By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee issued an unusual cryptic statement on Wednesday saying the committee had made available to all members of Congress information about an unspecified “serious national security threat” that sources said was related to Russia.
“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,” Representative Mike Turner said in the statement.
He provided no further information, and his office did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
Two sources familiar with the issue said Turner’s statement was related to Russia and operations in space, without providing further details on what was described as a highly-classified matter.
Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, declined to provide specifics. He said he had arranged a briefing for Thursday with congressional leaders and that he was surprised by Turner’s decision to issue the statement.
“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 told a briefing.
“I’m not in a position to say anything further today. Like I said, I look forward to the discussion with (Turner) and obviously from there we will determine how to proceed, but standing here at the podium today I can’t share anything further,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan made clear that he had initiated the meeting with the Gang of Eight scheduled for Thursday.
The Gang of Eight refers to the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, and the top Republican and Democrat on the House and Senate intelligence committees.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski)