House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) is defending his decision to publicly call on President Joe Biden to declassify information related to a “serious national security threat.”
Turner’s Thursday comments mark his second statement in two days on the alleged “threat” after facing private pushback for what colleagues describe as going public with a classified matter. On Wednesday, Turner called on Biden to “declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond.”
Turner said in his Thursday statement that the Intelligence Committee had voted 23-1 to make information on the threat available to members of Congress.
“The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence worked in consultation with the Biden Administration to notify Congress of this national security threat,” he said. “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.”
White House national security communications adviser John Kirby pushed back on Turner’s decision to release a public statement amid the talks with the Biden administration.
“If there’s a presumption here that somehow the administration gave a green light for this information to get public yesterday, that is false,” Kirby said Thursday at the White House press briefing. “That is not true. That did not happen. We were eventually going to get to a point where we were going to be able to share it with the American people.”
The Intelligence Committee chairman’s Wednesday statement caused a flurry of speculation about what threat Turner was referring to. National security adviser Jake Sullivan appeared at a White House press briefing shortly after Turner released the statement to dispel concerns of imminent dangers to the U.S. and express surprise at the remarks.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) similarly spoke out to quell any fears caused by Turner’s statement.
“I saw Chairman Turner’s statement on the issue and I want to assure the American people, there is no need for public alarm,” Johnson told reporters on Wednesday. “We are going to work together to address this matter, as we do all sensitive matters that are classified.”
A source familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner that Turner did not give Johnson’s office a heads-up prior to releasing the statement.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) went as far as to request that Johnson launch an inquiry into Turner’s “reckless” behavior and “poor judgment.”
“This revelation by the Chairman was done with a 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 a letter shared with the Washington Examiner.
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“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.”
Turner is among the House contingent of the Gang of Eight who will receive a briefing from Sullivan on the threat on Thursday afternoon at the Capitol.
