The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs recently held a hearing on the legislation, first proposed by the Bush administration in 2007 and now sponsored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., that would give the attorney general the discretion to prevent the sale of firearms to individuals on the terror watch list.

A recent Government Accountability Office report stated that, between 2004 and 2010, people on the terrorist watch list tried to purchase guns and explosives 1,228 times and succeeded 1,119 times because “no prohibiting information was found — such as felony convictions, illegal immigrant status, or other disqualifying factors,” Eileen R. Larence, director of the GAO’s homeland security and justice section, said in prepared testimony.

“This hearing on what Congress and the federal government can do to keep firearms out of the hands of terrorists was scheduled long ago but its urgency has certainly been made clear by the events of the past four days,” Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn.,  said at the May 5 hearing, referring to the attempted Time Square bombing. Lieberman also pointed to the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, last November, and a shooting incident in Little Rock, Ark., last June, as “terrorist attacks on America since 9/11 that have been carried out and taken American lives” by using firearms.

“It is true that homegrown terrorists are generally less sophisticated than those sponsored and trained overseas by Al Qaeda, they may also – particularly if acting alone – be harder to detect and stop,” Liberman said. “And the easy availability of lethal weapons ensures that these homegrown terrorists can legally obtain sufficient firepower to cause terrible damage.”

He called for the bill to be enacted “as quickly as possible to close this dangerous loophole before another suspected terrorist is able to buy firearms legally and use them to kill Americans.”

But  Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine,  raised constitutional questions about using the terror watch list to restrict the right to purchase a firearm. She posed three questions for consideration:

• Are appropriate protections included within the watchlist process to justify the denial of a constitutional right?
• If not, what procedural protections should be afforded those who are erroneously denied the ability to purchase a firearm?
• What guidelines are necessary to constrain the Attorney General’s discretion to prevent law-abiding Americans from purchasing a firearm?

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg testified that FBI agents should have the authority to block sales of guns and explosives to those on the terror watch lists, citing two examples of thwarted attacks against New York City in the past year in which terrorists had purchased guns and explosives. He testified that a bipartisan coalition of 500 mayors supports such legislation and urged Congress to also make background checks necessary before guns can be purchased at a gun show.

Aaron Titus, privacy director of the Liberty Coalition, testified against proposed legislation, saying it would  “strip citizens of their enumerated constitutional right to bear arms without any meaningful due process and create a national firearms registry.”

He noted that those convicted of terrorism, as felons, would not be allowed to own guns under current law.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., Rep. Peter T. King, R-N.Y.,  and senior officials from the FBI, GAO and the Los Angeles Police Department also testified before the committee.

Further reading: Written testimony and webcast (also available on C-SPAN), GAO report (PDF),  S.1317 “Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009”, S.2820 “Preserving Records of Terrorists & Criminal Transactions Act of 2009”

According to a copy of the letter sent to Attorney General Eric Holder, King stated that from “the abundance of meticulous details reported by the media, it seems evident that classified information was repeatedly leaked to the media as the investigation unfolded.” He listed a series of examples, including a breaking news report from the Washington Post saying the attempted attack had international terrorism ties, a Fox News Channel report about an investigation in the suspect’s hometown in Bridgeport, Conn., and a news item that the suspect was a naturalized American citizen of Pakistani descent.

King claimed these leaks present “a dangerous pattern that could undermine the entire investigation, risk lives of law enforcement officers, and jeopardize the ability to achieve convictions.” He also stated that the “systemic leaking” is “deeply troubling and criminally negligent,” and he listed several reasons why investigations are routinely kept confidential, including protecting the  safety of witnesses, and not disclosing progress to targets of investigation.

While King referred to leaks, he did not mention the amount of speculation that surrounds this and other incidents as investigators search for suspects and motives and journalists aim to uncover  developments.

On Sunday morning, shortly after the bomb was discovered,  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said there was no evidence that the bomb attempt was anything other than a “one-off” event.  Sen. Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, also suggested “the odds are quite high that this was a lone wolf.”

King himself speculated that the car bomb was a possible retaliation by Islamic terrorists because it was found near the headquarters of Viacom, the company that owns the Comedy Central network that recently censored an episode of the cartoon show “Show Park” depicting the Prophet Muhammad.  Displaying an image of Muhammad is considered offensive by many Muslims.  King said the “South Park” theory was “one possibility out of a hundred.”

King called on Holder and the Justice Department to “initiate an investigation to ensure this never occurs again.”  Even as King sent that letter,  Pakistani security officials and news reports claim that the suspect may be linked to the Pakistani Taliban and a Kashmiri Islamist group.

Full text of King’s letter:

May 6, 2010
The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room 5111
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Holder:

I am writing today to request an investigation into the leaking of classified and sensitive information pertaining to the investigation of Islamic jihadist Faisal Shahzad.  Due to the abundance of meticulous details reported by the media, it seems evident that classified information was repeatedly leaked to the media as the investigation unfolded.  Disturbingly, Shahzad nearly escaped to Dubai – perhaps as a result of the leaks – which only served to endanger the lives of law enforcement officers and civilians.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on May 4, 2010, on our about Monday, May 3, 2010, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Connecticut-based (FBI) Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) met with the individual who sold Shahzad the Nissan Pathfinder SUV used as a vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) during the attack in Times Square.  During this meeting, the individual was shown a sketch and six photos and positively identified Shahzad as the buyer of the Pathfinder.

Throughout the afternoon of May 3^rd leaks from the Administration provided details of the ongoing investigation, which, after the arrest, turned out to be accurate.  For instance, at 2:26 p.m., a breaking news alert from the Washington Post cited Obama Administration officials characterizing the investigation as a terrorist plot with international links.  At 6:01 p.m, Fox News Channel reported that law enforcement authorities were investigating aspects of the case in Bridgeport, CT, the residence of Shahzad.  Later that evening, at 7:01 p.m., Fox News Channel reported that law enforcement authorities had identified a person of interest and that he was a naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan. Also, television stations were alerted and in the early evening sent their trucks to the neighborhood where Shahzad lived, apparently to cover his arrest.

Later that evening, at 11:45 p.m., Customs and Border Protection (CBP) arrested Shahzad at John F. Kennedy International Airport onboard Emirates Airlines Fight 202 en route to Dubai attempting to evade capture.  Shortly thereafter, at a press conference in the early morning of Tuesday, May 4^th, you revealed that Shahzad was indeed a naturalized American citizen of Pakistani descent, confirming the Fox News Channel report five hours earlier.

One of many leaks, this illustrates a dangerous pattern that could undermine the entire investigation, risk lives of law enforcement officers, and jeopardize the ability to achieve convictions.

As you stated during your press conference Tuesday morning, this investigation was fast moving.  That said, had Shahzad been watching news reports on May 3^rd that the FBI was in hot pursuit of a Pakistan born naturalized American citizen residing in Bridgeport, CT it could well have caused him to attempt to evade capture by going to the airport to leave the country.  In any event, I find this systemic leaking to be deeply troubling and criminally negligent.

As the top law enforcement officer in the United States, I am sure you are aware that investigations are kept confidential for several important reasons, including protecting the integrity of the investigation, protecting the safety of witnesses, and not disclosing progress to targets of investigation.  It is particularly troubling and disturbing that all evidence indicates that these leaks could only have come from sources within the Administration who had special access to the most sensitive details of this investigation.  You are responsible for the security of classified and sensitive information pertaining to ongoing terrorism investigations.  Therefore, to protect the lives of law enforcement officers and ensure the integrity of future investigations, I request you immediately initiate an investigation to ensure this never occurs again.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 202.226.8417.

Sincerely,

PETER T. KING

Member of Congress

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