Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas interrupted Fox News White House correspondent Jackie Heinrich on Thursday, saying he would only take questions about hurricane relief efforts.
Mayorkas answered questions during a White House press conference that he attended remotely from North Carolina. The Tar Heel State was one of several Southeastern states affected by Hurricane Helen. Since the storm hit, several false rumors have proliferated on right-wing social media, so much so that the Federal Emergency Management Agency felt compelled to debunk them on its website.
When Heinrich’s turn came, she asked about an Afghan man who was charged this week with planning a terrorist attack on Election Day. The defendant previously worked for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
“Mr. Jackie Heinrich, head of Fox,” the reporter said, introducing himself. “Switching back to the story, this Afghan national who worked for the CIA in Afghanistan was arrested for planning an election day terrorist plot.According to your agency, after the fall of Afghanistan, he entered the[Special Immigrant Visa]program. The State Department tells us he was not a participant in the highly vetted SIV program. They issued him neither a SIV visa nor an immigrant visa. They also expect the court documents to be updated to reflect this on the part of the Department of Justice. How was he brought to the United States? What tests did he undergo? What did he apply for to come here?”
The rest of their exchange follows:
MAYORKAS: Jackie, I’m in North Carolina right now and I’m in contact with people who are continuing search and rescue operations. More than 200 people lost their lives in Hurricane Helen. There are reports that at least 10 people have lost their lives as a result of Hurricane Milton. I would appreciate it if you could answer my question in a different environment. But we’re here to talk about emergencies and the help that’s being delivered to people who desperately need it. thank you.
Heinrich: I understand that, Secretary, but we’re getting conflicting answers from your agency and the State Department about a man arrested in connection with an election-day terrorist plot. Why don’t we have such an answer?
Mayorkas: Oh, Jackie, that’s not what I said. What I said was that I would be happy to discuss this issue another time. But I’m here to talk about a disaster that affected people’s lives in real time. That is the subject I will deal with today.
HEINRICH: Mr. Secretary, can you assure the public that appropriate measures are being taken to protect the country from this type of threat? Because the open question is, this man was brought here by the U.S. government. The question is whether they were radicalized before they were picked up, or whether they were radicalized afterwards. And people should be concerned about that.
Mayorkas: Jackie, Jackie, Jackie, your tenacity with your questions matches my tenacity with my answers.
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