The following is a transcript of an interview with House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Mike Turner, Republican of Ohio, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Oct. 6, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Ohio Republican, Mike Turner. Good to have you back with us.
REP. MIKE TURNER: Thank you for having me on, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to get to the Middle East, but first on this issue of concern regarding political violence. Would you agree that language like what we just heard there is unhelpful?
REP. TURNER: Well, I think it certainly characterizes the reality that Donald Trump has had two attempts on his life. And I do think that there is work that needs to be done, both by the administration and by Vice President Harris. The administration has come out and publicly stated- Matt Olsen from the Department of Justice on CBS News acknowledged that there is an active, ongoing threat from Iran to kill, actively plotting, to kill Donald Trump. You’ve had no statements from the administration towards Iran as to what that would be, which would be an act of war, and you don’t have any statement from Vice President Harris condemning this or even recognizing that there’s an active plot from a foreign nation to kill her opponent. I think there’s certainly a role for her to play and for the President to play in this, in both identifying that there are threats against Donald Trump that need to be acknowledged and responded to, to deter. I think all the candidates need to de-escalate, certainly in their language.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But it is the Biden-Harris Justice Department, Matt Olsen works for them, who laid out those charges about the Iranian state. You don’t mean to imply here anything that would suggest Eric Trump’s allegations that Democrats are trying to kill him?
REP. TURNER: No, of course not. But I do think that Vice President Harris needs to actively state and acknowledge that her administration is saying a foreign power, which would be an act of war, is actively trying to kill her opponent. They have- this administration has made stronger statements–
MARGARET BRENNAN: — okay, that’s different–
REP. TURNER:– about Iran’s hacking activities than they have about the active plot to kill Donald Trump, which the administration acknowledges ongoing.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, because of the concern in regard to anti-government violence in this country and domestic violent extremists, the language specific to who is carrying this out, I think you would agree is important.
REP. TURNER: I absolutely agree that there needs to be a toning down of rhetoric on both sides, but there has to be an acknowledgement, which has not happened, from Vice President Harris that there’s active plots from a foreign nation to kill her opponent.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you want the FBI to release the results of its investigations prior to November 5, as Senator Rubio on Senate Intelligence has called for?
REP. TURNER: Its investigations into the assassination attempt?
MARGARET BRENNAN: The two assassination attempts at this point, which are not substantiated to have any ties to the state of Iran or to political actors at this time.
REP. TURNER: Well actually, it really can’t be said that they’re- saying that there have been no substantiated ties doesn’t mean that the investigation has concluded that there are no ties. And I want those investigations to- to come to a conclusion and determine whether or not either of these plots have any nexus or connection to the active plot the administration is saying that Iran is- is plotting in attempting to kill Donald Trump. Which, again, this administration needs to make clear to Iran that would be an act of war, and needs to have a very strong response from the administration
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, before the investigation is concluded, because it may not wind up before November the fifth, would you like the FBI to make public some of its findings, to rule out some of the conspiracy theories like we just heard from that stage that the political opposition is responsible?
REP. TURNER: I don’t think they’d be able to do that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You don’t think they would be able to?
REP. TURNER: I think they need to conclude and they need to get to truth. I don’t think they would be able to get to a point to release information that would conclusively indicate that either of those individuals acted completely alone.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to turn to the Middle East. You’ve already taken us there and talking about Iran specifically, but where we are right now is nearly exactly a year from that terrorist attack on October the seventh. You called that a huge intelligence failure from the Israelis when it happened. Given all that has happened in recent weeks, I wonder what you assess about Israeli intelligence now.
REP. TURNER: Well, the United States is working cooperatively with- with Israel in ways that we were not necessarily working prior to October 7 and- and I do think that- that Israel has changed its focus in its intelligence collecting and its assessments of its- of its intelligence. I mean, they certainly have risen to the occasion to understand that they’re in an active conflict and looking to ways- and to diminish the capabilities of their adversaries.
MARGARET BRENNAN: That nearest adversary at the moment appears to be the government of Iran. What should the 40,000 US troops that President Biden has deployed to the region be bracing for? Are you concerned that the United States will get drawn into this conflict if Israel carries out strikes on Iran.
REP. TURNER: Right, so this is another area where the administration has not risen to the occasion. President Biden said that the nuclear program of Iran is off the table. It should not be a valid military target by Israel and, or, the United States–
MARGARET BRENNAN:– Do you think it should be?–
REP. TURNER: — Absolutely. In fact, the President himself, President Biden, has previously said that the United States would not allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon, and that he would use military action if necessary. His own Secretary of State has said, more than two weeks ago that Iran’s breakout time to become a nuclear state was two weeks. So you have Iran now actively–
MARGARET BRENNAN: But it’s still not weaponizing. US intelligence has not said Iran has made the decision–
REP. TURNER: — They have not publicly stated the- the current status of the program, other than what Blinken has said that the breakout time was- was two weeks. The- looking to proportionality, where Biden says that Israel can only respond in proportion, is as if this administration says Iran can send 200 missiles into Israel, and as long as we have missile defense that takes them out, we won’t look at Iran’s provocation there trying to kill and destroy individuals and towns in Israel. That should be the response. The understanding should be that Iran has moved beyond their proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis to have direct attacks to Israel, and Israel needs to be able to defend itself, and Iran needs to pay a price.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the CENTCOM commander is currently in Israel, helping to advise some of the Israeli military. But just to be clear, the United States really only has the equipment that could take out the kind of underground facilities that are essential to the Iranian nuclear program. Are you advocating for the United States to be involved in offensive action?
REP. TURNER: I believe it’s completely irresponsible for the President to say that it is off the table when he’s previously said it’s on the table. For him to give Iran the comfort that their actions of attacking directly, Iran, will not have any consequences for their nuclear weapons program is irresponsible.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So not a yes or a no. But- but I want to ask you about something that’s happening in your district, because you have a vested interest in what’s happening in Springfield, Ohio. This is the town that’s gotten so much attention in the past few weeks because the Haitian migrant population there. Going all the way back to February, you’ve been sending letters asking for federal help. You’ve brought some of the local officials here to Washington to advocate how to deal with the strain of the population growth. Have you gotten the federal help you’ve asked for- for Springfield, Ohio?
REP. TURNER: No. You know, Mayor Rue has done an excellent job in Springfield, both in advocating and in trying to pull the community together. He’s come here. We’ve taken him to the federal agencies that have the type of funding that should be released for what is a federally created problem. The Biden administration, through expanding the parole program, I believe illegally, brought 500,000 people here from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and others. And 15,000 to 20,000 people settled in Springfield, Ohio. But then the administration did something even more shocking last week. They indicated that they were not going to extend, but the temporary protected status that these individuals have, which could result in their going into an illegal status, and Springfield would have, these individuals would not have, in any direct federal support, and the community would get no additional assistance as to how to handle this almost 10% of the population of the of the city that now would fall into an illegal status as a result of the administration terminating their protected status.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Which may happen in the coming year, so this could be an issue for the next president, whoever that President is. Congressman, thank you for explaining. Face the Nation will be back in a minute. Stay with us.