Burr to Asheville group: 'On cusp' of chemical, 'possibly' nuclear weapons used in Ukraine
ASHEVILLE - Senate Intelligence Committee member Richard Burr, in an alarming assessment to a local business group, said Russia is close to using chemical, biological or "possibly" nuclear weapons in its war with Ukraine.
"This would be a game changer relative to the region," Burr said in a March 24 Zoom meeting with the Asheville Council of Independent Business owners. "It would have a devastating impact — either would have devastating impact on the economies of the world."
Along with Ukraine, Burr talked about an upcoming private meeting with Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, downplayed dire economic forecasts and predicted a Whitehouse greenlight for another COVID-19 booster.
A three-term member of Congress' upper chamber, Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican is not running for reelection. In addition to intelligence, he is a ranking member on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, as well as the aging and finance committees.
More: Roll call: Here's how WNC's members of Congress voted the week of Feb. 11-17
Burr stepped aside as intelligence chair after a 2020 federal investigation into whether he illegally used congressional coronavirus briefings information for a $1.7 million stock sale before the pandemic hit. In 2021, his attorneys said Justice Department officials told them there would be no charges.
On Ukraine, Burr said, "I hope the NATO leaders today are deciding what the red lines in the sand are because I truly believe that we're on the cusp of either chemical/biological weapons being used in Ukraine, or potentially nuclear weapons."
Asked by CIBO Past President John Carroll what might trigger use of the weapons, Burr said "I wish I knew. Before this I would have told you a crazy dictator, but now I think we have one of those," he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Burr said Putin was facing severe setbacks in the form of stiff Ukrainian resistance, as well as widespread Russian protests, a military whose funding appeared to have been siphoned off through corruption and exhausted and hungry Russian soldiers who were surprised by their order to invade.
Burr did not state whether he supported the transfer of Polish fighter jets to Ukraine, but has criticized what he said was as sudden reversal by President Joe Biden in the decision not to facilitate the transfer because of fears it would escalate the conflict.
A Citizen Times question submitted to Carroll about the jets was not asked.
Western North Carolina's representative in the U.S. House, Madison Cawthorn, said on March 19 he currently opposed the transfer of the planes but might be open later to the possibility. The Republican Cawthorn has drawn international criticism for his characterization of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a "thug."
More: Cawthorn on Polish MiGs, revisits Zelensky 'thug' comment
More: Asheville's quiet Ukrainian community comes forward in fear, anger, prayer
Burr offered a strikingly different assessment of Zelensky, saying officials had been waiting to see if he would be like Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, who quickly fled before the 2021 Taliban takeover — or like Britain's former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, credited for leading his country through the depths of World War II. Burr told the CIBO meeting attendees Zelensky had been "Churchill plus."
"It's been Zelensky, who has pulled the spirit of the Ukrainian people out to where I think if they get down to knives and broomsticks, you're going see them in the streets battling with those."
Supreme Court nominee, 'depression'
Asked whether he would vote to confirm Jackson, who would be the first Black woman on the nation's highest court, Burr said he would review video of the hearings, which he had not been able to watch live, and meet with Jackson next week in a private session.
"I will tell you the number one thing on my list is, is she in favor of enlarging the court?" he said.
Jackson declined to answer that question during March 23 hearings. Burr said he opposed the idea of adding justices, something suggested by some on the left frustrated with Republicans blocking President Barack Obama from making a 2016 nominee to an open Supreme Court seat.
Brown is expected to be confirmed with support from all Democrats and potentially some Republicans.
Other highlights
Inflation
Burr said he believed the U.S. economy, which is seeing inflation of around 7% — and higher in WNC — would strengthen. That is because of consumers desire to s spend, as evidenced by a backlog of orders and the Federal Reserve's resolve to tamp down inflation using what Burr said would be up to six interest rate increases this year.
He said his confidence was boosted by a recent conversation with Fed Chair Jerome Powell and that believed there was a way to cut inflation "and not have what some have referred to lately — the talking heads — a depression."
Booster
Asked about the potential for the authorization of another booster, Burr said he believed the Whitehouse would back another shot for those 65 years and older "in the next few weeks."
But he said Biden and Donald Trump administrations, he said, "lost of the trust of the American people on vaccinations" and that the new focus should be on therapeutics to quickly treat those who are infected.
Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Senate Intelligence: Russia may 'possibly' use nuclear arms in Ukraine
