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The FBI reversed itself and publicly issued a complete transcript of a 911 call from the Orlando nightclub shooter Monday afternoon after coming under withering criticism from House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans for deleting references to the Islamic State group as well as the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.
A version of the text of the 50-second call between an Orlando 911 dispatcher and shooter Omar Mateen disclosed Monday morning, included his claim of responsibility for the shooting, but was edited to remove Mateen’s mention of ISIL and of Al-Baghdadi.
The FBI said the redactions were intended to limit any publicity benefit for ISIL, but House Speaker Paul Ryan sharply rejected that rationale and called on President Barack Obama to reverse the decision.
“Selectively editing this transcript is preposterous. We know the shooter was a radical Islamist extremist inspired by ISIS. We also know he intentionally targeted the LGBT community,” Ryan said. “The administration should release the full, unredacted transcript so the public is clear-eyed about who did this, and why.”
Hours later, the FBI did just that, saying that the deletions had “caused an unnecessary distraction.”
“The purpose of releasing the partial transcript of the shooter’s interaction with 911 operators was to provide transparency, while remaining sensitive to the interests of the surviving victims, their families, and the integrity of the ongoing investigation. We also did not want to provide the killer or terrorist organizations with a publicity platform for hateful propaganda,” the FBI and the Justice Department said in a joint statement emailed to reporters.
“Unfortunately, the unreleased portions of the transcript that named the terrorist organizations and leaders have caused an unnecessary distraction from the hard work that the FBI and our law enforcement partners have been doing to investigate this heinous crime,” the statement said.
FBI Director James Comey. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The FBI and Justice Department also noted that Mateen’s pledge of allegiance to ISIL had been “previously reported,” although those reports generally cited anonymous law enforcement sources.
The reversal appeared to be an effort by the Justice Department and FBI to avoid fueling a long-running debate about whether the administration has been unwilling to recognize the threat posed by radical Islam and is too politically correct in its public statements to avoid offending Muslims.
Obama has said the administration fully understands the threat, but uses language intended to avoid alienating vast numbers of Muslims who harbor no hostility towards the U.S. He’s also said that attributing the attacks to “radical Islam,” would accomplish nothing.
However, a White House spokesperson insisted Monday that Obama and his White House staff were not involved in the initial decision to delete portions of the 911 transcript or in the subsequent change of heart.
“The White House was not involved in the decision to redact or the decision to release the unredacted transcripts,” National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said.
Nevertheless, Ryan issued a statement after the reversal in which he linked the initial decision to the administration’s skittishness about discussing the role of Islam in terrorist attacks.
“The attempt to selectively edit the record reflects a broader, more serious problem: this administration’s continued effort to downplay and distract from the threat of radical Islamist extremism. This is unacceptable,” the speaker said.
The unedited transcript offers little insight into Mateen’s detailed motivations beyond his clear pledge of loyalty to ISIL and Al-Baghdadi. The shooter also uttered some common Arabic prayers.
Asked his name, Mateen replied: “My name is I pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State.”
Again asked to identify himself, Mateen did not give his name, but said: “I pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi may God protect him [Arabic], on behalf of the Islamic State.”
While the Obama administration has stressed that the attack appears to have been a hate crime targeted at the LGBT community and the popular gay nightclub, Mateen made no mention of any issues related to sexual orientation.
FBI Director James Comey, right, listens to President Barack Obama during a press conference. (AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Before the change Monday afternoon, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) issued a sarcastic statement mocking the deletions and attributing those decisions to the administration’s broader policy.
“The Obama Administration just redacted the [blank] out of the Orlando shooter’s 911 transcripts. I am greatly [blank] at the Administration’s denial of reality. How in the [blank] does censoring this [blank] make us [blank]? ” McCaul said. “This is in line with the Administration’s long string of [blank] of the threat Islamist terror poses to our homeland. The victims and their loved ones deserve justice, and the American people deserve all the facts. The terror threat to our nation cannot be redacted.”
An addendum to McCaul’s statement restored the deletions to his words.
In addition to removing the ISIL and Al-Baghdadi references, the initial FBI transcript referred to Mateen only by his initials. The newly-issued transcript gives his first and last names, which authorities publicly confirmed more than a week ago.
The FBI and local police are still withholding recordings of all 911 calls and radio traffic, as well as transcripts of calls made by victims and people other than Mateen.
“Redactions have been made to avoid re-victimizing those who were in the Pulse nightclub,” U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Lee Bentley said. “We wanted to release the transcripts at this time so the public would have a better idea of the timeline.”
By: Politico
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