GOP lawmakers launch investigation into New Year’s Day attacks
Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and Ron Johnson (Wis.) are launching a probe into the deadly New Year’s Day attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas.
“The public deserves complete transparency and the truth regarding the New Orleans terrorist attack and the Las Vegas car explosion,” Grassley and Johnson wrote. “While we understand the investigation into both of these incidents is ongoing, we expect your agencies to be forthcoming and responsive to oversight requests from Congress on this very serious matter.”
In letters to the FBI and departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Defense, Grassley and Johnson, who chair the Senate Judiciary Committee and Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, respectively, demanded further information about the events.
Following the New Orleans incident, the FBI stated that Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the driver behind the Bourbon Street attack on New Year’s Day that killed 14 and injured 47, was inspired by ISIS and acted alone. Jabbar, who served in the military, researched New Orleans and the deadly Christmas market attack in Germany in the lead-up to the attack, according to the FBI.
Jabbar was shot and killed by police following the attack.
The senators, per the release, are seeking records from Meta regarding Jabbar’s Facebook activity leading up to his attack in New Orleans’s French Quarter. In videos posted on his Facebook page just hours before the attack, Jabbar had announced his ISIS allegiance and deadly intent.
According to a press release, the senators are also following up on legally protected whistleblower disclosures that the FBI special agent in charge (SAC) of the New Orleans field office was on vacation during the New Year’s attack.
“These are major public events that a SAC should be present for. The FBI failed to note this in any of the joint briefings it provided to Congress and must provide more information,” the senators stated.
The man who blew up a Tesla Cybertruck at the entrance of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day was identified by police as Matthew Alan Livelsberger, who also served in the military.
Former President Biden said at the time there was no evidence of a connection between the New Orleans and Las Vegas incidents, adding the New Orleans attacker acted alone.
Despite this, in the letters sent to federal agencies, Grassley and Johnson note similarities, such as the use of the app Turo and military service.
On the day of the attacks, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) had also sought further answers, demanding the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee call then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray to testify after the New Orleans attack.
Hawley sent a letter to the new chair of the committee, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), saying Biden administration officials “cannot shirk public accountability.”
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