Sen. CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.) would back a congressional investigation into Saudi Arabia’s stake in Twitter if a government review body doesn’t open a probe first.

Murphy placed himself at the middle of this firestorm on Halloween by tweeting that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, should start a probe. “We should be concerned that the Saudis, who have a clear interest in repressing political speech and impacting U.S. politics, are now the second-largest owner of a major social media platform.” Saudi’s Kingdom Holding Company has had a large share in the social media site since 2011 and chose to roll over its ownership after ELON MUSK took over.

There’s widespread concern in Washington, mainly among Democrats, about what Riyadh can do with unfettered access to Twitter. Earlier this month, news broke of the Saudis sentencing a U.S. citizen to 16 years in prison for his tweets. And today the Associated Press reported that Riyadh surveils Saudis living or studying in the United States, including members of the royal family.

That’s all the more troubling after the Washington Post Tuesday revealed foreign investors could access “confidential information about Twitter’s finances — and potentially its users — under the terms of Elon Musk’s deal to acquire the social media site.”

Murphy pointed to Saudi Prince ALWALEED BIN TALAL’s initial criticism of Musk’s $44 billion offer back in April, implying he was offering too low of a price. Yet in May, Alwaleed reversed course after tweeting that he spoke with his “new” friend Musk. Murphy said this suggested that “there was a deal cut.”

“My belief is that the Saudis stay in because they've got a political agenda, and that political agenda is likely not to increase political speech on Twitter's platform,” Murphy told NatSec Daily in a Wednesday interview. “They believe they can use their influence inside Twitter to either repress speech that they don't like or potentially track their enemies.”

The close administration ally let the White House know he’d already appealed to CFIUS to start an investigation. But if the Treasury-led body doesn’t start a review, Murphy said he’d be “interested” in working with Sen. BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to conduct a probe on the Hill.

Furthermore, Murphy said it “makes sense for Congress to look at broader legislation more tightly regulating foreign ownership of social media platforms. That would be my interest, not specific Twitter legislation.”

NatSec Daily asked why Murphy was so passionate about this, despite his many years as a critic of Saudi Arabia. It’s because he doesn’t want Twitter to turn into a “hellscape” that permits “a free for all of foreign-funded propaganda,” he said, echoing Musk’s own words.

Murphy for the moment has no plans to quit Twitter, a site he uses often to make political points and reach out to constituents (or occasionally lament about the sorry state of the Red Sox). What he’ll do before reaching such a decision is “track how serious [Musk] is about protecting users’ information,” Murphy said.

  THE INBOX

NK SUPPLIES RUSSIA: North Korea is secretly supplying Russia with ammunition, attempting to disguise the shipments as deliveries to the Middle East and Africa, Matt reports.

"We're not talking dozens here; it's a significant number of artillery shells,” NSC spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Wednesday, noting that the support from North Korea highlights Russia’s lack of supplies.

In September, Pyongyang denied the charges of supplying Moscow with ammo and rockets. Kirby did not provide evidence to support the claims or detail other weapons in the shipment and refused to give an estimate on the exact amount. The shipments were first reported by CNN.

THEY KEEP COMIN’: North Korea launched more than 20 missiles on Wednesday, with at least one aimed toward its southern neighbor and landing near its sea border, prompting an air-raid alert, the Associated Press’ HYUNG-JIN KIM reports.

Shortly after, South Korea responded by firing its own missiles in the same border area. The tit-for-tat came hours after North Korea threatened to use nuclear weapons so the U.S. and South Korea “pay the most horrible price in history” for conducting joint military drills.

The authoritarian regime views the drills — the latest of which will continue through Friday — as practice for a potential invasion. But the White House has maintained that there’s no hostile intent toward North Korea and vowed to work with allies to prevent the northern adversary from using nuclear weapons.

RUSSIAN MILITARY LEADERS TALK NUKES: Russian military leaders recently discussed when and how the country might use a nuclear weapon, alarming Washington and its allies, The New York Times’ HELENE COOPER, JULIAN BARNES and ERIC SCHMITT report, citing multiple senior American officials.

Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN, who has sole authority over the use of nukes, was not involved in the conversations. In a speech last week, Putin said using such weapons in the war against Ukraine wouldn’t be necessary.

Instead, it was senior Russian military leaders that discussed the idea. This alarmed the Biden administration since the conversation shows how frustrated Russian generals have become with battlefield losses.

National Security Council spokesperson Kirby wouldn’t comment on “the particulars of this reporting,” but maintained the agency’s stance that “Russia’s comments about the potential use of nuclear weapons are deeply concerning, and we take them seriously.” So far, the NSC has seen no indications that Moscow is preparing to use nuclear weapons.

WITH THE GRAIN: Russian officials said the country has resumed its participation on Wednesday in the wartime grain deal it backed out of over the weekend, which threatened to exacerbate world hunger, Reuters’ ALI KUCUKGOCMEN and PAVEL POLITYUK report.

Kyiv sent written guarantees to not use the Black Sea grain corridor for military operations against Moscow, according to the Russian defense ministry. Russia’s involvement in the grain deal was halted after it accused Ukraine of attacking a fleet in the corridor.

IT’S WEDNESDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily. This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at award@politico.com and mberg@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter at @alexbward and @mattberg33.

While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @woodruffbets, @politicoryan, @PhelimKine, @BryanDBender, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @AndrewDesiderio, @magmill95, @ericgeller, @johnnysaks130 and @Lawrence_Ukenye.

  FLASHPOINTS

BORDER BARRIER: Polish soldiers are laying razor wine for a temporary barrier along the country's border with Kaliningrad to prepare for Russians trying to flood into Europe, Associated Press’ VANESSA GERA reports.

The decision came following Russia's decision to route flights from the Middle East and North Africa to Kaliningrad. Polish Defense Minister MARIUSZ BLASZCZAK authorized the construction of the barrier to "seal the border" for Poland to feel more secure.

Poland's efforts come as the country has accepted more than one million refugees following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

CEASEFIRE IN ETHIOPIA: The Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front agreed to a permanent cessation of hostilities on Wednesday, CNN's BETHLEHEM FELEK reports.

“The two parties in the Ethiopian conflict have formally agreed to the cessation of hostilities,” former Nigerian president OLUSEGUN OBASANJO said. “This moment is not the end of the peace process,” he added, “but the beginning of it.”

The agreement to halt fighting comes after both sides were engaged in extended peace talks which began last week and were extended into this past Monday in Pretoria, South Africa.

An African Union official will monitor the implementation of disarmament and ensure those affected by the conflict have access to humanitarian resources.

KEYSTROKES

NOT-SO-SMART PHONES: Attempts to steal credentials from U.S. government officials spiked in 2021, according to research released Wednesday, our friends over at Morning Cybersecurity (for Pros!) report.

When the pandemic forced local, state and federal government agencies to support remote work, public officials began conducting more work on their personal phones, which they often failed to update, according to researchers from cybersecurity firm Lookout.

As a result, government agencies across all levels saw a 55 percent increase in the use of unmanaged mobile devices — which are easier for hackers to compromise — from 2020 to 2021, write the researchers.

THE COMPLEX

SIGAR VS BIDEN ADMIN: The special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction has a bone to pick with the Biden administration. The latest SIGAR report dings the administration, particularly USAID and the Treasury Department, for refusing to cooperate in its investigation of how more than $1.1 billion in assistance the U.S. government provided to support the Afghan people since the Taliban takeover in August 2021 was used.

“SIGAR, for the first time in its history, is unable this quarter to provide Congress and the American people with a full accounting of this U.S. government spending due to the non-cooperation of U.S. agencies,” according to the report, released Wednesday.

But the State Department sees it differently. Except for certain specific funds, SIGAR’s statutory mandate is limited to funds available “for the reconstruction of Afghanistan,” a State Department spokesperson told LARA SELIGMAN. The United States, of course, stopped providing assistance for the purpose of that reconstruction last August.

“Nonetheless, State and USAID have provided SIGAR written responses to dozens of questions, as well as thousands of pages of responsive documents, analyses and spreadsheets describing dozens of programs that were part of the U.S. government’s reconstruction effort in Afghanistan,” the spokesperson said on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive internal issue.

As for the $1.1 billion — that money includes nearly $812 million from USAID and nearly $320 million from the State Department, according to a Sept. 23 USAID statement. The aid is aimed at Afghans inside the country and those who have fled to neighboring countries for “food and cash support, nutrition, healthcare, protection for women and children, and agricultural inputs.”

VAMPIRES ARE HERE: The U.S. expects to send the first VAMPIRE counter-drone systems to Ukraine by mid-2023, our friends over at Morning Defense (for Pros!) report.

It’s the first update on the systems since the U.S. pledged to send it in August. VAMPIRE, L3Harris’ Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment, can be installed on a flatbed truck or in a fixed position and launches laser-guided munitions at low-flying drones or ground targets.

  ON THE HILL

SECRET MONEY: Lawmakers allocated $24.1 billion in fiscal 2022 for intelligence programs under the Pentagon, the Defense Department announced on Tuesday, Morning Defense also reports.

The disclosure came after the department concluded that “releasing this top-line figure does not jeopardize any classified activities.” But releasing more than that might not be in its best interest apparently, considering the Pentagon didn’t break down how the money was spent.

The number is a slight increase from the $23.3 billion requested in the fiscal 2022 budget and the $23.3 billion appropriated for fiscal 2021.

BROADSIDES

LAST DITCH EFFORT: The United Arab Emirates sent a senior official to Riyadh in September in an effort to urge Saudi Arabia's crown prince MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN against pushing for OPEC+ to cut oil production, The Wall Street Journal's SUMMER SAID and DION NISSENBAUM report.

The UAE feared that the oil slashes would anger the U.S. and portray OPEC+ as Russian allies working to undercut American efforts to rally NATO allies amid soaring energy prices. The crown prince was ultimately unmoved and led the energy body to limit oil production.

The move rocked Washington with Democratic lawmakers calling for a reevaluation of U.S. relations with the kingdom, with an emphasis on halting future American arms sales.

VYING FOR INFLUENCE: U.S. and European officials have closely watched Putin’s allies who’ve expressed frustration with the country’s war in Ukraine to monitor developments that could signal potential changes within the Kremlin's power structure, CNN reports.

YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN, head of the Wagner Group paramilitary organization, has confronted Putin directly about Russia's ongoing struggles in Ukraine. U.S. officials thought the encounter was so significant that it was included in one of President JOE BIDEN’S daily briefings.

Intelligence leaders are paying close attention to whether Putin is responsive to the criticism and what lies ahead for the future of Russian Defense Minister SERGEI SHOIGU, who may be on thin ice as Prigozhin continues to highlight the military’s shortcomings on the battlefield.

  TRANSITIONS

— BEN ARNETT has started at SAIC as a program acquisition budget analyst and finance lead. He was previously a senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton.

WHAT TO READ

— YANGHEE LEE, The Washington Post: The United Nations is Failing the People of Myanmar

— SARAH KOMAR, New Lines Magazine: U.S. Army Confronts Mental Health Problems

— CHARLES KUPCHAN, The New York Times: It’s Time to Bring Russia and Ukraine to the Negotiating Table

TOMORROW TODAY

— Defense Strategies Institute, 8:45 a.m.: “Assured Microelectronics Summit”

— National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, 9 a.m.:"Arab-U.S. Uncertainties and Constants: What Lies Ahead?"

— The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 9:30 a.m.:"The Capital Cable #58: U.S.-ROK Defense Cooperation"

— United Nations Institute for Disarmament Reteach, 10:30 a.m.:"Means of Delivery: A Complex and Evolving Issue in the Middle East WMD-Free Zone Initiative."

— The United States Institute of Peace, 11 a.m.:"Putin's Shifting Approach to Conflict and the War in Ukraine."

— The Atlantic Council, 3:30 p.m.:"Power projection: Accelerating the electrification of US military ground vehicles"

Have a natsec-centric event coming up? Transitioning to a new defense-adjacent or foreign policy-focused gig? Shoot me an email at award@politico.com to be featured in the next edition of the newsletter.

Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who wants a review into our leadership of the newsletter.

And we thank our producer, Kierra Frazier, who would survive a congressional probe unscathed.