Last we heard from DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as he was defending FEMA’s lackluster response to Hurricane Helene and bemoaning the agency’s supposedly empty coffers. RedState’s Brad Slager wrote at the time:
This shell of a man who for years has proven himself a figment of a leader held a press conference on hurricane relief looked into the cameras, and without displaying an ounce of shame, declared that FEMA is essentially out of funds.
Speculation was that the coffers were empty due to funds being diverted to deal with the firehose of illegal immigrants streaming into the country. There was a lot of finger-pointing going, with House Speaker Mike Johnson revealing that the House had allocated $20 billion to FEMA before breaking for its pre-election recess, but very few answers were forthcoming from Mayorkas, FEMA, or the Biden-Harris administration.
Mayorkas is well-known for playing fast and loose with U.S. law, particularly when it comes to the issue of securing the nation’s borders. He is so incredibly bad at his job that the House voted to impeach him back in February, citing his:
- Willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law
- Breach of the public trust
Senate Democrats quashed the impeachment, thus allowing Mayorkas to continue his reign of incompetence through at least the end of Joe Biden’s term in January. We’re now reaping the consequences of Mayorkas being allowed to stay in his position.
As our own Ward Clark reported on Tuesday, “Twenty-seven-year-old Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, an Afghan national in the United States on a Special Immigrant Visa, has been arrested by the FBI and charged with planning an Election Day terror attack right here, in the United States.”
CBS News confirmed Thursday that Tawhedi, who was arrested along with unnamed co-conspirators, had previously worked for the CIA in Afghanistan, possibly in a security role. Due to his CIA work, he was eligible to come into the United States under a Special Immigrant Visa.
Tawhedi was taken into custody, along with his brother-in-law, after it was discovered he had sold the family’s house in Oklahoma, purchased firearms and ammunition, and tried to access security cameras in Washington, D.C., including those at the White House and Washington Monument. Officials believe he was (emphasis mine) “seeking out places in which gun laws were more lax.” Go figure.
This raises a lot of questions about exactly who is being allowed entry into the U.S. under these special visas. Here’s what one government official told CBS News:
“Every Afghan being resettled in the United States undergoes a rigorous screening and vetting process no matter which U.S. government agency they worked with. That process includes checking against a full range of relevant U.S. records and holdings.”
Obviously, there are some lingering questions about this “rigorous” vetting process that allowed a wannabe terrorist to get *this* close to attempting a terrorist attack on Election Day. Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich had some questions, as well, which she posed to Alejandro Mayorkas at Thursday’s White House briefing. Mayorkas was appearing via video linkup from North Carolina in a somewhat laughable attempt to project an air of authority.
Here’s what went down:
And here’s the transcript:
HEINRICH: I want to ask you about a different story. This Afghan national who was working for the CIA in Afghanistan, was arrested for planning an Election Day terror plot. He was brought to the US after Afghanistan collapsed, your agency says, as part of the SIV program. The State Department is telling us he was not part of the SIV program, which had strenuous vetting . They say he was never issued an SIV or immigrant visa, and DHS paroled him into the U.S. They further expect the court document to be updated to reflect this from the DOJ side. So, Mr. Secretary, how was this man brought into the U.S.? What screening did he undergo? What did he apply for to get here?
MAYORKAS: Jacqui, I — I’m here in North Carolina — um — uh — communicating with the individuals who are still conducting search and rescue operations. Over 200 people have lost their lives in Hurricane Helene. We have reports that at least 10 individuals have lost their lives as a result of Hurricane Milton. I’d be very pleased to answer your question in a different setting, but we’re here to talk about emergencies and the support that we can deliver to people in desperate need. Thank you!
HEINRICH: I [inaudible] that, Mr. Secretary, but we’re getting conflicting answers from your agency and from the State Department about a man who was arrested for an Election Day terror plot. How do you not have those answers prepared?
MAYORKAS: Oh, Jacqui, that’s — uh — not what I said. What I said is I’d be pleased to discuss this issue at a different time, but I am here to speak about disasters that have impacted people’s lives in real time, and that is a subject that I’m addressing today.
HEINRICH: But can you assure —
KJP: Okay, we’re gonna —
HEINRICH: — Mr. Secretary — can you assure people that appropriate steps have been taken to secure the country against these kinds of threats because the outstanding question is whether this man was radicalized before the U.S. government brought him here or after and people should be concerned about that?
MAYORKAS: Jacqui, Jacqui, Jacqui, your persistence in questioning can be matched by my persistence and answers.
KJP: Ha ha ha! Alright, we’re gonna go.
It’s not just that he won’t answer question about how the Biden-Harris administration let a terrorist into the country, it’s the anger and disdain he has for even being asked about it. He clearly believes he doesn’t owe the American people any answers on the matter. And, as Heinrich was hinting, he probably doesn’t even know what’s going on, and it’s not because he’s preoccupied with hurricane relief efforts.
The level of incompetence displayed by Mayorkas should leave citizens – and especially voters – wondering if there is anyone in the Biden-Harris administration who is able to do their job and do it well. It’s scary to think that this guy could actually get a job extension if Kamala Harris and Tim Walz somehow get elected on November 5.
