Asking for an update in December for materials related to the national order to ban Kaspersky products, U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith threatened to subpoena the Department of Homeland Security for documents related to the federal government's purge of products made by the Russian software firm.
The chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee Thursday demanded that DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen provide a comprehensive update on the agency's September directive banning the products, including a congressional briefing on the government's efforts to identify and remove the software, as well as copies of previously requested related documents and communications, according to a Feb. 2 Washington Times report.
Rep. Smith initially requested materials in December but last month was only provided a “partial” response mostly consisting of unrelated information, the congressman wrote. The DHS later told Smith's committee pending litigation prevented the agency from releasing additional documents involving the Kaspersky purge, to which Smith disagreed.
The committee chairman gave the department until a Feb. 8 deadline to provide the requested information before legal action is taken.
