Synagogue hostage suspect was reportedly probed by UK in 2020
Buck Sexton, co-host of The Buck Sexton and Clay Travis Show, discusses how the Texas synagogue attacker was allowed into the country and reacts to ‘absurd’ criticisms of Senators Sinema and Manchin for their position on the filibuster.
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is pushing for answers from the Biden administration on how Malik Faisal Akram, the British-born suspect in the Texas synagogue hostage standoff, was allowed to get into the country — as revelations about his criminal and radical past come to light.
Akram was shot dead last week after allegedly taking four people hostage in a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, where he is reported to have demanded the release of a Pakistani national in prison for trying to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
22.1.19 Johnson Letter to DHS FBI by Fox News on Scribd
Johnson, in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray, commends the actions of law enforcement “who successfully worked to ensure the safety of all hostages.” He then notes recent reports that raise red flags about why Akram got into the United States in the first place.
“In the aftermath of the attack, information on Akram’s background and criminal history has come to light,” Johnson, who sits on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, wrote. “Akram was a British citizen whose criminal record apparently dated back several decades.”
While American authorities have released little information on Akram’s travels, British news outlets have reported that he entered the U.S. earlier this month via John F. Kennedy Airport, possibly via the Visa Waiver Program. The FBI has declined to comment on Akram’s travels, citing the ongoing investigation.
The Wisconsin senator asks the administration whether Akram was ever included on the Terrorist Screening Database, whether it had any information or awareness of Akram before the Jan. 15 attack and information about the visa on which he arrived.
Johnson also asks: “To what extent has the FBI’s decision to deploy its full investigative resources into the Jan. 6 Capitol breach hindered its ability to detect and investigate terrorists like Akram?”
The letter is the latest push by Republicans to get answers on Akram by Republicans on the committee. Sen. Rob Portman, the ranking member on the committee, has requested briefings from both the FBI and DHS.
Sen. Josh Hawley, who also sits on the committee, wrote to both Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for answers and tied the attack to an alleged failure in vetting by the administration, also noting Akram’s radical past.
“How is anyone with this background allowed to enter our country?” he asked. “Either your Departments knowingly allowed entry to someone with demonstrated sympathies for terrorist organizations and predilection toward violence, or they failed to conduct even a cursory background check.”
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and Greg Palkot contributed to this report.
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