Republican Mike Turner of Ohio issued a cryptic message on Wednesday demanding that U.S. President Joe Biden reveal a "serious" threat to national security.
"Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has made available to all members of Congress information concerning a serious national Security threat," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Representative Mike Turner said in a statement.
"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.
Newsweek reached out to Turner's office via email for further information on the statement.
The context:
It is currently unclear what sort of "serious national security threat" that Turner is referring to and no further information was immediately released.
During a White House press briefing on Wednesday, Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about the statement issued by Turner.
"I reached out earlier this week to the Gang of Eight [Senate Committee and House Committee for Intelligence] to offer myself up for a personal briefing to the Gang of Eight and in fact, we scheduled a briefing for the four House members for the Gang of Eight tomorrow," Sullivan said. "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."
What we know:
During the briefing, Sullivan said that the Biden administration "has gone further" to deal with the declassification of "intelligence in the national interest of the United States than any administration in history."
When further asked about the statement and if he could tell Americans that there's nothing to worry about, Sullivan said "that question is impossible to answer with a straight yes."
"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," Sullivan said. "I'm confident that President Biden, in the decisions he has taken, is going to ensure the security of the American people."
Views:
On X, formerly Twitter, user @Athenas_Son_V responded to the statement saying "This is actually extremely concerning. I hope @POTUS declassifies whatever this intelligence is. If the House Intelligence Committee Chair believes the country should know, I'm going to take him at his word."
Erik Wasson of Bloomberg News reported on X that he was told by Connecticut Representative and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Jim Hines that the threat is not something to "panic" about.
"Says it is a 'serious' issue that Turner right to focus on, but long-standing," Wasson said on X.
What's next:
As Sullivan noted, he is likely to meet with other members of the House Intelligence Committee this week to speak further about the threat.
Update 02/14/24 1:11 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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