Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) said the Biden administration has blocked the FBI from fulfilling a request for a press conference regarding the arrest of an Afghan man accused of plotting an Election Day terrorist attack.
Bice said in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland dated Friday that the FBI fully supports her request until the Justice Department intervenes.
“My office has requested additional information and clarification from the Department of Justice on this matter, but my requests have been denied by the administration,” she wrote. “What does the Biden-Harris Justice Department have to hide here?
An Afghan man from Oklahoma planned an election-day terrorist attack in the country on behalf of ISIS, the Justice Department says.
Nasir Ahmad Tauhedi was arrested this week on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack on behalf of the Islamic State. (Ministry of Justice)
“As a lifelong resident of Oklahoma City, our community still vividly recalls the bitter memories of April 19, 1995,” Bice added, noting that the Alfred P.・References the Mura Federal Building bombing, which involved 19 children.
She is calling for a briefing to be held as “quickly” as possible. Fox News Digital has reached out to Vice's office and the White House.
Congresswoman Stephanie Bice (R-Oklahoma) speaks at a press conference in Washington, D.C. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
Nasir Ahmad Tauhedi, 27, of Oklahoma, was arrested this week on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack on behalf of the Islamic State. He entered the United States on humanitarian parole from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), rather than on a special immigrant visa as initially announced by the Justice Department, a month after U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan.
The mechanism by which Tawhidi entered the country is particularly delicate. That's because the DHS inspector general has raised concerns about Operation Welcoming Allies, a program run by the State Department that paroles Afghan refugees into the country, bypassing a longer and more rigorous vetting process. Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Program.
DHS OIG warns of possible national security threat entering our country due to violation of Afghanistan review
In 2022, the DHS Office of Inspector General released a report stating that the agency “does not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, and screen evacuees.”
As a result, “DHS may have admitted or paroled individuals who pose a risk to national security or community safety into the United States,” the report said. Tawhidi worked for the CIA as a security guard in Afghanistan.
Investigators said they believe Tauhedi became radicalized after arriving in the United States.
He entered the U.S. on humanitarian parole, but later applied for and was approved for SIV, a senior Biden administration official told Fox News.
Photo of Nasir Ahmad Tauhedi and his children in July (Ministry of Justice)
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The administration maintains that Tauhedi has been tested multiple times and there are no red flags.
“The undisclosed criminal charges against Nasir Ahmad Tauhedi raise continued concerns about the aftermath of the government's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and inadequate investigation of evacuees,” Bice wrote. .
