Letter to James Comey, FBI Director, Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security, and John Kerry, Secretary of State - Answers on Homegrown Terror

Letter

Dear Director Comey, Secretary Johnson, and Secretary Kerry:

In 2013, a failure to screen Iraqi refugees allowed two al Qaeda-linked terrorists to settle in Bowling Green, KY. ABC News reported that these arrests led to a 6-month suspension of the refugee program and an FBI investigation of dozens of suspected terrorists.[1]

An ABC News investigation in 2013 reported that a "flawed system of U.S. background checks" allowed Waad Ramadan Alwan and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, two al Qaeda in Iraq (now called ISIS) terrorists who were part of a bomb-making group responsible for dozens of roadside bombs, one of which killed four members of the Pennsylvania National Guard.

After a tip led the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to begin investigating Alwan and Hammadi, the FBI's Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center (TEDAC) managed to match Alwan's fingerprints to those found on an unexploded roadside bomb discovered by U.S. troops in Iraq years earlier. Alwan and Hammadi were arrested two years later in an FBI sting operation attempting to send arms and explosives, including Stinger missiles, to insurgents in Iraq. Our law enforcement and intelligence communities deserve great praise for stopping these terrorists from killing more Americans. Yet the terrorists should have never been given the chance.

1) Were there recommendations made to the refugee program as a result of this incident?

2) What are the findings from the FBI investigation on the other dozens of suspected terrorists?

3) Are there former or current known terrorists in the U.S. as part of the refugee program?

We look forward to a timely response that we can share with the American people.