Warning about ‘serious national security threat’ could involve Russia and nuclear weapons in space: reports
Congressional leaders are scheduled to take part in a classified meeting with President Joe Biden Thursday to go over what one Republican lawmaker described as a “serious national security threat.”
That threat, according to numerous published reports, involves efforts by Russia “to put a nuclear weapon in space.” “It is very concerning and very sensitive,” a source told ABC News.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a Feb. 14 briefing that the Congressional “Gang of Eight” — representing the leadership of the House and Senate, as well as their respective Intelligence Committees — would meet with the president Thursday at the White House to go over details of the threat.
One of the Gang of Eight, Republican Congress Member Mike Turner of Ohio, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, raised attention to the threat in a Wednesday email to colleagues that his panel had “identified an urgent matter with regard to a destabilizing foreign military capability” that should be known to all congressional policy makers.
Turner’s Democratic counterpart on the House Intelligence Committee, Connecticut Congressman Jim Himes, issued a statement saying the classified information is “significant” but “not a cause for panic.”
Nonetheless, Turner called upon the Biden administration Wednesday to declassify all information about the national security threat.
In the Senate, the Intelligence Committee said it has been tracking the issue.
“We continue to take this matter seriously and are discussing an appropriate response with the administration,” Sen. Mark Warner, the Democratic committee chairman, and Sen. Marco Rubio, the Republican vice chairman, said in a statement. “In the meantime, we must be cautious about potentially disclosing sources and methods that may be key to preserving a range of options for U.S. action.”
Turner’s warning comes at a time of prolonged congressional debate over President Joe Biden’s request for $95 billion in foreign aid, including money for Ukraine to defend against Russia, for Israel in its war with Hamas and for Taiwan and partners in the Indo-Pacific to counter China.
A faction of House Republicans aligned with former President Donald Trump are among those who opposed the aid, rejecting the administration’s argument that beating back Russian forces in Ukraine is an urgent national security concern for the United States.
Sullivan told reporters at the White House that he already had been due to brief Turner and other senior congressional leaders on Thursday. Sullivan did not disclose the topic or provide any other details related to Turner’s statement.
“I’m focused on going to see him, sit with him as well as the other House members of the Gang of Eight, tomorrow,” Sullivan said. “And I’m not in a position to say anything further from this podium at this time.”
He acknowledged it was not standard practice to offer such a briefing.
“I’ll just say that I personally reached out to the Gang of Eight. It is highly unusual, in fact, for the national security adviser to do that,” Sullivan said. He said he had reached out earlier this week.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he sent a letter last month to the White House requesting a meeting with the president to discuss “the serious national security issue that is classified.” He said Sullivan’s meeting was in response to his request.
