The House Intelligence Committee announced on Wednesday that House Chair Mike Turner has made material on a “serious national security threat” accessible to all members of Congress for assessment.
The White House and Turner were tight-lipped about the nature of the threat, but two sources and an American official informed AWN that it had something to do with Russia. The intelligence was described as “very sensitive” by multiple sources.
“It is, in fact, a highly concerning and destabilising” Russian capacity “that we were recently made aware of,” according to one person who has seen the material.
However, some prominent lawmakers attempted to allay public fears, despite the fact that the House intelligence committee’s nebulous statement placed on X and the lack of immediate additional information had already caused some to worry. No need to be worried, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson, who made the statement on Wednesday afternoon.
Johnson emphasised that “steady hands are at the wheel” to reassure the public. “Don’t worry; we’re already hard at work on it.”
“The intelligence is not a cause for panic,” stated top House Democrat Jim Himes.
“Regarding the possibility of additional declassification regarding this matter, that is an important matter to discuss, but it should not be done in a public forum,” Himes stated.
Senators from the same party on the committee claimed they have been “rigorously tracking this issue from the start.”
“While we wait, we need to exercise caution to avoid revealing information that could compromise the variety of options available to the United States government,” stated Senator Mark Warner, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Senator Marco Rubio, who serves as vice chair.
In addition, the White House made it clear that it was annoyed with Turner for making the warnings public so close to Thursday’s scheduled meeting with national security officials and prominent senators. Preempting Thursday’s meeting agenda, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan expressed his surprise that Turner came out publicly today during a press conference on Wednesday.
Sullivan mentioned that he sought out to visit Turner. “Turner has made a public presentation. Turner is on my agenda for tomorrow. For the time being, I would like to leave things at that point.
Sullivan chose not to provide further details regarding the type of danger. “I am unable to provide any additional comments from this platform at this moment,” he stated.
With the crisis in Ukraine ongoing and the possibility of fresh US help being provided to Kyiv uncertain, the United States has long been worried about Russia’s destabilising impact in Europe and beyond. Wednesday’s warning was ambiguous, but that hasn’t stopped them from being concerned.
Turner informed his congressional colleagues in a letter he sent earlier Wednesday that there is an immediate matter “regarding a destabilising foreign military capability.”
According to Turner’s letter to his congressional colleagues, members have the opportunity to analyse specific materials between Wednesday and Friday. The House Intelligence Committee voted on February 13 to make certain materials available for lawmakers to review.
Joe Biden, according to Turner, should declassify “all information relating to this threat.”
With regard to the declassification of intelligence in the national interest of the United States, Sullivan stressed that the Biden administration has “gone further and in more creative, more strategic ways, dealt with it than any administration in history.”
According to him, there will be no reluctance to act when it is necessary for our national security.
