Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) asked House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Thursday to open an inquiry into House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner’s (R-OH) “reckless” response to a vague national security threat this week.
Ogles said Turner’s actions constituted “poor judgment” when he released an ambiguous statement urging President Joe Biden to declassify information regarding what he described as “a serious national security threat” without providing more details.
“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,” Ogles said in a letter shared with the Washington Examiner. “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.”
Turner’s statement did not specify what the threat was or who it came from, but emerging details suggest Russia has made advancements on a new space-based nuclear weapon that is designed to threaten America’s extensive satellite network.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said he was surprised by Turner’s sudden request to declassify information ahead of a briefing that is expected to take place on Thursday.
A source familiar with the matter confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Turner didn’t tell Johnson’s office he released the statement on the national security threat.
Foreign policy and defense leaders have stated that the threat Turner alluded to was long-standing but possibly serious. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the threat is not an “active capability, but it is a potential one that we’re taking very, very seriously, and I expect we’ll have more to say very soon.”
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Ogles said the inquiry should examine whether Turner’s statements had any impact on U.S. foreign and domestic policy and urged Johnson to reassure the public and lawmakers that if Turner keeps his post, “the processes of the Intelligence Committee have not been corrupted by the very institutions they are charged with monitoring.”
Cami Mondeaux contributed to this report.