San Bernardino killer used pseudonym, wrote about jihad on social media
The Department of Homeland Security tells ABC news it has started pilot programs to search the social media of visa applicants.
Pressing criminal charges against him would cut off “any opportunity to let him lead investigators to any other persons or to an organization with whom he may be or may have been in contact with in the furtherance of the San Bernardino attack or other planned terrorist attacks”, one official said.
USA officials have said their investigation has yet to turn up evidence that foreign militants directed Farook or Malik when they stormed a holiday gathering of Farook’s co-workers and opened fire with assault-style rifles.
Another former senior counter-terrorism official vouched for Cohen’s retelling: “They felt looking at public postings [of foreign USA visa applicants] was an invasion of their privacy”. None uncovered what Malik talked about openly on social media.
“There is no excuse for not using every resource at our disposal to fully vet individuals before they come to the United States”, he added.
Two top federal law enforcement officials spoke Monday about the messages with the Los Angeles Times on condition of anonymity.
Investigators are still trying to figure out the full picture of Malik and Farook’s radicalization and planning for the attack.
Another round of tests was ran after she moved to the United States and wedded Farook when she applied for permanent residency.
It is not clear if the background checks cited by the newspaper are the same checks that the State Department officials discussed with CNN. The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that the Department of Homeland Security was working on a plan that would enable officials to expand their scrutiny of social media posts as part of the visa application process. He also noted that other factors, like a false name or changing privacy settings on an account, would likely be enough to prevent consular officials from discovering incriminating information.
Cohen said he and others were deeply troubled by the decision.
Speaking in Paris on Saturday, Secretary of State John Kerry fielded a question about the visa-vetting process and whether the policies regarding it needed to be updated.
There are programmes being tested that would allow officials to screen social media, however they are not widely employed. And background checks did not reveal this before a visa and green card were issued to her. No matter how thorough the checks would have been, they would not have anyway as immigration checks do not usually extend to social media.
Online communications recovered so far indicate the two killers became radicalized long before carrying out the attack.