Garland says he doesn't know if al Qaeda threat will increase

Attorney General Merrick Garland testified that he doesn’t know whether the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan will increase the risk posed by al Qaeda, seemingly downplaying warnings from the FBI and other intelligence and military officials.

Garland was pressed during his contentious Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, with Sen. Lindsey Graham pointing to Senate testimony by Colin Kahl, the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for policy. Kahl said the intelligence community assesses ISIS-K (the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan) and al Qaeda could conduct external operations against the United States between six months to two years. Garland was asked if he agreed.