Federal authorities have opened “multiple investigations into individuals affiliated” with the Hamas terror group, but have not yet unearthed credible threats to the US, FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers Wednesday.
Wray did underscore that there is a “heightened threat environment” as calls grow for attacks on America and added that his most pressing concern was “homegrown violent extremists.”
“Since Oct. 7, we’ve seen a rogue’s gallery of foreign terrorist organizations call for attacks against Americans and our allies,” Wray told the House Homeland Security Committee.
“Given those calls for action, our most immediate concern is that individuals or small groups will draw twisted inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks here at home,” he went on.
While calling for Americans to show “heightened vigilance,” Wray also stressed that it is “by no means a time for panic.”
At one point, Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) pressed Wray about “suspected terrorists” apprehended at the US-Mexico border.
“Well, certainly the group of people that you’re talking about are a source of great concern for us, which is why we are aggressively using all 56 of our joint terrorism task forces,” Wray said.
Wray testified alongside Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and National Counterterrorism Center Director Christine Abizaid about global threats to the US and to American interests abroad.
The hearing took place as Congress nears a year-end deadline to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which grants law enforcement and intelligence agencies broad powers to conduct surveillance of foreign citizens in national security-related investigations.
Currently, the government can gather vast troves of electronic data from telecommunications providers, including phone calls and text messages.
However, Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about reauthorizing the program due to instances of Americans getting caught up in the collection of data.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told The Post last week that he was in favor of “real reform” of the system, but added that he wasn’t sure where lawmakers would come down on a compromise proposal.
On Wednesday, Wray urged lawmakers to reup the program without delay.
“Just imagine if a foreign terrorist organization overseas shifts intentions and directs an operative here, who’d been contingency planning, to carry out an attack in our own backyard,” he warned the panel.
“And imagine if we’re not able to disrupt that threat because the FBI’s 702 authorities have been so watered down.”
“I think letting 702 lapse would be shortsighted at best and dangerous in the extreme at worst,” Wray added later in the hearing. “To be clear, 702 is what allows us to get eyes on foreign threats overseas that pose national security threats to people here in the homeland.”
“The idea that we would deliberately blind ourselves to information that is lawfully in our possession just strikes me as crazy.”