Speculation Explodes After GOP Lawmaker Blows Whistle On ‘Serious Foreign Threat’

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) has sounded the alarm on what he describes as a “serious national security threat.” The precise nature of the threat remains unclear.

“Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has made available to all Members of Congress information concerning a serious national security threat,” Turner wrote in a statement on Wednesday morning.

A source within the Democratic Party who has knowledge of the matter informed NBC News, “This is a serious issue that could lead to a destabilizing situation and a national security threat.” The issue was also characterized as a “potential foreign threat,” though the source refrained from specifying the origin of the threat.

Statement from Chairman @RepMikeTurner: pic.twitter.com/OA9yJuEPlf

— House Intelligence Committee (@HouseIntel) February 14, 2024

The alert prefaced a scheduled briefing for congressional leaders at the White House. The chairman’s disclosure, absent of specific details, has stirred up speculation. Members of Congress were seen entering the highly secure SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) to be briefed on the threat.

On Wednesday National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan avoided giving a direct response when questioned about the situation. Sullivan mentioned that he had contacted the “gang of eight,” the leading members from both the House and Senate, earlier in the week, “to offer myself up for a personal briefing.”

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“That’s been on the books so 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,” Sullivan shared with the media.

“That’s his choice to do that. All I can tell you is that I’m focused on going to see him, sit with him, as well as the other House members of the Gang of Eight tomorrow and I’m not in a position to say anything further from this podium.”

While Sullivan was reticent about the specifics of the briefing, he stressed that he had taken the initiative to arrange the meeting. “I personally reached out to the Gang of Eight. It is highly unusual, in fact, for the national security adviser to do that, and I did that.”

When questioned about the seriousness of the threat to the public, Sullivan responded, “In a way, that question is impossible to answer with a straight ‘yes’ … because Americans understand that there are a range of threats and challenges in the world that we’re dealing with every single day, and those threats and challenges range from terrorism to state actors, and we have to contend with them.”

“I am confident that President Biden, in the decisions that he has taken, is going to ensure the security of the American people going forward, and I will stand here at this podium and assert that, look you in the eye with confidence that we believe that we can and will and are protecting the national security of the United States and the American people.”

A source told CNN that the situation is indeed “a highly concerning and destabilizing” matter.

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the leading Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said, “People should not panic — that is unequivocal. People should not panic.”

Acknowledging the concerns raised by Turner, Himes agreed on the importance of the issue but also noted the necessity of discretion due to its sensitivity, explaining to journalists, “Turner is right to highlight this issue, but it’s so sensitive that he is right now not publicly discussing it.”

“And I don’t want people thinking that martians are landing or that your Wednesday is going to be ruined. But it is something that the Congress and the administration does need to address in the medium to long run.”