CIA Chief Says No link Found Between Orlando Shooter And ISIS

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CIA Chief Says No link Found Between Orlando Shooter And ISIS

The Central Intelligence Agency director says they have not been “able to uncover any link” between the Orlando killer Omar Mateen and ISIS

Mateen had claimed allegiance to a variety of militant Islamist groups, including some at odds with each another

CIA chief John Brennan told the Senate intelligence committee last week (June 16th) that the CIA had not found any evidence of a connection between Mateen and the Islamic State or any other extremist network.

In other reports, intelligence officials and investigators say they’re “becoming increasingly convinced that the motive for this attack had very little — or maybe nothing — to do with ISIS.”

According to the Guardian:

The FBI has determined that Mateen was not directed by or in contact with Isis before his attack at the Pulse nightclub. In Facebook posts from inside the club and a 911 call during the attack, Mateen reportedly declared his allegiance to Isis, something investigators are examining, particularly in light of his apparently complicated relationship with his sexuality.

While there appears to be no indication thus far that Mateen encrypted his digital data, Brennan said he “wonder[ed] whether we as a government do have the ability to monitor that domain for threats to our national security”.

Meanwhile Democracy Now reports that Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for data from multiple Facebook accounts allegedly associated with Omar Mateen. In the letter, Senator Johnson claimed Mateen had posted on Facebook calling for the U.S. and Russia to stop bombing campaigns against ISIS.

 

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