THE HILL
A House Republican is calling for an inquiry into House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio), saying his vague call to declassify a national security threat was done with “reckless disregard.”
Turner on Wednesday called on President Biden to declassify intelligence on a “serious national security threat,” writing it was needed “so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat.”
But Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) on Thursday accused Turner of having ulterior motives, citing the battle over both funding for Ukraine and a bill to reauthorize the nation’s warrantless spy powers — each of which has raised some Republican opposition.
“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, and the well-being and psyche of the American people,” Ogles wrote in a letter first reported by Punchbowl.
“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 (FISA.) This act constituted poor judgment at a minimum and a complete breach of trust influenced by the pursuit of a political agenda at the maximum.”
Turner’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But the chair has become increasingly isolated in his quest to release the information, which reporting indicates relates to Russian nuclear capacities in space, as directed toward American satellites.
Several other leaders in Congress stressed that while alarming, the information Turner was referring to did not require immediate action and said no threat was imminent…
