Representative Michael R. Turner defended his decision to hint publicly about classified information that Russia is moving to develop a new space-based nuclear weapon.
“They should have known that information,” Mr. Turner, Republican of Ohio and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday. He added: “I was concerned that the administration appeared to be sleepwalking into an international crisis. But it looks like they will now be able to take action.”
Mr Turner, who has aligned himself with President Biden on approving aid to Ukraine in the war against Russian aggression, faced ire from the White House after his committee issued a cryptic statement on Wednesday demanding the release of classified material without mentioning what it was. Current and former US officials later said the intelligence involved a space-based nuclear weapon designed to take out US satellite networks vital to defense and civilian infrastructure.
Some of Mr. Turner’s Republican colleagues, including Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee, questioned his motives and said the Intelligence Committee statement was written to “secure additional funding to Ukraine.”
But Mr. Turner stood by his call to release the information, which he said helped draw the Biden administration’s attention to the issue.
“It wasn’t just an action by myself,” Mr. Turner said, stressing that the statement was issued by his committee. He said he was happy “the administration is taking this seriously and now we will be able to see action from the administration.”
The Biden administration, concerned about losing key informants by releasing classified information, informed members of Congress on Thursday that any Russian space system does not pose an “immediate threat to anyone’s security,” White House spokesman John F. Kirby said. . reporter. Mr Kirby spoke of the potential danger posed by Russian anti-satellite technology, while rejecting Mr Turner’s call for the information to be declassified.
Mr Turner defended his decision and said he acted within his committee’s rules in consultation with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees US intelligence programs and advises the administration. The agency raised “no objection,” Mr. Turner said.
The administration and Republican leaders in Congress have spent weeks in a legislative stalemate over a foreign aid package that includes $60.1 billion for Ukraine, as well as a bill with new security measures to deal with the influx of migrants at the U.S. border with Mexico . But the White House’s briefing with lawmakers on Thursday led to a rare Republican endorsement of the Biden administration’s stance on Russia.
“There are steady hands on the wheel,” Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters after the briefing.
Mr Turner reinforced this message after the briefing.
“The bottom line is that all of us came away with a very strong impression that the administration is taking this very seriously and that the administration has a plan in place,” he said.
