Washington: The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee issued an unusually vague statement on Wednesday saying the committee had made information available to all members of Congress about an unspecified “serious national security threat” that sources said was linked to Russia.
US Representative Mike Turner.credit: AP
“I ask President Biden to declassify all information related to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can publicly discuss the actions needed to respond to this threat,” Rep. Mike Turner said in the statement.
He did not provide further information, and his office did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
Two sources familiar with the matter said that Turner's statement related to Russia and operations in space, without providing further details about what was described as a highly classified matter.
Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden's national security adviser, declined to provide details. He said he had arranged a meeting Thursday with congressional leaders and was surprised by Turner's decision to issue the statement.
“This was on the books, so I'm a little surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today, before the meeting on the books, for me to go sit down with him alongside our intelligence and defense professionals tomorrow,” Sullivan said at a news conference.
“I'm not in a position to say anything else today. As I said, I look forward to the discussion with (Turner) and obviously we'll determine from there how we move forward, but as I stand here at the podium today I can't share anything more,” Sullivan said. So”.
Sullivan explained that he began meeting with the Gang of Eight scheduled for Thursday.
The “Gang of Eight” refers to the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, and the top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.
