Published: February 14, 2024, 1:47 PM ET
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that he has information about a significant national security threat and asked the Biden administration to keep the information confidential so the U.S. and its allies can openly discuss how to respond. asked to be released.
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, did not elaborate on the nature of the threat in a statement. The White House also declined to provide details.
Turner…
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that he has information about a significant national security threat and asked the Biden administration to keep the information confidential so the U.S. and its allies can openly discuss how to respond. asked to be released.
Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, did not elaborate on the nature of the threat in a statement. The White House also declined to provide details.
In an email to members of Congress early Wednesday morning, Turner said the committee had “identified urgent matters regarding destabilizing foreign military forces” that should be known to all Congressional policymakers. He said that. He encouraged them to come to the SCIF, a secure area, to verify the information. He again did not provide further details.
Turner's announcement appears to have caught the Biden administration by surprise.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House that he was already scheduled to brief Turner and other top congressional intelligence officials known as the “Gang of Eight” on Thursday. Mr. Sullivan did not discuss this topic or provide any other details related to Mr. Turner's statement.
“I'm focused on going to see him.” [and] Tomorrow, sit down with him and the other members of the House of Eight,” Sullivan said. “And I am not in a position to say anything further from this podium at this time.”
He acknowledged that it was not standard practice to provide such an explanation.
“Let me just say that I personally contacted the Gang of Eight. In fact, it's highly unusual for a national security adviser to do that,” Sullivan said. He was contacted earlier this week, he said.
He did not say whether the press conference was related to Turner's warning. “I'll leave it up to you guys to draw whatever connections you want,” he told reporters.
