Rep. Mike Turner says Biden admin was ‘sleepwalking’ on Russian nuclear threat before his surprise disclosure
Turner says Biden's 'inaction' could have led to 'an international crisis'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, says President Biden's administration was "sleepwalking" on Russia's nuclear threat before he disclosed it last week.
Turner notified all congressional lawmakers of Russian intentions to send nuclear weapons into space on Wednesday, and called on Biden to declassify information about the threat. He worried that the White House had been "sleepwalking into an international crisis."
"What I have called for is for the administration to declassify this, and my concern is that this is kind of like the Chinese spy balloon and the administration is kind of hiding perhaps, you know, some inaction," Turner told NBC News on Saturday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Everyone who’s looked at it uses the same language that I have – that it is a very serious threat," Turner added. "We met with [national security adviser] Jake Sullivan, and he began to lay out a plan that hopefully would begin to address this."
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner says President Biden's administration was "sleepwalking" on Russia's nuclear threat before he disclosed it last week. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Sullivan had expressed surprise at Turner's decision to sound the alarm last week, saying he had already scheduled a meeting with Turner and other members of the congressional Gang of Eight days ahead of time.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}US LAUNCHES MISSILE-DETECTING SATELLITES INTO ORBIT AS CONCERNS ABOUT RUSSIA IN SPACE GROW
"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," Sullivan said during a White House press briefing.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan expressed surprise at Turner's decision to sound the alarm last week, saying he ad already scheduled a meeting with Turner and other members of the congressional Gang of Eight days before. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Details of the Russian threat soon began to filter through to the press, painting a picture of an adversary capable of disabling U.S. military satellites and other critical space-based infrastructure.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HOUSE INTEL CHAIR TURNER WARNS OF 'SERIOUS NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT,' URGES BIDEN TO DECLASSIFY
Details of the Russian threat soon began to filter through to the press, painting a picture of an adversary capable of disabling U.S. military satellites and other critical space-based infrastructure. (Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)
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Sources told Fox News digital last week that the Russian technology has not yet been deployed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report