“From the coronovirus epidemic to the rise of right-wing extremism to ongoing electoral intervention, our attention is urgently needed,” Benny Thompson, a committee member of the Mississippi Democratic, said in a statement on Friday. “Mr. Wolf’s refusal to testify – leading to the development of Congress at this critical time – is troubling, especially in view of serious matters before the Department and the nation.”
CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
The witness list for next week’s hearing includes Wolf, FBI Director Christopher Ray and Christopher Miller of the National Counter-Terrorism Center.
The letter stated that SOPDS Cucanelli’s presence in the committee of Acting Secretary Wolf does not meet your requirements, we cooperate in finding a later date for the Acting Secretary to make himself available to the committee after his confirmation vote in the Senate can do. Added. The White House sent Wolf’s nomination to serve as full Homeland Security Secretary in the Senate on Thursday.
The Thompson committee is not the only one to take testimony from late-arriving department officials. Following the whistleblower report, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff will expand his committee’s investigation into the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis and conduct additional interviews with a slate of DHS officials.
Separately, the top Republican and Democrat Senate Intelligence Committee sent a letter to the same office stating that it is investigating the claims made by Murphy.
Zachri Cohen of CNN contributed to this report.
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