--- title: Sochi Olympic Games Terrorist Threat Still Severe, Say Lawmakers description: Republican congressional leaders aired concerns about security at the Winter Olympics on Sunday morning, opening up the day's talk show cycle with warnings about safety... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7179251/sochi-security-congressmen/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-02-09T17:23:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-18T06:04:44.805Z article:section: Politics og:title: Sochi Olympic Games Terrorist Threat Still Severe, Say Lawmakers og:description: Republican congressional leaders aired concerns about security at the Winter Olympics on Sunday morning, opening up the day's talk show cycle with warnings about safety... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7179251/sochi-security-congressmen/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt745ab845a9bdb592/698a9c90b3fce367e70d42f5/sochisecurity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4040 og:image:height: 2273 og:image:alt: 2014 Winter Olympic Games - Opening Ceremony og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sochi Olympic Games Terrorist Threat Still Severe, Say Lawmakers twitter:description: Republican congressional leaders aired concerns about security at the Winter Olympics on Sunday morning, opening up the day's talk show cycle with warnings about safety... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt745ab845a9bdb592/698a9c90b3fce367e70d42f5/sochisecurity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) # Lawmakers Warn Of Terror Threat At Sochi > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Feb 9, 2014 5:23 PM UTC  SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 07: Security forces patrol the Olympic Park prior to the start of the Opening Ceremonies of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Fisht Olympic Stadium on February 7, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 07: Security forces patrol the Olympic Park prior to the start of the Opening Ceremonies of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Fisht Olympic Stadium on February 7, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) Getty Images—2014 Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Feb 9, 2014 5:23 PM UTC Republican congressional leaders aired concerns about security at the Winter Olympics on Sunday morning, opening up the day’s talk show cycle with warnings about safety in Sochi as athletes there finished their second day of competition. “I’ve never seen a greater threat in my lifetime,” said Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Tex.) on _Fox News Sunday_ of the Olympic games. In December, [terrorists detonated two bombs](http://world.time.com/2013/12/30/ghosts-of-munich-haunt-sochi-olympics-in-wake-of-russia-bombings/) a few hundred miles from Sochi in Volgograd, Russia, killing dozens. “We’ve already had two suicide bombers go off outside the Olympic Village,” McCaul said. McCaul, who is the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, continued: “What poses the greatest threat, in my opinion, is the proximity and the location of where these games are being held… It’s a whole new ball game, makes these Olympics very very different… I think there’s a high degree of probability that something will detonate, something will go off.” There have been a host of security alerts at Sochi, and militant Islamists seeking to carve a religious state out of southern Russia have promised to attack the Olympic games. Russian President Vladimir Putin has responded by [spending](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2164224-2,00.html) $2 billion in security at the games and deploying 40,000 troops around Sochi. [MAGAZINE: Sochi’s Sixth Ring](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2164224,00.html) Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) praised Russia’s extensive security measures at the Sochi games. “The guards, gates and guns portion of this is unparalleled for an Olympic Games,” he said on ABC’s _This Week_.Security in Sochi “as good as I’ve seen it.” But he said terrorists still had the capability to strike the Games — not necessarily attacking Olympic venue, but staging a “disruptive event” nearby. “They’re going to find the weakest point they can find,” he said. There have not been any attacks since the games began, and no immediate security threats. But Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) warned that officials shouldn’t be less vigilant until the games are over on Feb. 23\. “So far, so good,” the chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence said on CBS’s _Face the Nation_. “Still, I believe it’s a dangerous situation… The worst thing that we can do in any way is anyone let their guard down.” _More: Airlines Warned Of Possible Toothpaste Tube Bombs Ahead Of Olympics_ videoid=3161157606001 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7179251/sochi-security-congressmen/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7179251/sochi-security-congressmen/"},"headline":"Lawmakers Warn Of Terror Threat At Sochi","datePublished":"2014-02-09T17:23:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-18T06:04:44.805Z","description":"Republican congressional leaders aired concerns about security at the Winter Olympics on Sunday morning, opening up the day's talk show cycle with warnings about safety...","url":"https://time.com/archive/7179251/sochi-security-congressmen/","keywords":["Congress","olympics","Sochi","Security"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt745ab845a9bdb592/698a9c90b3fce367e70d42f5/sochisecurity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt745ab845a9bdb592/698a9c90b3fce367e70d42f5/sochisecurity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2014 Winter Olympic Games - Opening Ceremony","caption":"2014 Winter Olympic Games - Opening Ceremony","creditText":"Getty Images—2014 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7179251/sochi-security-congressmen/","name":"Lawmakers Warn Of Terror Threat At Sochi"}}]}] ```