Ohio congressman warns of 'serious national security threat,' asks Biden to declassify info

The Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee warned of a "serious national security threat" that will be the subject of a meeting between President Joe Biden's top national security adviser and congressional leaders Thursday.

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, in an ominously worded statement Wednesday ahead of the meeting, asked Biden to "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.”

Turner, who did not disclose any further details, said his committee has made available information related to the threat to all members of Congress.

Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser, would not elaborate on the nature of the threat during a briefing with reporters but confirmed he took the "highly unusual" step of personally reaching out to the "Gang of Eight" members of Congress − including Turner − to invite them to a briefing Thursday.

"We'll have that conversation tomorrow," Sullivan said. "From there, we will determine how to proceed."

CNN, citing an anonymous U.S. official and two other sources, reported the security threat involves Russia, which is two years into its war in Ukraine.

The meeting will include only the four Democratic and Republican House leaders − House Speaker Mike Johnson, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Turner and Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., ranking member of the Intelligence Committee − because the Senate is out of session.

"We have confidence that we believe that we can and will and are protecting the national security of the United States and the American people," Sullivan said.

Johnson confirmed he will attend the meeting with Sullivan and told reporters he wants to "assure the American people there is no need for public alarm."

"We are going to work together to address this matter as we do all sensitive matters that are classified," Johnson said. "We just want to assure everyone steady hands are at the wheel. We're working on it and there's no need for alarm."

Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told USA TODAY the threat "warrants declassifying and I think it warrants all hands on deck to get knowledgeable about and be aware of it," declining to add specifics about whether it was an immediate threat or not.

Contributing: Ken Tran

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio congressman warns of a 'serious national security threat'