THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT FOR 'THIS WEEK' ON June 19, 2016 and it will be updated.
KARL: Good morning, we had an ominous warning this week from the CIA director who said, quote, "As the pressure mounts on ISIL, we judge it will intensify its global terror campaign."
You are on the front lines of the fight here. Are we prepared to prevent more San Bernardinos, more Orlandos, from happening?
LYNCH: Well, that certainly is our goal. As you can see from this investigation, we are going back and learning everything we can about this killer, about his contacts, people who may have known him or seen him, and we're trying to build that profile so that we can move forward.
What we're also asking people to do is to give us information as well. Come forward as they did before so that we can make sure that we have all this information and that we can act on it.
I'm actually going to Orlando myself on Tuesday to meet with the team on the ground, to get an on-the-ground briefing on the investigation. We're meeting with the victims, the first responders, talking about the way in which we're going to be supporting the victims and the first responders. And also, operationally, you know, we will be releasing more information about this investigation as it comes to light.
KARL: Of all the things that we have learned, the FBI has acknowledged, that people at this gun shop in Jensen Beach, Florida, warned FBI agents that somebody had been in there, somebody who we now know would become the killer in Orlando, had tried to buy body armor, was acting suspiciously. Did the FBI do enough to follow up on that tip? This is the person -- this is -- this is the killer.
LYNCH: Well, this is the person that the gun shop owner did realize was the killer once he saw news reports. And yes, in the course of an unrelated investigation, FBI agents were talking to a gun shop owner and this gun shop owner did say, in addition to the information we're talking about, something else occurred. I want to let you know about this. But because Mateen didn't make a purchase, there was no record, there was no identifying information, but he did provide that information. And that's exactly what he was supposed to have done and we appreciate that.
KARL: But did they do anything with that information?
LYNCH: Well, at the time --
(CROSSTALK)
KARL: But do they --
LYNCH: -- no identifying information on that, and in fact, it wasn't until this tragic events of last weekend that the gun shop owner realized, oh my goodness, that was the man that came in. And in fact provided that information that allowed us to connect those dots.
But that's all part of what we're doing in this investigation. What I say we're going back into the days, weeks, and months of this killer's life and recreating what he did -- that's exactly the kind of information we're asking the public to produce to us.
And what we're going to be doing also is talking more about what happened, sadly, inside the nightclub. Tomorrow, for example, we'll be releasing a partial transcript of the calls between the killer and the hostage negotiators so people can, in fact, see the type of interaction that was had there. I say partial because we're not going to be, um, for example, broadcasting his pledges of allegiance. We are trying not to revictimize those who went through that horror. But again we're trying to get as much information about this investigation out as possible, and we want people to provide information that they have tot us.
KARL: One of the thins that we've learned about the killer is that he had a history of violent behavior going all the way back to grade school. Did the FBI -- they had investigated him twice and talked to him three times. In the course of those investigations, did the FBI learn about his long history of violent behavior?
LYNCH: Well, I can't go to the specifics of everything that they learned, but in fact he was under investigation once because he was making alarming statements and his coworkers did report that information, which again is exactly what they should have done and what --
KARL: But he was under investigation twice.
LYNCH: -- we've asked people to do.
Actually, he was under investigation himself for his own statements, and that investigation took some time. And at the time, the FBI did everything it could to see was he about to carry out anything? This was about two years ago. And I can assure you that had he indicated he was going to take action, that they would have stayed on that investigation. They determined that he was at the time making statements.
He then came on the radar again in the context of another investigation, another Florida man who traveled to Syria, blown himself up, in connection with a suicide bombing attempt, had a connection to the killer. And so he was interviewed along with other people who knew that other individual, and determined what connections he had and if he himself was predisposed to leave the country and commit the same kind of act.
It was determined that he was not predisposed to do, that he didn't give any indications at that time. And as the director has said, we're looking back at those investigations to see --
KARL: Well, here's what -- here's what Director --
LYNCH: -- if there's anything else we should've done.
KARL: Here's what Director -- FBI Director Comey said about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: We're also going to look hard at our own work to see whether there is something we should've done differently. So far, the honest answer is I don't think so. I don't see anything in reviewing our work that our agents should have done differently.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARL: That was Monday. He's saying I don't see anything that our agents should've done differently.
You don't really believe, at this point, that nothing should've been different, do you?
LYNCH: We're looking at that. You know, this is an ongoing investigation. We are going back and scrubbing every contact we had with this killer; we're also asking people to come forward with the contacts they have had with this killer as well.
I think what's important though is to continue to keep our focus on the victims of this tragic crime as well. And one of the things I'll be doing in Orlando on Tuesday is meeting with the victims, talking about the support that we'll be providing them as well, because this is a community -- the LGBT and Latino community -- that has come under fire before but never in as horrific a manner as this.
KARL: So the Justice Department has come out in favor of this idea of the no-fly, no-buy. If you're on the terrorist watchlist, the no-fly list, you shouldn’t be able to buy a gun. How many Americans are on the terrorist watchlist?
LYNCH: You know, we don't provide those exact numbers.
KARL: Can you give me a range? I mean, what are we talking about here?
LYNCH: Well, as I said, we don't provide those exact numbers. What's important to note about the changes that are being discussed is that we give the Justice Department two very important tools, which is if an individual on the list tries to buy a gun, we would have the ability to step in and block that purchase. Again, and if we did that, the individual chose to challenge --
KARL: It wouldn't be an automatic thing. You'd -- because James Comey has also said, the FBI director has said, that if you do that, if you're investigating somebody, they're going to buy a gun, somebody that prevented, they're tipped off to the fact that there's a -- he says that could blow FBI investigations.
LYNCH: And we're -- and we're --
KARL: This is the -- this is the bill that Democrats are pushing right now and you're (ph) supporting.
LYNCH: And we're tremendously grateful that the current legislation takes into account those concerns, which are shared throughout law enforcement. Because -- and as I say, it gives us two very, very important tools. The first, the ability to block a sale. The second, which relates to exactly to the concern that has been raised, is in the context of an individual challenging that, it gives us the ability to set forth procedures not to disclose sensitive or classified information, consistent of course with due process and the current workings of law.
So it gives us the ability to set up a procedure to protect those sensitive, classified investigations, which is of course very important.
KARL: All right, so much more to talk about but we are out of time. Attorney General Lynch, thank you very much for joining us.
LYNCH: Thank you so much.
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