Obama criticized for short stop-off in San Bernardino en route to Hawaii
US President Barack Obama has drawn criticism for a short stop in California to meet with families of those killed in the recent San Bernardino mass shooting, on his way to his annual Christmas vacation in Hawaii.
On Friday night, the president and his wife Michelle met with the families of those killed by a couple in San Bernardino, California.
In the meeting, Obama said, “As difficult as this time is for them and for the entire community, they're also representative of the strength and the unity and the love that exists in this community and in this country.”
However, he was criticized by a local leader for meeting only with relatives of the victims who lost their lives in the attacks. The leader accused the president of “politicizing” the tragedy in the weeks afterwards.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement that “obviously, those families are going through a difficult time, not just because they've lost loved ones, but obviously at the holiday season I think that loss is even more acute.”
“The president felt before he could begin his holiday that it was important for him to spend some time with these Americans who are mourning,” Earnest added.
On December 2, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife Tashfeen Malik, 29, stormed a holiday party in San Bernardino and killed 14 people, injuring 21 others in the deadliest mass shooting in the US in three years.
Officials said the woman had pledged allegiance to Daesh (ISIL) terrorists in a Facebook post. She went to America last year on a fiancée visa.
Assailant’s visa request ‘missing key info’
House Judiciary Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte accused immigration officials of allowing Malik into the United States despite critical missing information in her request for a fiancée visa.
"After reviewing Tashfeen Malik's immigration file, it is clear that immigration officials did not thoroughly vet her application," Goodlatte said in a statement on Saturday.
"The immigration official reviewing Malik's application requested more evidence to ensure the two met in person but it was never provided and her visa was approved anyway," he added.
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