By: Savannah Smith | 02-26-2017 | News
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White House Rejects DHS Intel Report Contradicting Trump's Travel Ban

The White House is rejecting a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intelligence report rebuffing the statement of the Trump administration that citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries pose a higher terror threat, that is why they were included in the executive order calling for a temporary travel ban for people from those countries from entering the U.S.

A senior Trump administration official told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that President Trump indeed asked for an intelligence report. However, the intelligence assessment being floated by the DHS intel report is " not the intelligence assessment the President asked for".

Trump administration officials assert that the said report is incomplete and inaccurate as it failed to include available evidence that supports the president's executive order issued on January 27 barring citizens from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Yemen, Sudan and Somalia from entering the U.S.

Acting DHS Press Secretary Gillian Christensen echoed the statement of Trump officials as she also questioned the agency's report, dismissing it as an "incomplete product". She was, however, quick to stress that the administration's reason for taking issue with it was not political. She cautioned Trump's opponents who might exploit the issue to further hit the president. Christensen pointed out that the dispute with the report has to do with sources and quality, and not politics.

The intel report says that an individual's citizenship is an "unlikely indicator" of the threat they pose to the U.S.

The President's executive order was blocked by a federal appeals court earlier this month, but Trump remains firm in fulfilling his campaign promise of protecting national security and ensuring Americans are safe from threats of potential terrorists entering the country. Trump ordered the travel ban while his administration is working on a better vetting system to prevent potential terrorists from coming in.

The President has announced that his administration is crafting a new order that can better withstand legal scrutiny , but still accomplish his original objectives. The administration is poised to announce the new order anytime soon.

Source: http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/321165-white-house-rebuffs-dhs-report-finding-little-evidence-to-support

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