Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), sent Washington into a tailspin on Wednesday with a cryptic statement about a "serious national security threat,” which would require Joe Biden to declassify certain documents to discuss openly addressing this threat. Spencer had more on this yesterday:
"Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has made available to all Members of Congress information concerning a serious national security threat," Chairman Turner said in a statement posted to X.
"I am 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," he added.
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The HPSCI was previously said to be working on making some "space related" committee material available to all members of Congress, presumably the information mentioned by Turner in his statement and letter to lawmakers.
According to NBC News, Democrats also called the matter "a serious issue that could lead to a destabilizing situation and a national security threat" and confirmed it was a "potential foreign threat," but did not tell the outlet which foreign entity from which the threat emanated.
The chances of the threat becoming known to the public even without Biden using his declassification power will increase as more members of Congress are briefed on the matter, though it's impossible to know the timeline for when the threat will come into clearer focus.
What the hell, Mike? Are we about to be nuked from orbit? Is there an impending terrorist attack? Nope. It’s fine. It’s something that is space-related and something that’s been a national security concern for years, but it didn’t warrant this kind of uproar. Biden White House officials were reportedly furious with this release, with The New York Times disclosing that the matter involved Russia might have some new space nuke that could neutralize our satellite network (via NYT):
The United States has informed Congress and its allies in Europe about Russian advances on a new, space-based nuclear weapon designed to threaten America’s extensive satellite network, according to current and former officials briefed on the matter.
Such a satellite-killing weapon, if deployed, could destroy civilian communications, surveillance from space and military command-and control operations by the United States and its allies. At the moment, the United States does not have the ability to counter such a weapon and defend its satellites, a former official said.
Officials said that the new intelligence, which they did not describe in detail, raised serious questions about whether Russia was preparing to abandon the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which bans all orbital nuclear weapons. But since Russia does not appear close to deploying the weapon, they said, it is not considered an urgent threat.
The intelligence was made public, in part, in a cryptic announcement on Wednesday by Representative Michael R. Turner, Republican of Ohio and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He called on the Biden administration to declassify the information without saying specifically what it was.
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But the statement infuriated White House officials, who feared the loss of important sources of information on Russia. While Mr. Turner has been an ally to the White House on Ukraine aid, his remarks on Wednesday became the latest flashpoint in strained relations between the Biden administration and congressional Republicans.
I’m not so sure, folks. With all the drama surrounding Ukraine funding, a ‘Russia has new nukes’ scare plot could be a ploy by Kiev-firsters to quell congressional heartburn over the subject the next time Congress earmarks another aid package in the coming weeks or months. China has been working on satellite-killing technology for years, too. This isn’t new—and it still doesn’t negate the fact that all the money the Senate appropriated for Ukraine should have been spent here addressing the border crisis.
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