Speaker Johnson responds to claims of a "national threat to the United States"
Kyiv • UNN
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the public should not worry after a congressman called on Biden to declassify information about a classified national security threat.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson said that the public should not worry after Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner called on President Biden to declassify information about a "serious threat to national security." This was reported by The Hill, according to UNN.
Details
I have seen Chairman Turner's statement on this issue, and I want to assure the American people that there is no need for public alarm
He added that he is going to work to resolve this issue, like all sensitive issues that are secret.
We just want to assure everyone that we have strong hands at the wheel, we are working on it, and there is no need to worry
The speaker did not disclose the details of the threat, saying that he "is not authorized to disclose classified information and cannot really say more.
However, he said he would meet with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the Capitol on Thursday, as well as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Turner, and Congressman Jim Himes.
Johnson said that last month he sent a letter to the White House requesting a meeting with Biden "to discuss a serious national security issue that is classified," prompting Thursday's meeting.
Context
Johnson's remarks came a few hours after Turner announced in a statementthat the House Intelligence Committee had provided information about a "serious national security threat" to all members of Congress. He also said that he had asked Biden to declassify the information so that Congress, the administration, and U.S. allies "can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat.
A source in ABC News reportedthat the threat to US national security may be related to Russia's desire to deploy nuclear weapons in space.