Jeh Johnson: I won’t second-guess FBI on past probe of Orlando shooter

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on Thursday he’s not going to second-guess the FBI on its past investigations of Omar Mateen, the gunman who killed 49 people and wounded more than 50 others in the terrorist attack in Orlando last weekend.

“I won’t second-guess the FBI on this, because I know how aggressive they are when it comes to their counter-terrorism efforts,” Mr. Johnson said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Mateen had been flagged multiple times by the FBI, but was ultimately removed from a watch list.

“The FBI does an excellent job of investigating, detecting, and preventing terrorist plots in this country. I see that all the time,” Mr. Johnson said.

“In this case, the shooter was interviewed multiple times. He was investigated. There was a follow-up interview,” he said. “And the FBI made the judgment, based upon what they knew at the time, that they should dedicate their resources to other active investigations.”

The DHS also put out a new National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) bulletin on Wednesday.

“We issued one of these in December; we issued another one yesterday,” Mr. Johnson said.

“In general, it means that we are in an environment where we have to be concerned about the homegrown violent extremist that could strike at any place,” he said. “And we ask for public vigilance, public awareness, when it comes to public events, public places.”

In the wake of the Orlando shooting, Democrats are re-upping a push for legislation to ban suspected terrorists from buying guns.

Mr. Johnson reiterated his contention in recent days that gun control is a matter of homeland security.

“I just think that when you look at Orlando, you look at San Bernardino, we have to face the fact that responsible, sensible gun control is now a matter of homeland security,” he said.

“It’s not just a matter of public safety; it is a matter of homeland security that we address this on a national level,” he said. “This is something we’ve got to face and we’ve got to do to minimize the opportunities for a terrorist to get a hold of a gun, one way or another. It’s a matter of homeland security that we take this on.”