THOMPSON & RICHMOND TO TRUMP: Do Not Politicize Cyber Program to Shift Narrative on Classified Info
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA), Ranking Member of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee, sent a letter to President Trump demanding more information following a news story claiming that the White House is considering a ploy to distract from the President’s own careless handling of classified information by creating false narrative about the Department of Homeland Security’s Automated Indicator Sharing (AIS) program. AIS is a new cybersecurity information sharing program established through bipartisan legislation enacted in the 114th Congress. The AIS platform does not handle classified information.
Congressmen Thompson and Richmond released the following statement on the issue:
“We are deeply concerned by reports of plots within the White House to make false statements about a critical cybersecurity information sharing program in an effort to draw attention away from the President’s reckless decision to share classified information with Russian officials. Such a plan would be a craven and nonsensical – even for this Administration. This program, which does not share classified information, is the result of bipartisan legislation enacted after years of negotiation between privacy, security, and industry stakeholders in order to allow faster sharing of cyber threat information between the public and private sectors. If this President is serious about cybersecurity, as he has repeatedly claimed, he should support DHS in growing the AIS platform instead of defaming it in a self-serving attempt to change the news cycle.”
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Media contact: Adam Comis at (202) 225-9978
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