy attorney Mark Zaid.