Washington — Rep. Mike Turner, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that TikTok “remains a national security threat” despite President Trump’s effort to maintain access to the popular video-sharing app in recent days.
“Let’s be clear. Tiktok is absolutely a national security threat,” Turner said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
TikTok briefly shut down services in the U.S. last week facing a divestment deadline for its China-based parent company, ByteDance. But within hours, TikTok began restoring service to users when Mr. Trump vowed to intervene. And on Monday, the newly sworn-in president signed an executive order directing the Justice Department not to enforce the law, which the Supreme Court recently upheld, for 75 days.
Turner, an Ohio Republican, outlined the reasoning behind the law passed last year by Congress and signed by former President Joe Biden that gave ByteDance until Jan. 19 to divest or be cut off from U.S. app stores, saying that TikTok poses a national security risk on two fronts: “its access to data and its ability to use itself as a propaganda tool.”
CBS News
Turner argued that “the only thing that would protect the United States and protect our citizens is divestiture,” adding that “the law that is the law of the land says that ByteDance needs to divest itself.”
Meanwhile, reports have circulated in recent days that the president is working on a deal to save TikTok through its sale. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Saturday that “numerous people” are talking to him about buying TikTok, noting that he’ll make a decision over the next 30 days. The president previously sought to ban the app over national security concerns during his first term.
“If we can save TikTok I think it would be a good thing,” Mr. Trump said, adding that he has a “warm spot” for the app, citing his support among young people.
Asked Sunday about the possibility of the president reaching a deal, Turner said “we certainly hope that he gets a deal that recognizes the issue of national security.”
“There is no role in which they can remain active, in which China can have access to this data,” Turner added.
The comments come after Turner was ousted by House Speaker Mike Johnson as Intelligence Committee chairman earlier this month. Turner said at the time that the speaker fired him citing “concerns from Mar-a-Lago.” But Johnson has denied the claim. And on Sunday, the Ohio Republican said he’d been in touch with the president’s team and was informed “that was not the case.”
“The one thing that he has said is that he wanted to take the committee in a different direction,” Turner said, adding that he’s “a little concerned” that the new direction could include a focus on “the elusive Deep State” rather than national security.
