House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) has reiterated a request from two months ago for the Secretary of DHS to turn over documents supporting the department’s ban of Kaspersky Lab software in federal agencies. He added that he will subpoena these materials if they aren’t shared voluntarily by February 8.
DHS officials apparently told committee staff that they were unable to produce additional documentation because of Kasperksy’s pending litigation over the ban, but Smith cited court cases that upheld congressional authority to review relevant executive branch documents, even those subject to third-party lawsuits.
The stated purpose of the request is to allow the committee to perform “its duty to identify shortcomings and areas for improvement”, in this case “to ensure that departments and agencies are taking appropriate steps to remove this risk” and “to ensure that Kaspersky products have been completely removed from federal systems”.