Acting Secretary Chad F. Wolf released the following statement regarding Chairman Thompson’s misrepresentation of threats in the HTA to the New York Times.
“Chairman Thompson has misrepresented the facts laid out in the Department’s recently released Homeland Threat Assessment (HTA). The HTA does not specifically identify a ‘top domestic threat to the Homeland.’ Instead, we address each unique threat stream with the most lethal and dangerous groups operating within those threat steams – from Domestic Violent Extremists to transnational criminal organizations. More importantly, the HTA does not state, in any way, that any groups are inspired by the President’s statements. That is a fabrication.
By distorting the HTA, Chairman Thompson has chosen to politicize this important assessment. I am disappointed with these comments as they disparage the career DHS officials who worked hard to create the nonpartisan assessment so that all Americans will have awareness of the significant threats facing the homeland.”