Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) criticized President Biden on Sunday for refusing to tell Congress the full depth of his scandal with secret information.
In a post-interview question on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan questioned Warner, the Senate Intelligence Committee’s chairman, on whether the Biden admin. had been forthcoming with information regarding Biden’s inappropriate retention of sensitive papers.
Warner, though, asserts that the White House is not being open.
Warner remarked, “We need additional details regarding these materials. More critically, we must ensure that the damage has been lessened by the intelligence community, and we are still in contact with the Justice Dept.”
Warner continued, “The administration’s position doesn’t really pass the smell test.”
The Democrat from Virginia hinted that lawmakers are ready to use “other weapons” to force Biden to provide the information they require regarding his controversy. One step Congress may take, Warner, threatened, is to impose budget restrictions.
“We have some new tools. We can set some spending limits. We’re having discussions with the Justice Department right now. Nevertheless, we must obtain those papers,” the senator continued.
After receiving an intelligence briefing about the issue involving the sensitive documents last month, a group of senators and representatives from both the Senate and the House ended up with more questions than answers.
Warner has previously threatened the contentious reauthorization of Part 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which gives the government the authority to conduct extensive warrantless monitoring on foreign persons but can also occasionally collect intelligence on Americans. If the Biden administration refuses to cooperate, Congress can limit government expenditures in addition to reauthorize the controversial program.
One of the few topics drawing bipartisan support in the hallways of Congress these days is the outrage over government officials’ lack of transparency on classified materials.
Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the leading member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, declared at the end of a recent meeting: “A special counsel can’t have veto power over Congress’ capacity to carry out its duties. There will be a solution for this somehow.”
