FBI Director Kash Patel dodged a question about whether the suspected Washington, D.C., gunman was granted asylum during Donald Trump's presidency.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro identified the suspect in the shootings of two National Guard troops as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who had been living in Bellingham, Washington, and she and other Trump administration officials blamed his presence in the U.S. on President Joe Biden, but Patel declined to answer a direct question about his asylum status.

"Question for Director Patel: Was the suspect granted asylum, and if so, when did that happen – under which administration?" a reporter asked Thursday morning during a news conference. "And did authorities miss any signs, either the asylum process or even back when he reportedly worked for the CIA, If you could talk about that?"

The FBI director avoided answering the question and continued blaming Biden-era policies.

"Well, you miss all the signs when you do absolutely zero vetting," Patel told the reporter, "and that's exactly what happened in this case, when you in the prior administration made the decision to allow thousands of people into this country without doing a single piece of background checking or vetting, that's how you miss every single sign, and [Homeland Security] Secretary Kristi Noem has put out details specifically related to your other questions, so I'll let that speak for themselves."

The reporter took another crack at it.

"For when he was granted asylum, if you could just clarify that timeline," the reporter said.

"Yes, I believe Kristi Noem put that out," Patel said, "and that's a DHS matter, and I'll refer it to them."

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