Senators frustrated by classified briefing on Pentagon leaks

Senators from both parties voiced their displeasure after receiving classified briefings on the Pentagon Wednesday afternoon intelligence leak and the fall out.

Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), a member of the Homeland Security Committee, told reporters after exiting the Capitol basement where senators were being briefed. Dozens of classified Pentagon documents leaked online.

Senator Lindsey Graham used sharper language when asked about the briefing.

“It’s just — it’s a show,” he said.

“I didn’t get a very good explanation of how this could happen,” he added.

Wednesday’s briefing included Director of National Intelligence Avril Haynes, the Senate aide said. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. Ronald Moultrie Undersecretary of Defense for Information Security. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Christopher Grady, Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

Wednesday’s briefing was scheduled before federal officials arrested Massachusetts Air National Guard officer Jack Teixeira said in connection with last week’s investigation that Confidential documents leaked on the Internet.

Categorized Pentagon document first published online Last month it revealed details of the US spying on Russia’s war machine Ukrainesecret assessments of Ukraine’s combat power, and intelligence gathering on US allies, including South Korea and Israel.

NBC News has obtained over 50 leaked documents. Many were classified as “top secret,” the highest level of classification.

In an interview prior to the briefing, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va. told NBC News He hoped to get answers about when intelligence agencies discovered the documents had been leaked, along with details about when the documents began appearing on the internet.

Some of Warner’s Democratic colleagues said the briefing did not meet their expectations.

“I’m still very frustrated and unsatisfied,” Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat in the Department of Homeland Security, told reporters. “My impression from that conference is that too many people have access to too much information without safeguards and guardrails.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DNY.

Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville added that administration officials were “very concerned about what happened and they are working on it.”

Several lawmakers said the leak had created a need to consider reforms that could prevent future information leaks to the public.

“I think we need to take a long-term view, yes,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, DN.H. I think we need more information than we have now. ”

When asked if access to classified information should be restricted, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz replied, “I think there’s a very good case for that.”

Wednesday’s briefing wasn’t the first time senators have expressed indignation after a closed-door meeting with Haynes.

January, Member of Parliament express concern After Haynes refused to show them copies of classified documents found at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and Joe Biden’s former Washington office and home in Delaware, thousands of classified documents over the government’s system for labeling and tracking. started accessing those documents.