US intelligence committee chairman made claim about "serious" national security threat to pressure Congress to fund Ukraine aid – NYT

The chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee, Mike Turner, made a statement about an urgent threat to US national security, in part to put pressure on congressmen to consider a request for additional funding for Ukraine.

Source: The New York Times (NYT); European Pravda

Details: The NYT reported that some officials believe that Turner might have made more of the new intelligence information public than would normally be done, to create pressure for the House to take up the supplemental funding request for Ukraine that the Senate passed this week.

According to the NYT, Turner is a staunch supporter of Ukraine and has recently visited Kyiv.

Shortly after Turner’s announcement, Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser declined to address a reporter’s question about the substance of Turner’s announcement, saying only that he was set to meet with the chairman on Thursday, 15 February.

"We scheduled a briefing for the House members of the Gang of Eight tomorrow," said Sullivan, referring to a group of congressional leaders from both parties. "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 for me to go sit with him alongside our intelligence and defence professionals tomorrow."

Background: 

• On Wednesday, 14 February, CNN reported that the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Representative Mike Turner of Ohio, "ignited a firestorm on Capitol Hill when he issued a cryptic statement announcing that the panel had ‘information concerning a serious national security threat’."
• Two sources familiar with deliberations on Capitol Hill told ABC News the intelligence had to do with Russia wanting to put a nuclear weapon into space.

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