FBI mishandled tip on Fla. suspect
The revelation that the FBI botched a potentially life-saving tip on the Florida school shooting suspect is a devastating blow to America’s top law enforcement agency at a time when it is already under extraordinary political pressure.
Even before the startling disclosure that the FBI failed to investigate a warning that the suspect, Nikolas Cruz, could be plotting an attack, the bureau was facing unprecedented criticism from President Trump and other Republicans, who have accused it of partisan bias.
The FBI’s acknowledgment that it mishandled the tip prompted a sharp rebuke from its boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and a call from Florida’s Republican Gov. Rick Scott, a Trump ally, for FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign.
It was revealed that the FBI failed to delve into a YouTube comment posted by a “Nikolas Cruz” that said, “Im going to be a professional school shooter.” The FBI said it could not determine who made it.
The bureau said it had failed to act on a tip that Cruz had a “desire to kill people,” disturbing social media posts and access to a gun. Cruz is charged with killing 17 people in the school he once attended.
Sessions called the massacre a “tragic consequence” of the FBI’s failure. He ordered a review of the Justice Department procedures.
The House Judiciary and Oversight committees, whose Republican leaders have been some of the strongest FBI critics, demanded Wray brief them on what went wrong.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, said it was “inexcusable” the FBI did not follow protocols and urged Congress to launch its own investigation.
Wray apologized in a rare statement admitting the FBI’s missteps. But Scott, the governor, said that “isn’t going to cut it.”