Speaker Johnson removes Rep. Turner as House Intelligence chairman
Washington — Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio was removed from his position atop the powerful House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, telling CBS News that House Speaker Mike Johnson fired him, citing “concerns from Mar-a-Lago.” Turner also confirmed Wednesday night that he had been removed from the committee entirely.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, denied that the decision came from President-elect Donald Trump.
“This is a House decision,” he said. “This is no slight whatever to our outgoing chairman.”
Johnson said he was “a Mike Turner fan” and “he did a great job” leading the committee that oversees the intelligence community, but added that the panel “needs a fresh start.”
“That’s what this is about, nothing else,” he said.
Johnson announced Thursday that Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas would replace Turner.
“Our intelligence community and its oversight must maintain the highest levels of trust,” Johnson said in a statement. “The House Intel Committee will play a pivotal role in this work in the new Congress, and Rick Crawford will provide principled leadership as its chairman. He has earned the respect of his colleagues through his years of faithful service on the committee and his steady approach to the challenges facing our country.”
In his own statement, Crawford said he would “aggressively uphold our mandate to provide credible and robust oversight of the Intelligence Community’s funding and activities.”
“Since joining the Committee in 2017, I have witnessed firsthand that abuse within our nation’s security apparatus has eroded trust in our institutions and compromised America’s ability to gather intelligence,” he said. “And now, more than ever, leaks and indiscretions by misguided intelligence staff can endanger Americans and hinder our ability to predict and prevent attacks.”
Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the committee, said Wednesday that the decision to remove Turner “sends a shiver down my spine.” He praised Turner’s leadership, saying he was confident in his abilities to conduct independent oversight of the intelligence agencies.
“He was not quick to bend the knee,” he said, calling Turner’s removal “a huge blow to our ability to do oversight.”
Turner did not directly address his removal in a statement issued by his office Wednesday.
“I’m very proud to have served on the House Intelligence Committee and as its chairman. There are great members on the Committee, and I’m honored to have served with them,” he said. “Under my leadership, we restored the integrity of the Committee and returned its mission to its core focus of national security. The threat from our adversaries is real and requires serious deliberations.”
Turner had previously received criticism from members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus over his defense of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Section 702 is a key but controversial national security surveillance tool in effect since 2008 that was extended by Congress and signed into law last April by President Biden for another two years.
Turner also had been an advocate for U.S. support of Ukraine in its war with Russia, putting him at odds with the ascendant MAGA wing of his party.
Last year, Johnson named two Trump loyalists to the committee, Rep. Scott Perry of California and Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas. At the time, Perry was under FBI investigation.
Margaret Brennan
Source: cbsnews.com