Top Republicans probe Biden admin on Afghan nationals' alleged Election Day terrorist plot

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Afghan terror plot suspect was not vetted for special immigrant status

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson shares new details on the Afghan national suspected of planning an Election Day terror attack.

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Ranking Member Rand Paul, R-Ky., led several other Republicans in demanding answers from the Biden-Harris administration about two Afghan nationals arrested in Oklahoma for allegedly plotting an Election Day terrorist attack. 

Earlier this month, an Afghan national living in Oklahoma was arrested and charged with plotting a terrorist attack on Election Day with an underage co-conspirator on behalf of ISIS. 

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Sen. Rand Paul, right, led a letter sent to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, left, requesting crucial information about the Afghan nationals charged with plotting a terrorist attack. (Reuters)

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, came into the country on Sept. 9, 2021 on a special immigrant visa after the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under President Biden.

"After entering the United States, Tawhedi promoted ISIS propaganda, sent funds to known charities linked to ISIS support networks, and liquidated all assets to purchase weapons; with the remaining funds intended for the ISIS Treasury," Paul wrote Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a letter Friday afternoon, which was joined by Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., James Lankford, R-Okla., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan. 

"Tawhedi was working with a juvenile co-conspirator with legal permanent resident status who had entered the United States on March 27, 2018, using a SIV. According to reports, the two Afghan nationals planned to carry out a violent, armed attack on Election Day."

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"This alarming incident adds to a growing list of similar security breaches, raising serious concerns about the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) ability to effectively protect our homeland," the senators said.

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Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on Aug. 16, 2021 after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan's 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city's airport trying to flee the group's feared hard-line brand of Islamist rule. (Getty Images)

"The screening and vetting processes under the Biden-Harris administration are clearly failing, allowing criminals and individuals with terrorist links to exploit vulnerabilities in the system. Given the significant threat to American lives, it is imperative that we receive detailed information to fully understand the scope of these issues," the letter continued. 

The Republicans prompted Mayorkas and DHS to provide all records and information on Tawhedi and his co-conspirator's immigration statuses and criminal history, as well as communications between federal departments and agencies regarding them and the information in the individuals' Terrorist Screening Data Set.

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A reporter raises his hand to ask a question of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, during a press briefing on Monday, July 15, 2024 at the White House in Washington. (AP)

A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement "DHS responds to congressional correspondence directly via official channels, and the Department will continue to respond to congressional oversight."

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Tawhedi was charged less than a month before Election Day, which will take place on Nov. 5. 

The letter from top Republicans on the Homeland Security committee comes with less than two weeks until the presidential contest.