Letter to John Kerry, Chuck Hagel, James Comey, John Brennan, Jacob Lew, Jeh Johnson, James Clapper - Olympics Security

Letter

U.S. Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and John McCain (R-AZ) are urging U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials to collaborate with domestic and international partners before and during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, next month. Ayotte and McCain, who serve together on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee, called for U.S. officials to exercise heightened vigilance and work with international partners to share information related to potential security threats to the Olympics.

"We ask that your agency or department provide us a timely assessment of the current collaboration and information sharing related to the Olympics within the U.S. government and with our foreign partners-including the Russian government," the Senators write in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, FBI Director James Comey, CIA Director John Brennan, Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

Following the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Ayotte and McCain questioned whether better intelligence sharing could have helped prevent the attack and called for a hearing to examine potential gaps that may exist in sharing intelligence information among agencies.

AYOTTE-MCCAIN OLYMPICS SECURITY LETTER:

The Honorable John F. Kerry
Secretary of State

The Honorable Chuck Hagel
Secretary of Defense

The Honorable James B. Comey
Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Honorable John O. Brennan
Director, Central Intelligence Agency

The Honorable Jacob J. Lew
Secretary of the Treasury

The Honorable Jeh C. Johnson
Secretary of Homeland Security

The Honorable James R. Clapper, Jr.
Director of National Intelligence

Dear Gentlemen,

Beginning on February 6, 2014, for more than two weeks, thousands of athletes and spectators will converge on Sochi, Russia, to celebrate the XXII Olympic Winter Games. During that time, the world's attention will focus on Sochi as it becomes the epicenter of international competition and camaraderie. Sadly, for that same reason, it is also a potential terrorist target and authorities are investigating specific threats.

As our nation learned from the events of September 11, 2001, and the twin bombings at the Boston Marathon in April 2013, the sharing of information domestically and internationally is critical to protecting Americans.

As members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee, we write to urge your agencies and departments to exercise heightened vigilance in the days leading up to the Olympics and throughout the duration of the competition. We also call on you to look for every opportunity to collaborate with your domestic and international partners to share all relevant information, create a better mutual understanding of the potential threat to the Olympics and the games' concomitant activities, and develop joint measures to counter the potential threat.

We ask that your agency or department provide us a timely assessment of the current collaboration and information sharing related to the Olympics within the U.S. government and with our foreign partners-including the Russian government.

We know you agree that we must undertake every effort to learn from past mistakes and do what is necessary to prevent terrorism and protect Americans.

Thank you for your service to our country.

Sincerely,

KELLY AYOTTE
United States Senator

JOHN MCCAIN
United States Senator

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