A warning in the US Congress about a “serious national security threat” causes concern in Washington

The president of the intelligence committee of the House of Representatives, Mike Turner, issued a statement this Wednesday that was as cryptic as it was disturbing, and that has spread concern in Washington: his commission has communicated to legislators in Congress information about a “threat of serious national security”, without specifying its nature.

American media assure that the issue is related to Russia.

Turner has called for all information related to the case to be declassified, so “we can openly address the actions necessary to respond to this threat”, while other MPs have warned that it is not necessary to lose calm.

In a press conference at the White House to discuss aid funds for Ukraine, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan noted that he had already scheduled a meeting on Thursday with Turner and other senior intelligence officials in Congress. in which the matter will be addressed.

“It had been scheduled for some time, so I am surprised that the president of the committee has raised the issue in public before a meeting with me, with those responsible for Defense and Intelligence,” he commented.

Several US media outlets claim that the intelligence has to do with Russia's interest in placing a nuclear weapon in space.

According to the ABC television network, the idea would not be to attack the Earth from there, but rather to use it against artificial satellites.

“It is something very worrying and very sensitive,” said one of its sources.

The

New York Times

points out that this technology “is still under development and Russia has not deployed it.

Therefore, it represents an urgent threat against the United States, Ukraine or the United States' European allies.”

“I request that President Biden declassify all information related to this threat, so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly address the actions necessary to respond to this threat,” said Turner, who has not provided any further information.

The statement from the chairman of the intelligence committee comes as the American political world is immersed in an intense debate about how to respond to the threat posed by rivals such as Russia and other authoritarian countries.

Former President Donald Trump, the foreseeable Republican presidential candidate in the November elections, defends an isolationist policy and last weekend pointed out that he would disregard the obligation of mutual aid, the principle on which NATO is based, if Russia attacks any of the member countries that do not spend 2% of their GDP on Defense.

Trump has also declared himself against all foreign aid other than loans.

In contrast, US President Joe Biden has described Biden's statements as “stupid” and “dangerous.”

The Democrat defends the global involvement of the United States as necessary for the national security of the world's leading economy.

And part of that involvement involves maintaining economic and military aid to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.

His Administration calls on the House of Representatives to approve the bill for $95 billion in assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that received approval from the Senate on Tuesday;

He argues that a defeat for kyiv would encourage Moscow to further aggression against American allied countries.

In a joint statement, the highest-ranking Democratic and Republican senators on the House Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner and Marco Rubio, respectively, have indicated that their committee has access to the intelligence data that Turner and who have followed the events “rigorously”.

Like other legislators, they have called for calm and caution.

“We continue to treat this matter seriously and are discussing the appropriate response with the Administration.

In the meantime, we must be careful about the possibility of disclosing sources and methods that may be key to protecting a series of options for US action,” indicate Warner and Rubio.

The Reuters agency, which cites a source familiar with the matter, reveals that both senators were informed about the threat two weeks ago.

The ranking Democratic legislator on the House Intelligence Committee, Jim Himes, has pointed out that the allegations raised in Turner's statement are significant "but not a cause for panic."

“As to whether the matter can be declassified, it is a debate worth having, but not in public,” he adds.

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