House Intelligence Committee Chair Warns Of "National Security Threat"

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, released an unusual statement Wednesday warning of a "serious national security threat" without providing additional details, pre-empting what the White House said was a planned briefing for congressional leaders.

"Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has made available to all Members of Congress information concerning a serious national security threat," Turner wrote in the statement.

Turner said he's requesting that President Joe Biden "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."

The statement didn't offer any additional details, including the nature of the threat. On Wednesday afternoon, House members began trickling in and out of the highly secure room in the basement of the Capitol, known as the SCIF, where the most sensitive, classified information is shared with lawmakers.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan addressed Turner's statement at a press briefing a short time later and suggested he was perplexed by the congressman's statement because they already had a briefing planned for Thursday. A U.S. official confirmed that the Thursday briefing is related to the threat highlighted by Turner.