Senators Seek Transparency on Flagged Afghan Evacuees Amid Ongoing Concerns of Vetting, Security Failures
Scope of and response to potential security threats remains shrouded in secrecy
WASHINGTON – Leading senators on key
oversight committees are calling for additional transparency about Afghan
evacuees who’ve been flagged as potential security threats after arriving in
the United States following insufficient security screenings. Senators Chuck
Grassley (R-Iowa), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), the
respective ranking members of the Senate committees on Judiciary, Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs and Armed Services, are calling on the FBI to provide
additional information on these evacuees. Specifically, they are seeking a follow-up
briefing on the FBI’s role in further evaluating flagged evacuees as well as
the justification for pairing categories of new information that are usually
unclassified with classified material, given the significant public interest.
“The American people deserve answers about President Biden’s
decision to parole individuals into the country without adequate screening and
to understand the FBI’s role in assessing and investigating these security
concerns,” the senators wrote in an unclassified cover letter accompanying a
classified inquiry to FBI Director Chris Wray.
The
senators previously raised
concerns about the government’s failure to use all vetting tools available
to prevent potential security threats from exploiting the Biden Administration’s
resettlement program. As a result, at least 50 evacuees who’ve arrived in the United
States were later identified as having potentially significant security
concerns. Since then, the senators’ committee staffs received a classified briefing
that revealed new information beyond the previously reported scope of evacuees
flagged by the National Ground Intelligence Center. However, it remains unclear
whether the vetting breakdowns have been resolved and what the FBI is doing to
further assess flagged evacuees to make sure Americans are protected.
Full
text of the
Senators’ unclassified cover letter to the FBI follows:
August 22, 2022
VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
The
Honorable Christopher Wray
Director
Federal
Bureau of Investigation
Washington,
DC 20535
Dear
Director Wray:
On May
26, 2022, we wrote to you regarding Afghan evacuees, which number at least 50, who
were flagged for the FBI by the National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC) as
“potentially significant security concerns.”
On July 14, 2022, the FBI participated in a classified multi-agency
briefing to congressional staff regarding this matter and shared new
information beyond the more than 50 individuals initially flagged by NGIC. While administration officials asserted that
the relevant information provided at that staff briefing was classified,
similar information in other contexts is unclassified. The American people deserve answers about
President Biden’s decision to parole individuals into the country without
adequate screening and to understand the FBI’s role in assessing and
investigating these security concerns.
During
the August 4, 2022, Senate Judiciary Committee FBI Oversight Hearing, you were
asked by Ranking Member Grassley whether the FBI knows where certain flagged
evacuees are located. You responded,
We have a lot of information
about where people are located. I can’t sit here right now and tell you that we
know where all are located at any given time.
That’s probably true.
Your
response does not inspire confidence that the FBI knows the exact location of
at least 50 Afghan evacuees with significant security concerns.
Based on
the information provided at the July 14 briefing, we request an in-person
briefing and information from you regarding the FBI’s activity with respect to
those evacuees and an explanation of the rationale behind the classification
decisions.
Finally,
administration officials have been unable to confirm the status of an enduring
agreement between DHS and NGIC to share the tactical database used by NGIC to
flag Afghan evacuees with security concerns.
As a result, we request that the briefing also address steps the FBI is
taking to assess any concerns posed by Afghan evacuees who are still in process
for being admitted into the United States.
Accordingly,
please review the attached classified letter and clarify whether information
provided by the FBI to Congress is in fact classified and, if it is, provide a
rationale for the classification of the material given the strong public
interest and the different classification treatment of similar information in
other contexts. We request that you make
yourself available to brief us in person no later than September 15, 2022.
Sincerely,
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