WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Lawmakers are demanding accountability after being briefed on the leak of classified intelligence documents.
On Wednesday, both the Senate and the House got closed-door briefings about the classified U.S. military documents that were posted online, raising major concerns about national security.
“I certainly wasn’t satisfied with any plans they have in place to prevent this from happening in the future,” Sen. Marco Rubio said, following that briefing.
Last week, federal agents arrested and charged 21-year-old National Guard Airman Jack Teixeira for allegedly sharing classified documents on the social media site Discord.
Investigators are still trying to figure out how it happened and lawmakers are too.
“I was left with more questions than answers,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal said after the briefing.
Even with limited information about the leak, the lawmakers agree that it exposed deep flaws in how intelligence is handled.
“The damage assessment is going to go on for some time,” Rubio said. “Congress needs to be a part of it. We need to hold these agencies and the people who run them accountable.”
“Congress has to act to require more effective protection of the nation’s secrets,” Blumenthal said.
Intelligence Chair Sen. Mark Warner says it’s clear there needs to be changes across the complex range of issues that impact the security of intelligence information.
“From access to internal security controls to making sure how we really make sure continuous vetting in an internet-driven age actually can spot anomalies,” Warner said.
The lawmakers say intelligence officials are conducting a 45-day internal review of what went wrong and are planning to come back with proposed solutions.
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