House Intel chair’s cryptic warning about “serious national security threat” prompts officials to urge calm

Washington- The head of the House Intelligence Committee revealed Wednesday that members of Congress had access to information about an unspecified “serious national security threat,” issuing a vague warning that led other lawmakers to downplay the urgency. of the situation and urge the public to remain calm.

The revelation by Representative Mike Turner, Republican of Ohio and chairman of the House Intelligence panel, came in a cryptic statement issued by the committee, encouraging President Biden to declassify all information related to the threat. It contained no details except to announce that the committee “has made information about a serious threat to national security available to all members of Congress.”

“I request that President Biden declassify all information related to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat,” Turner said.

A US official told CBS News that the intelligence in question relates to Russian capabilities in space.

US officials told CBS News that Russia is developing a nuclear-capable weapon that could shoot down US satellites, eliminating the ability to communicate, but there is no evidence that a weapon has actually been deployed.

The threat described does not imply an active capability, although the problem is considered significant.

A U.S. official, who was not authorized to discuss the information publicly, pointed to a series of Russian space launches known as Cosmos, many of which carry classified Department of Defense payloads.

Lawmakers were seen entering and leaving a secure facility on Capitol Hill following Turner’s statement. Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat who sits on the Intelligence panel, told reporters after leaving the secure room that “this is something that requires our attention, there’s no question. It’s not an immediate crisis, but it certainly It’s something we have to be very attentive to.” serious about.”

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, told reporters that “people shouldn’t panic.”

“It is a serious problem that [Turner] “It’s okay to concentrate, but no, it’s not going to ruin your… Wednesday,” he said.

Himes added that it is an issue that Congress and the Biden administration must address “in the medium and long term.”

In a statement, the Connecticut Democrat said a discussion about whether more can be declassified is “worthwhile,” but not a discussion that should take place in public.

House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed Himes’ comments and said Congress would work to address the issue.

“We just want to assure everyone that there are steady hands on the wheel. We are working on it and there is no need to panic,” he said.

The Senate Intelligence Committee also has the intelligence Turner references, and its leaders, Chairman Mark Warner and Vice President Marco Rubio, said they have been “rigorously pursuing this issue from the beginning.” The two senators are discussing with the Biden administration an “appropriate response,” they said.

“In the meantime, we must be cautious about revealing sources and methods that may be key to preserving a range of options for U.S. action,” said Warner, D-Va., and Rubio, R-Fla.

When asked about Turner’s statement, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that he reached out to the so-called “Gang of Eight”: the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and the Senate, and the presidents and ranking members of the House and Senate. Intelligence Committees: earlier this week to offer a personal briefing. Sullivan said a briefing was scheduled for Thursday for House members within the group (Turner, Himes, Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries).

“I’m a little surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today ahead of a meeting on the books so that tomorrow I can sit down with him alongside our intelligence and defense professionals,” Sullivan said during the White House press briefing. “Today I am not in a position to say anything more.”

Sullivan later told a reporter that he could say with confidence that the Biden administration is “protecting the national security of the United States and the American people.”

“Americans understand that there are a variety of threats and challenges in the world that we deal with every day, and those threats and challenges range from terrorism to state actors,” he said. “And we have to deal with them and we have to deal with them in a way that ultimately ensures the safety of the American people. I am confident that President Biden, in the decisions that he is making, will ensure the safety of the American people in the future”.

–Olivia Gazis, Kristin Brown, Ellis Kim and Eleanor Watson contributed reporting.