- House Intel Chairman Turner Issued Cryptic Statement About ‘Threat’
- He demanded that Biden declassify all the details so that legislators and allies can respond
- The White House will brief lawmakers on the threat at a hearing on Thursday.
- The ominous warning comes as the House is expected to move forward on a bill to reauthorize the FBI’s controversial “spy tool.”
A top Republican was warned there is a “serious threat to national security” in a cryptic statement demanding President Joe Biden declassify all related information.
House Intel Chairman Mike Turner of Ohio said members of Congress had been informed of the threat, but did not go into details.
He asked the president to declassify the information contained in the ominous warning so lawmakers could discuss the ramifications.
The threat is “very worrying and destabilizing” and is related to Russia, cnn reported as Capitol Hill scrambled for more details.
Members of Congress or US allies will not be allowed to speak openly about the threat or work together on it until the report has been declassified.
A top Republican was warned there is a “serious threat to national security” in a cryptic statement demanding President Joe Biden declassify all related information.
House Intel Chairman Mike Turner of Ohio said members of Congress had been informed of the threat, but he did not go into details.
“Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence made information about a serious national security threat available to all members of Congress,” he said.
“I request that President Biden declassify all information related to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat.”
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Wednesday that he was “surprised” that Turner made public the threat related to a “destabilizing foreign military capability.”
He told reporters at the White House that a briefing on the warning will take place in Congress on Thursday.
“I contacted the Gang of Eight earlier this week to offer to do a personal briefing with the Gang of Eight and, in fact, we scheduled a briefing for members of the House of Eight tomorrow,” Sullivan said . the White House press conference.
‘That’s in the books. So I’m a little surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today, ahead of a scheduled meeting, so that tomorrow I can sit down with him alongside our intelligence and defense professionals.
“I’m not in a position to say anything more,” he added.
Rep. Jim Hines, the ranking Democrat on the Intel Committee, insisted there was no need to “panic,” but he also didn’t go into detail.
“It’s something that Congress and the administration need to address in the medium and long term.”
The ominous warning comes as the House is expected to move forward on a bill to reauthorize the FBI’s controversial “spy tool”: Section 702 of the Foreign Information Surveillance Act (FISA).
The tool allows US federal intelligence agencies to conduct targeted searches for foreigners, which they say is critical to stopping terrorists.
Lawmakers are determined to correct the program’s “rampant abuses” before reauthorizing the bill, so that the FBI does not improperly query Americans in the process of stopping the threats.
Turner is leading the charge on a bill that the House could vote on as soon as Thursday.
He is convinced that the legislation does not contain warrant requirements that he believes could “hinder national security.”
The text of the bill was released earlier in the week, and it brings together competing bills that were approved last year by the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees.
“We do not and should not need a court order to examine legally and constitutionally collected data from terrorists,” Turner previously told DailyMail.com.
But some members of the Republican Party have rejected the combined version, saying more reforms are needed and there should be a warrant requirement.
“Current law allows the United States government to collect data about you,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good said Tuesday.
But Turner has criticized the requirement to require warrants, which he says will place an undue burden on the intelligence community.
“We do not and should not need a court order to examine legally and constitutionally collected data from terrorists,” Turner previously told DailyMail.com.