GOP Congressman Asks Speaker to Probe House Intel Chair Over National Security Warning

Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) speaks during a press conference on the 2023 Fiscal Year at the U.S Capitol Building in Washington on Dec. 14, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) has asked House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to investigate House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) for warning about a national security threat pertaining to Russia.

“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,” Mr. Ogles wrote in a Feb. 15 letter to Mr. Johnson.

“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 (FISA),” he continued.

The Senate passed a $95.3 billion package that includes more than $61 billion in assistance to Ukraine amid its war with Russia, $14 billion to Israel amid its war against the Hamas terrorist group, and $4.83 billion for Indo-Pacific partners, including Taiwan, to counter communist China’s aggression. However, Mr. Johnson has come out against it as House Republicans want strong border security and immigration measures tied to this foreign assistance.

Mr. Johnson postponed a floor vote this week on FISA reform and reauthorization of Section 702, which allows the United States to surveil noncitizens abroad but has, at times, swept up Americans in the process.

Moreover, wrote Mr. Ogles, Mr. Turner’s warning “constituted poor judgment at a minimum and a complete breach of trust influenced by the pursuit of a political agenda at the maximum.”

In a statement on Feb. 14, Mr. Turner said the committee “has made available to all members of Congress information concerning a serious national security threat” and that he is “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 didn’t give further details or identify the threat.

Earlier that day, Mr. Turner sent a letter to colleagues warning of “an urgent matter with regard to a destabilizing foreign military capability that should be known by all Congressional policymakers.”

Members will be able to view the material in a secure location in the House between Feb. 14 and Feb. 16, he said.

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John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council, told reporters on Feb. 15 that the threat is “an anti-satellite capability Russia is developing” that “isn’t an active capability that’s been deployed” and is not an “immediate threat to anyone’s safety.”

Mr. Turner fired back at Mr. Ogles and national security adviser Jake Sullivan over them calling him out for warning about the threat.

“The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence worked in consultation with the Biden administration to notify Congress of this national security threat,” said Mr. Turner in a statement posted on Feb. 15 by the committee on X.

“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,” he continued.

Mr. Turner noted that his “committee voted 23 to 1 to make this information available to members of Congress.

“White House officials confirmed that, in their view, the matter was ’serious.'”

Additionally, Mr. Turner’s statement contradicted Mr. Sullivan’s remarks on Feb. 14 in response to Mr. Turner’s statement warning of a national security threat that all members of Congress should know.

“I am a bit surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today in advance of a meeting on the books for me to go sit with him alongside our intelligence and defense professionals tomorrow,” Mr. Sullivan told reporters. “That’s his choice to do that.”

Mr. Sullivan was scheduled on Feb. 15 to brief some members of what is called the Gang of Eight regarding the threat.

This group is made up of Mr. Turner, House Intelligence ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.), Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

“I reached out earlier this week to the Gang of Eight to offer myself up for a personal briefing,” Mr. Sullivan said. “And, in fact, we scheduled a briefing for the four House members of the Gang of Eight for tomorrow. That’s been on the books.”