Yesterday started with a real doozy of a statement from the Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Congressman Mike Turner, who put out a statement warning about a “serious national security threat” without giving any actual details. If it seemed alarming and unusual at the time, it’s because it was. This is not something members of Congress, or anyone with classified national intelligence information, ever really does.
Turner released information about this “serious national security threat” to all the members of Congress, and then called on President Biden to declassify the information. Practically speaking, that meant congressmembers were shuffling in and out of a secure room in a basement on Capitol Hill — a SCIF — all day, as they learned about whatever this threat is, after which they issued winking, cryptic statements like these:
“It’s a serious issue, but it’s not going to ruin your Thursday.” (Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn.)
And “I can confirm it says what we all know: that there is no intelligent life in Congress.” (Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.).
White House officials told NBC News that the matter in question was indeed “serious,” but that there were ways to contain this threat without, ahem, triggering mass panic.
Later in the day, the New York Times and ABC News reported that the threat cited by Turner is the attempted development of a space-based, anti-satellite nuclear weapon in Russia. And while we don’t know any more than that, the fact that it is a Russian threat, and that a Republican in Congress is the one sounding the alarm … feels significant. Particularly this week.
Just this past Saturday, the Republican frontrunner and de facto leader of the GOP weighed in on American alliances overseas: “NATO was busted until I came along. I said, ‘Everybody’s gonna pay.’ They said, ‘Well, if we don’t pay are you still going to protect us?’ I said, ‘Absolutely not.’”
He continued: “[The NATO countries said], ‘If we don’t pay and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’ I said, ‘You didn’t pay, you’re delinquent. Let’s say that happened. No, I would not protect you.‘”
And then he went one step further, adding he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want.”
That is what Donald Trump is telling Russia to do to America’s allies: whatever the hell Russia wants.
And those statements this past Saturday did not happen in a vacuum.
Days earlier, former Fox News host and current conservative pied piper Tucker Carlson traveled to Russia and interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin. Or rather, Tucker Carlson traveled to Russia to get a lecture from Russian President Vladimir Putin. For two very long and televised hours, Putin hardly let Mr. Carlson get a word in edgewise.
Instead, Putin offered his version of a Russian history lesson, one that left Carlson apparently convinced of Russia’s “sincerity” in its attempted seizure of an independent country. “Vladimir Putin believes that Russia has a historic claim to parts of western Ukraine,” Carlson announced to his viewers. “So our opinion would be to view it in that light: as a sincere expression of what he thinks.”
Those “sincere” thoughts from Putin went well beyond merely claiming Ukraine as Russian territory. They also pointed toward something even more alarming: how Putin views the rest of Europe— and in particular, America’s NATO ally Poland.
“Before World War II, Poland collaborated with Hitler, although it did not yield to Hitler’s demands,” Putin offered. “The Poles [did not give] the Danzig Corridor to Germany and went too far … pushing Hitler to start World War II by attacking them.”
You could be forgiven for forgetting that Hitler was forced to invade Poland because Poland was stubborn and wouldn’t simply surrender, because … that is not what actually happened. It is terrifying Nazi revisionism coming from a powerful authoritarian who happens to be engaged in a bloody invasion of a sovereign country. The kind of thing that should make people particularly concerned about Putin’s agenda, if they weren’t already.
That interview was released Thursday. And Donald Trump’s reaction on Saturday was to say, “I would encourage [Russia] to do whatever the hell they want.”
And the response of the Republican party — the party of Russia hawks — was largely stuff like this:
“Donald Trump is not a member of the Council of Foreign Relations. He doesn’t talk like a traditional politician, and we’ve already been through this. You would think people would’ve figured it out by now.” (Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.).
“Yeah, I just encourage people not to overreact. I’ve learned a long time ago not to overreact to what President Trump says or what he tweets. I think that people should take everything he says seriously, but not literally.” (Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas).
The Republican position has gotten so extreme that calling out the threat posed by a nuclear-armed authoritarian with Nazi sympathies feels like some kind of rebellion.
“Well, I take what everything President Trump seriously, but I don’t take everything he says literally.” (Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.)
Other Republicans went even further, actually embracing Trump’s sentiment.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., explained, “The point here is to — in [Trump’s] way — to get people to pay.”
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., offered that, “Trump is simply ringing the warning bell” for our allies.
That is where the Republican party is on Russia right now. It’s either “See no evil, hear no evil” or “Threaten our allies to cough up some cash, or throw them to Russia.”
That’s the party line.
So while we still do not exactly know the nature of this mystery threat that the Republican Chair of the House Intelligence Committee has been warning everyone about, the fact that it is a Russian threat and that he — a Republican — is the one flagging it is significant. Not because Mike Turner might singlehandedly change the Republican position on Russia (and Ukraine) here, but because the Republican position has gotten so extreme that calling out the threat posed by a nuclear-armed authoritarian with Nazi sympathies feels like some kind of rebellion against Republican party orthodoxy.
This is an adapted excerpt from the February 15 episode of “Alex Wagner Tonight.”
Alex Wagner
Alex Wagner is the host of "Alex Wagner Tonight," which airs Tuesday through Friday at 9 p.m. ET on MSNBC.
Sam Henneberry
Producer, The Briefing with Jen Psaki