Republican Representative Mike Turner is facing blowback from a member of his own party after issuing a statement on Wednesday warning of a "serious national security threat."
Joe Khalil of NewsNation shared a letter that Republican Representative Andy Ogles sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson, responding to the warning issued by Turner, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
"This revelation by the Chairman was done with reckless disregard of the implications and consequences said information would have on geopolitics, domestic and foreign markets, or the well-being and psyche of the American people," Ogles said in the letter. "This act constituted poor judgement at a minimum and a complete breach of trust influenced by the pursuit of a political agenda at a maximum."
"In hindsight, it has become clear that the intent was not to ensure the safety of our homeland and the American people, but rather to ensure additional funding for Ukraine and passage of an unreformed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)," the letter added.
The Context
On Thursday, Turner issued a statement calling on President Joe Biden to declassify information relating to a "serious national security threat."
"I am requesting that President Biden declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat," the statement added.
What We Know
Shortly after issuing the statement, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about the "threat," to which he responded by saying that he planned to have a meeting with the Group of Eight, members of both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.
"That's been on the books, so, I am a bit surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today in advance of a meeting on the books to sit with him alongside our intelligence and defense professionals," Sullivan said in response. "Americans understand that there's a range of threats and challenges that we're dealing with every single day. Those threats and challenges range from terrorism to state actors and we have to contend with them and we have to contend with them in a way where we ensure the ultimate security of the American people."
Newsweek reached out to Johnson via email for comment.
Citing an anonymous congressional aide, the Associated Press reported that the threat was related to an anti-satellite weapon being developed by Russia.
In a statement obtained by Newsweek, Turner said that the House Intelligence Committee "worked in consultation with the Biden Administration to notify Congress of this national security threat."
"In addition, language in the bipartisan notification issued by the Chair and Ranking Member to all Members of the House was cleared by the Administration prior to its release," the statement said. "The House Intelligence Committee voted 23 to 1 to make this information available to Members of Congress. White House officials confirmed that, in their view, the matter was 'serious.'"
Views
The letter from Ogles also called on Johnson to launch an inquiry into Turner's statement and to "reassure this body (Congress) and the American people that the processes of the Intelligence Committee have not been corrupted by the very institutions they are charged with monitoring."
While speaking to reporters in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Johnson responded to the statement saying, "I want to assure the American people, there is no need for public alarm."
"We are going to work together to address this matter, as we do all sensitive matters that are classified," Johnson added.
What's Next
Laura Kelly of The Hill reported on X, formerly Twitter, that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about the threat on Thursday saying, "This is not an active capability but it is a potential one that we're taking very very seriously and I'll expect we'll have more to say very soon."
Sullivan is also expected to meet with members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees this week.
Update, 2/15/24, 12:53 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information and to reflect that Newsweek reached out to Turner's office for comment.
Update, 2/15/24, 1:25 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information.
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