California shooter's spouse visa approved despite questions, lawmaker says

Prunepicker · Dec 21, 2015

By the way, these people weren't radicalized. They were doing exactly what
their esteemed prophet and supreme example would do.

From Reuters
United States immigration officials failed to obtain required proof from San Bernardino shooter
Tashfeen Malik that she had met her U.S. citizen fiancé in person, but granted her a spousal visa
anyway, a Republican congressman said on Saturday.

The new questions over the granting of the visa to Malik, raised by Congressman Bob Goodlatte
of Virginia, suggest she was the beneficiary of a lapsed government vetting process now under
intense scrutiny after the Dec. 2 attack that killed 14 people at a holiday party in the Southern
California city.

"In order to obtain a fiancée visa, it is required to demonstrate proof that the U.S. citizen and
foreign national have met in person. However, Malik's immigration file does not show sufficient
evidence for this requirement," Goodlatte said in a statement.

Investigators say U.S.-born Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Malik, 29, became radicalized long
before the shooting. They are believed to have been inspired by militant group Islamic State.

Goodlatte said his office conducted an investigation of how Malik obtained her spousal, or K-1,
visa. They found that the official who reviewed Malik's application asked for more evidence that
she had met her fiancé but it was never provided.

The Department of Homeland Security and for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did
not immediately respond on Saturday to requests for comment.

U.S. officials previously said that U.S. authorities in Pakistan, Malik's home country, did not seek
a full background security investigation on her because routine checks did not raise suspicions.
<read more>

Alucard · Dec 21, 2015

The vetting process from The Department of Homeland Security is going to have to be tweaked from such flaws.

waltky · Mar 28, 2016

FBI breaks into dead gunman's iPhone...

FBI-Apple case: Investigators break into dead San Bernardino gunman's iPhone
Tue, 29 Mar 2016 - The FBI says it has cracked the encryption on an iPhone used by an Islamist gunman, and drops its legal action against Apple.

The FBI has managed to unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino gunman without Apple's help, ending a court case, the US justice department says. Apple had been resisting a court order issued last month requiring the firm to write new software to allow officials to access Rizwan Farook's phone. But officials on Monday said that it had been accessed independently and asked for the order to be withdrawn. Rizwan Farook and his wife killed 14 people in San Bernardino in December. They were later shot dead by police. US officials said Mr Farook's wide, Tashfeen Malik, pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State on social media on the day of the shooting.

Uncle Ferd wonderin' if it's like with dogs, the uglier dey are, the cuter dey are?[/center]

Last week, prosecutors said "an outside party" had demonstrated a possible way of unlocking the iPhone without the need to seek Apple's help. A court hearing with Apple was postponed at the request of the justice department, while it investigated new ways of accessing the phone. At the time, Apple said it did not know how to gain access, and said it hoped that the government would share with them any vulnerabilities of the iPhone that might come to light. On Monday a statement by Eileen Decker, the top federal prosecutor in California, said investigators had received the help of "a third party", but did not specify who that was.

Investigators had "a solemn commitment to the victims of the San Bernardino shooting", she said. "It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with co-operation from relevant parties, or through the court system when co-operation fails," the statement added. Responding to the move, Apple said: "From the beginning, we objected to the FBI's demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the government's dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought." The company said it would "continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated".

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Steve N · Mar 28, 2016

Bad move by Apple. If they would have unlocked it then that's one thing, but now someone not associated Apple unlocked it which tells the entire world that it can be broken into. Apple sucks. I hate their products.

waltky · Apr 29, 2016

San Bernadino jihadi's relatives arrested...

San Bernardino shooters relatives arrested
Sat, Apr 30, 2016 - LEVERAGE: The suspects were arrested on charges of marriage fraud, which might be a ploy to obtain more information about the shooters, a former FBI agent said

Three people with close family ties to the couple responsible for the San Bernardino terror attack were arrested on Thursday in an alleged marriage-fraud scheme involving a pair of Russian sisters. The accused include Syed Raheel Farook. His brother and sister-in-law, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, died in a shootout with police after killing 14 people and wounding 22 on Dec. 2 last year. Also arrested in the marriage-fraud case were Syed Raheel Farooks wife, Tatiana, and her sister, Mariya Chernykh. Prosecutors said Mariyas marriage to Enrique Marquez Jr, the only person charged in the shootings, was a sham designed to enable her to obtain legal status in the US after overstaying a visitor visa in 2009.

Marquez confessed to the scheme when authorities questioned him about the shootings and he acknowledged getting US$200 per month to marry Chernykh, according to his criminal complaint. The three each entered not guilty pleas at an arraignment late on Thursday afternoon in federal court in Riverside. They were ordered to stand trial on June 21 in federal court in Los Angeles. US federal judge David Bristow also scheduled a pretrial conference for June 6 in Los Angeles. Bristow ordered that Chernykh, who prosecutors allege was most culpable for the sham marriage, be subject to electronic monitoring. Her boyfriend, who is the father of her child, arrived in court to tell the judge he would post her US$50,000 bond.

An unidentified US marshall court security officer escorts Rafia Farook, middle, the mother of Syed Raheel Farook, out of federal court in Riverside, Califonia

The mother of the Farook brothers posted bonds of US$25,000 each for her oldest son and his wife. Her son left court shortly thereafter, declining to speak to reporters. His wife was expected to be released later in the evening. Farook, who like the others appeared in court with shackles on his hands and feet, wept at times during his arraignment and bail hearing, including when his mother came forward to tell the judge she was posting bail. This is about a misrepresentation of an act of marriage. This is not about terrorism, his attorney, Ronald Cordova, told Bristow as he argued for a reasonable bail, maintaining that Farook is not a flight risk or a danger to society.

Outside court he said Farook has cooperated with US federal authorities throughout the terrorist investigation. I think his thorough cooperation may have led to some of the trouble hes going through now, Cordova said, adding that in discussing his family situation forthrightly Farook never stopped to consider that he might be involved in any illegal activity regarding his sister-in-laws marriage. If convicted of conspiracy to make false statements on US federal immigration documents, the Farooks and Chernykh face up to five years in prison. Chernykh also is charged with fraud, misuse of visas and other documents, perjury and two counts of making false statements, which could mean up to 25 years in prison.

The government might have brought the charges as a bargaining chip in order to get more information that the Farooks and Chernykh have not shared, said James Wedick, a former FBI agent who was with the agency 35 years. It suggests to me they werent talking so the government decided to ask a grand jury to return charges, Wedick said. If they were cooperating, theyd probably make some kind of deal. While the US government can benefit from continued interviews with the trio, Wedick said they also stand to benefit.

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Nordic Democrat · Apr 29, 2016

Stopping all Muslims from coming to the US is a horrible, stupid idea. However, stopping migration from specific countries is what we should do, namely Saudi Arabia. They are the worst.

Capitalism · Apr 29, 2016

Steve N said: ↑

Bad move by Apple. If they would have unlocked it then that's one thing, but now someone not associated Apple unlocked it which tells the entire world that it can be broken into. Apple sucks. I hate their products.
Click to expand...

Like the time they said, "You can't hack a Mac" and every decent black hatter in the world said "Oh really?"

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California shooter's spouse visa approved despite questions, lawmaker says

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California shooter's spouse visa approved despite questions, lawmaker says

Prunepicker Well-Known Member

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