House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) stated over the weekend that the Biden-Harris administration has failed to take any action after the Islamic Republic of Iran initiated a plan to assassinate Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
During a Sunday interview on CBS News’ “Face The Nation” with Margaret Brennan, Turner called on the administration to demonstrate strength by responding to what he described as an “act of war.”
Brennan highlighted that Iran is actively trying to influence the election by hacking the Trump campaign, engaging in online disinformation efforts, and working on plots to assassinate the former president.
“I think what’s missing here is a response from the administration,” Turner said. “You have Microsoft coming forward and saying that the Trump campaign had been hacked. The administration, the Biden administration, had identified that Iran was attempting to do this, including spinning misinformation. But, even further, the administration has acknowledged that Iran had – was executing a plan to assassinate Donald Trump, even alleging that an individual they have in possession was part of that plot. Yet you don’t really have a response from the administration. Most national security experts resoundingly agree that killing a presidential candidate would be an act of war from a foreign power. Well, certainly, attempting … does at least require a response.”
House Intelligence Chair @RepMikeTurner calls for the Biden administration to issue clear "red lines" on Iran's actions, after its alleged interference in the 2024 election and a plot to kill Donald Trump, which led to the arrest of a Pakistani national: "This is not a law… pic.twitter.com/OxK7M5CBQ3
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) August 18, 2024
The GOP lawmaker insisted that the Biden-Harris administration has not drawn any redlines with Iran.
“The administration is – both on the hacking side, on the misinformation side, and on the alleged attempt on Donald Trump’s life, is not holding Iran accountable,” the lawmaker said. “This is not a law enforcement issue, right? This is not a law enforcement issue. This is a nation-state that the administration has identified as having executed a plot to try to assassinate Donald Trump and is undertaking misinformation and election interference, including hacking. “This requires a response to the administration.”
Turner, who has access to classified intelligence regarding U.S. actions on issues like this, stated that the administration has provided no response to deter further aggression from Iran.
“You have to start with a statement by the administration. And then also you could go to, there need to be statements of red lines and understanding of what actions would occur,” he said. “And then there does need to be action. I think the administration needs to look at what is their response going to be, now that they’re openly saying that they have in custody an individual they allege was part of an Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump.”
When Trump was the President we were respected on the world stage.
Russia didn’t invade Ukraine.
The Taliban didn’t replace the Taliban.
Iran didn’t have enough money to support terror attacks in Israel.
Imagine the horror. pic.twitter.com/rczKaOZNrj
— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) August 17, 2024