Senators Cotton and Crawford call for review of intelligence sharing with Spain over its dealings with Huawei

Republican senators Tom Cotton and Rick Crawford requested a review of intelligence sharing with Spain's intelligence and police services.

The request comes after news that the Spanish Interior Ministry awarded contracts worth more than $14 million to Huawei for surveillance systems, raising concerns about possible access to sensitive information in the US.

In a letter to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Senators Cotton and Crawford insisted that “until Spain follows suit” by removing Huawei technology, U.S. intelligence shared with Spain should be purged to prevent possible exposure to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

"Since the first Trump Administration, the United States has undertaken a whole-of-government effort to eliminate the threat that Huawei equipment poses to American networks, infrastructure and privacy. Until Spain follows suit, the U.S. Government should ensure that any information shared with the Spanish government is hidden from details that should not be shared with the CCP," the letter to Gabbard said.

"In essence, Huawei and the PCC could have covert access to the lawful interception system of a NATO ally nation, which would allow them to monitor Spanish investigations into CCP spies and countless other intelligence activities," the letter continues.

The notice was made Monday by Senator Rick Crawford via a note:

"Spain is playing with fire by putting its national security and that of its citizens at stake. By leveraging a known CCP operative to collect and store insurmountable amounts of sensitive data, Spain has made itself vulnerable to clear threats to the security and sovereignty not only of its own, but of allies around the world." the congressman stated.