House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was “preposterous” for the FBI to selectively edit the transcript of the Orlando nightclub shooter’s 911 calls to remove references to the Islamic State.
He called on President Obama to release the full transcript, which the Justice Department has so far refused to do.
FBI officials released a partial transcript of the Orlando shooter’s calls to 911, which he made during the course of the attack. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Sunday that law enforcement will not provide the full transcript in order “to avoid revictimizing those who went through this horror.”
The redactions frustrated Republicans in light of an ongoing debate with President Obama about whether to use the term “radical Islam” while describing the attacks.
“Selectively editing this transcript is preposterous,” Ryan said Monday. “We know the shooter was a radical Islamist extremist inspired by ISIS. We also know he intentionally targeted the LGBT community. The administration should release the full, unredacted transcript so the public is clear-eyed about who did this, and why.”
Lynch defended the redaction on Sunday. “What we’re not going to do is further proclaim this man’s pledges of allegiance to terrorist groups, and further his propaganda,” she said.
