Gabbard and intel officials testify at House hearing on threats to U.S.
Rep. Jim Himes, a Democrat from Connecticut, said “none” of the intelligence agencies represented at the hearing had issued a single report concluding that Iran “posed an imminent threat” to the United States.
Himes expressed his “deep admiration and appreciation” for the diligence, commitment and sacrifice of members of the intelligence community. But he expressed concerns about the direction of the intelligence community, saying Congress is not getting the warnings it needs about foreign interference in U.S. elections, and criticized the pivot toward immigration issues.
Regarding Iran, Himes said that “the Constitution, to which each of us swears, reserves decisions about war to the representatives of the people.” He asked why the United States was risking blood and treasure “in an extremely risky endeavor, an idea that the President of the United States and the Director of National Intelligence told us for years was a terrible idea.”
Himes said the president’s comment that Iran was preparing an imminent attack on the United States is “not true.”
“As horrible as the regime is and always has been, not one of your agencies has produced a single report claiming that Iran poses an imminent threat to the United States,” he said.
On Wednesday, Gabbard repeatedly said it was the president’s decision to decide what constitutes an imminent threat, not the intelligence community.
Himes also questioned the president’s comments that Iran would soon possess nuclear weapons. Himes said that claim was unsubstantiated. “And this is certainly belied by the repeated assertion that Iran’s nuclear capability was wiped out just a few months ago,” he said.
“Let’s consider the consequences, as Congress should have done,” he said. “Congress, not one man, should be asking whether our constituents in uniform will live or die. Congress, not one man, should be deciding whether Americans will spend an extra $30 a week to fill their gas tanks. Congress, not one man, should be asking whether it is wise to allow the Russians to sell their oil to India so that they will have millions of dollars to kill the Ukrainians we are now imploring to help us defend ourselves against the Iranian drones.”
