All articles tagged with #senate intelligence committee
A top Senate Democrat questions the Trump administration's unclear goals in Venezuela amid escalating pressure tactics, including military buildup and sanctions, with concerns about potential intervention and regime change.
Senators Mark Warner and Marco Rubio have labeled TikTok as a "national security issue" due to concerns about the app's data collection and potential manipulation by the Chinese Communist Party. They emphasized the threat posed by the app, particularly as a news source for American youth, and the access to data by the Chinese government. A House bill targeting TikTok's ownership and access to data is set for a vote, with President Biden indicating his support despite his recent presence on the app.
Highly sensitive intelligence materials related to Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election went missing at the end of the Trump administration and have not been recovered. The materials included raw intelligence that could reveal sources and methods and were of concern to U.S. intelligence officials. It is unclear whether the missing information was an official document or a compilation put together by Trump's allies. Trump had authorized the declassification of documents related to the Russia probe before leaving office, but it is unknown if the missing information was included. The former president is facing 40 felony counts for allegedly obstructing the government's efforts to retrieve documents.
A Republican-led investigation into the origins of Covid-19 has found additional circumstantial evidence supporting the theory that the virus likely escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, but did not find any "smoking gun" evidence to prove the theory. The report highlights evidence that Chinese government officials and relevant figures in the scientific community "possessed some level of awareness of an outbreak of infectious disease" well before that information was disclosed publicly on December 31, 2019. The report also notes that the Chinese government is standing in the way of efforts to identify the true origins of Covid-19.
The CIA has appointed a new director for the office that oversees sexual assault complaints and plans to form an internal task force that will seek advice from outside experts to improve how the agency handles sexual assault cases. This comes after lawmakers began investigating complaints that the CIA had mishandled sexual misconduct allegations. The Office of Inspector General for the CIA has initiated a “special review” of the matter. The CIA's announcement has been praised by lawmakers, but concerns remain about how to manage future criminal cases to ensure justice for victims while safeguarding national security secrets.
Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, stated that the FBI is "fully prepared" for any potential violence over former President Trump's potential indictment. While there have been no specific strains of violence, the level of rhetoric on some right-wing sites has increased. Trump has called for protests over his potential indictment, but top Republicans have discouraged protests or violence. Any violence this week would be "one further stain on [Trump's] already checkered reputation," said Warner.