White House confirms US has intelligence on Russian anti-satellite capability

Washington (CNN) — The White House on Thursday confirmed that the national security threat flagged by the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee the previous day is related to “an anti-satellite capability that Russia is developing,” but sought to soothe concerns about the danger it presents to the United States.

Posted 7:26 p.m. Feb 15 — Updated 7:26 p.m. Feb 15

Kevin Liptak

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Michael Williams, CNN

CNN — Washington (CNN) — The White House on Thursday confirmed that the national security threat flagged by the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee the previous day is related to “an anti-satellite capability that Russia is developing,” but sought to soothe concerns about the danger it presents to the United States.

“This is not an active capability that’s been deployed,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday. “And though Russia’s pursuit of this particular capability is troubling there was no immediate threat to anyone’s safety.”

“We are not talking about a weapon that can be used to attack human beings or cause physical destruction here on Earth,” Kirby added.

Kirby’s comments came a day after the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, ignited a firestorm on Capitol Hill when he issued a cryptic statement announcing that the panel had “information concerning a serious national security threat.”

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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