FBI Director Kash Patel criticized what he called the Biden administration’s “emblematic failure” following the Nov. 26 shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., during an appearance on “The Ingraham Angle.”
On Tuesday, the Justice Department formally charged Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal with four counts, including murder.
“The problem with this case shows the emblematic failure of the Biden administration to vet anyone who came here from Afghanistan after the disastrous withdrawal,” Patel told the host.
One of the victims, 24-year-old U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe of the West Virginia National Guard, remains hospitalized. The second victim, 20-year-old U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, also of the West Virginia Guard, died from her injuries.
The Justice Department said Lakanwal is currently hospitalized and under guard. A D.C. Superior Court judge ordered that he be held without bond, Fox noted.
The Biden administration is being criticized for insufficient vetting of Afghan refugees following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
According to Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General report from Sept. 6, 2022, “U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the [Afghan] evacuees.”
Patel told Ingraham, meanwhile, that the FBI is continuing to investigate when and how Lakanwal became “radicalized.”
“This is a sprawling international terrorism investigation that the FBI is leading out on,” Patel said.
“I’ve already issued dozens of pieces of legal processes, dozens of devices, already hit two houses and interviewed many individuals associated with the subject, and that investigation is going to continue on to anyone and everyone this person ever spoke to,” Patel continued. “We are not going to leave any stone unturned.”
He also vowed to vet “every single person that came in here — legally or illegally or otherwise — and make sure there is no derogatory or criminal information or terrorist ties.”
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, on Monday, announced an overhaul of the vetting process for illegal migrants.
“We are requiring the country of origin to cross-reference biometric data and criminal history, expanding our vetting to include social media screening, and directing individuals to check-in every year,” Noem wrote on X.
Noem said she had met with President Donald Trump and decided to suggest “a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
The proposed travel ban’s specific countries affected and its implementation timeline remain unclear. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has informed the BBC that it will announce the detailed list soon.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Fox News Monday evening that former President Trump had introduced a travel ban months ago targeting “third world and failed state” countries. She mentioned that Governor Noem’s recommendation would expand this ban to include additional nations.
On June 4, the White House identified 19 countries, mainly located in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean, that would face full or partial immigration restrictions.
According to multiple U.S. officials who spoke to CBS News, Noem’s proposed additions would increase this list to approximately 30 countries in total.
All decisions on asylum requests were also paused following the Guard shootings, with US Citizenship and Immigration Services director Joseph Edlow saying it would remain paused “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”
On Thursday, Trump himself went further, threatening to “permanently pause migration” from all “third world countries. In his Thanksgiving social media post, the president cited refugees for causing “social dysfunction in America” and vowed to remove “anyone who is not a net asset” to the United States, which is a throwback to former U.S. policy during the early portion of the 20th century.
