ORLANDO, Fla. — Congressman John Mica has questions about the investigation into the shooter in the Pulse terror attack.
He’s demanding to see if anything was missed by the FBI before the shooting, and wants to FBI to come clean about previous investigations into the gunman, Omar Mateen.
Mica said federal failures left Central Florida at risk for a terrorist attack.
Document: Read Mica's letter requesting investigation into Homeland Security
Mica wants congressional hearings to make several federal agencies answer questions about why Mateen walked into the Pulse nightclub undetected and killed 49 people.
The FBI didn’t connect the dots early enough, Mica said, and he believes it may have been because of political correctness that Mateen wasn’t kept on the watch list.
The FBI has been tight-lipped about their investigations into Mateen.
Days after the terrorist attack at Pulse, FBI Director James Comey said Mateen was investigated twice by the FBI before he massacred 49 people.
Mateen was on the terrorism watch list, but then removed.
Mica said the Attorney General may have cautioned the agents from using certain factors to determine who may be terrorist and who isn’t.
“We don’t need political correctness when it comes to terrorist threats,” said Mica.
The watch list, the FBI’s suspect surveillance and how the feds link people to terror activated are all in question and under review.
“The FBI has to do a better job. We have got to do a much better job of developing and maintaining our watch list,” said Mica. “What a failure there to put someone on and take someone off, and have someone who has shown to be a risk at least three times.”
Mica is trying to schedule hearings with the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA and the FBI to talk about the lack of federal oversight.
One closed-door session has already happened, but the public still has no answers.
The hearing may be the only way to change that.
“We want the whole thing laid out, we want the truth and we want to hold people accountable, but most importantly, I have to get in place the things that protect us for the future,” said Mica.
The hearings may not happen until September.
Cox Media Group
