New Orleans attack suspect may not have acted alone: Ex-FBI agent

(NewsNation) — As police continue to piece together clues into what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism in New Orleans, the suspect who was shot and killed by police may not have acted alone, a former FBI special agent told NewsNation.

Stuart Kaplan said investigators won’t need long to identify the suspect who drove into a crowd on Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning, killing 10 and injuring 35. Given investigative tools available to police, suspects can’t go unidentified for very long and Kaplan believes the suspect may have already been identified by law enforcement.

Investigative technology may provide leads into where the man may have come from before carrying out Wednesday’s attack.

“I would suggest this may be a byproduct of our unfortunate open border policies,” Kaplan told NewsNation, adding, “Unfortunately this is the catastrophic result of an individual who was able to now create panic and fear.”

Kaplan’s sources suggest that the man may have entered the country illegally in the last week, and FBI investigators are working quickly to identify other “potential bad actors” that may have been involved in the attack.

Kaplan, citing sources, said government surveillance would have been able to place the suspect in Wednesday’s attack with other individuals who may have been involved. The sources indicate that the attack may be part of a bigger, more coordinated plot toward other venues and that “other attacks may be coming our way.”

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‘Massive cover up’ fears raised as House panel splits on clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell



Ghislaine Maxwell's condition to testify under oath — but only under the condition of clemency — has split House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members over whether President Donald Trump should grant her that pardon, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told Politico on Wednesday.

Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator, was deposed by the committee and invoked her Fifth Amendment right to decline to answer the group's questions. Trump is the only one with the power to pardon her, something he has not yet ruled out.

Comer told Politico that he did not favor a pardon for Maxwell, a former confidant to the late financier and convicted child sex offender. When asked whether striking a deal with Maxwell could provide useful testimony, Comer did not share who on the panel supported granting her clemency.

"A lot of people do," Comer said.

"My committee’s split on that," Comer said. "I don’t speak for my committee."

"I think it looks bad," he added. "Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell."

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said that Democrats on the committee collectively oppose a pardon for Maxwell.

"That would be a huge step backwards, and, quite frankly, so disrespectful to the survivors," he said in an interview. "She is a known abuser. She is a known liar."

"If the DOJ or Oversight Republicans are out there trying to negotiate some sort of pardon that is... not only a huge slap in the face to this investigation, to anyone, to the American public," Garcia said. "It’s a part of a massive cover up."