Stay up to date with live coverage of the Trump administration and national politics Friday as President Trump vowed to “permanently pause” migration from all “Third World Countries” to allow the US to “fully recover” after two National Guard members were shot Wednesday by a suspected terrorist.
National Guardswoman Sarah Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries and passed away Thursday. The other National Guard member Andrew Wolfe is in critical condition.
“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States,” Trump said Thursday night.
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro is bringing six charges against Rahmanullah Lakanwal. One of the charges will be first-degree murder. He also faces three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and two counts assault with intent to kill while armed.
Trump does not have any public events scheduled today. He traveled to Palm Beach, Florida for the rest of the week.
Follow live updates on President Trump and national politics for the latest news, analysis and more from Washington:
Trump admin ‘immediately’ halts issuing visas to Afghan nationals after DC National Guard shooting
By Victor Nava
The State Department announced Friday that it has “IMMEDIATELY paused visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports.”
The move comes two days after Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal allegedly opened fire on two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, DC, killing one and leaving the other in critical condition.
“The Department is taking all necessary steps to protect U.S. national security and public safety,” read an X post from the State Department.
Fellow mosque congregants says Afghan terror suspect wasn’t ‘involved in community’
By Anna Young and Jared Downing
Members of the Washington state mosque Afghan terror suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal and his family worshipped said he was never very active in the local Muslim community and didn’t speak English.
One congregant at the Islamic Society of Whatcom County in Bellingham, where the 29-year-old suspect lived, said the alleged gun-toting assailant seldom attended services with his five children and was basically a stranger to everyone there.
“He comes off an on with his kids, but he’s not, you know, a community member who’s involved in community affairs because he came in as a refugee,” the local, originally from Pakistan, told The Post Friday, adding that few other Afghans came to the mosque.
“Nobody knows him really well. Not even his name. Because he doesn’t speak English, just his native language, a communication is a barrier,” the congregant continued.
“It’s shocking. It’s alarming and surprising that you live with this person, and they do this kind of act.”
Lakanwal, who arrived in the US during the chaotic 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal and resettled in Bellingham, is accused of executing one National Guard solider and critically injuring another during an ambush-style attack near the White House Wednesday afternoon.
He’s facing first-degree murder and related charges, federal prosecutors said.
DC terror suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal had two ‘minor contacts’ with police in Washington state: official
The Afghan national accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members had a pair of “minor contacts” with law enforcement in Washington state, police confirmed to The Post Friday.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, was issued a traffic citation from the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office and a trespassing citation from the Bellingham Police Department, a Washington State Patrol spokesperson said in an email.
Lakanwal relocated to Bellingham, WA after he fled war-torn Afghanistan with his family in 2021 as US forces were withdrawing.
He allegedly drove from the west coast community to DC to carry out his depraved and deadly attack.
While a neighbor said Lakanwal “disappeared” two weeks before the shooting, state patrol said there was no record of him being reported missing.
Brother of alleged DC gunman was a platoon leader in elite CIA-backed ‘Zero Unit,’ ex-squad official says
The brother of alleged DC gunman Rahmanullah Lakanwal was a platoon leader in the same elite CIA-backed “Zero Unit” as his sibling, an ex-official in that squad said Friday.
Lakanwal, 29, and his brother both served in the southern province of Kandahar, said a resident of the region who identified himself as a cousin of the accused shooter, according to The Associated Press.
While Lakanwal began as a security guard for the unit in 2012, he later ascended to a team leader and GPS specialist, said the cousin who did not want to be publicly identified.
The former official from the unit, who also did not want to be identified, said Lakanwal’s brother was a platoon leader, AP reported.
The brother also lives in the United States, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.
Trump stokes 2028 third term talk once again
President Trump has once again suggested he could run for president in 2028 — this time, by posting an image of himself with a campaign poster.
“TRUMPLICANS!” the president wrote Friday on Truth Social above a computer-generated picture of himself holding a sign that said, “Trump 2028, Yes!”
Trump has gone back and forth on whether he’s likely to run again — in what many observers believe is a way to avoid lame-duck status.
Trump told CNBC in August he would “probably not” seek a third term, but told NBC in March he was “not joking” about running again.
Last month, Trump ruled out running as Vice President JD Vance’s running mate — saying it would be “too cute” to attempt that workaround of the 22nd Amendment, which says someone can only be “elected” president twice. In that scenario, Vance would resign to allow Trump to regain power.
Days later, Trump said, “it’s pretty clear I’m not allowed to run — it’s too bad,” seeming to rule out a bid.
Trump threatens Biden with ‘charges of perjury’ — says auto-penned orders ‘terminated’
President Trump claimed Friday that he was repealing all documents signed by former President Joe Biden using an autopen — and threatened to have his predecessor “brought up on charges of perjury” if he asserts that staffers were acting on his orders when using the mechanical.
Trump, 79, has for months characterized Biden, 83, as AWOL during his four-year term and claimed that unelected aides were running the country without authorization.
“Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect. The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him. I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally.”
Trump added: “Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The president already has repealed many of Biden’s executive orders and suggested that many of his pardons are invalid, though Biden told the New York Times in an interview this year he authorized the use of his name for controversial last-minute pardons.
Auto-penned signatures carry full legal force so long as aides were operating under the directive of the president and ave been used by chief executives for decades, including for everything from routine proclamations and constituent letters to — in rare cases — actual legislation.
A House Republican-led investigation this year of the autopen’s use under Biden produced no direct evidence that aides acted without presidential approval, but generated circumstantial evidence that he rarely interacted with many key West Wing officials, while emails showed internal concern about how to implement orally communicated instructions on end-of-term clemency actions.
A Biden spokeswoman declined to comment.
DHS blames Biden admin’s ‘parole program’ for DC terror suspect’s asylum being granted
WASHINGTON — Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Post in a statement Friday that the Afghan national who shot two National Guard members in a suspected act of terrorism was granted asylum because of the Biden administration’s “parole program.”
“This Afghan national was paroled in by the Biden Administration. After that, Biden signed into law that parole program, and then entered into the 2023 Ahmed Court Settlement, which bound USCIS to adjudicate his asylum claim on an expedited basis,” McLaughlin said. “Regardless of if his asylum was granted or not, this monster would not have been removed because of his parole.”
“Effective immediately, processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals is stopped indefinitely pending further review of security and vetting protocols,” she added. “The Trump Administration is also reviewing all asylum cases approved under the Biden Administration, which failed to vet these applicants on a massive scale.”
DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro to bring six counts against suspected DC National Guard shooter — including first-degree murder charge
WASHINGTON — DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro is bringing six charges against the suspected Afghan terrorist who gunned down to members of the National Guard in the nation’s capital.
A rep for Pirro’s office confirmed that at the moment the DC prosecutor is bringing one charge of first-degree murder against Rahmanullah Lakanwal.
The 29-year-old Washington State resident also faces three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and two counts assault with intent to kill while armed.
Mourners lay down American flags, flowers for two National Guard members shot
Mourners pay their respects to the victims of Wednesday’s shooting in Washington, DC.
National Guard members Andrew Wolfe, 24, and Sarah Beckstrom, 20, were shot in the ambush. Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries and passed away Thursday.
Alleged terrorist Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is accused of gunning down the National Guard members.
Trump backs Tito Asfura in upcoming Honduras elections: ‘Democracy is on trial’
WASHINGTON — President Trump issued a strong statement of support for Honduran presidential candidate Tito Asfura on Friday, saying that democracy was on the ballot as the National Party nominee and his coalition seek to beat back his Communist opponent.
“Democracy is on trial in the coming Elections in the beautiful country of Honduras on November 30th. Will Maduro and his Narcoterrorists take over another country like they have taken over Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela?” Trump posted on X. “The man who is standing up for Democracy, and fighting against Maduro, is Tito Asfura, the Presidential Candidate of the National Party.
“Tito was the highly successful Mayor of Tegucigalpa where he brought running water to millions, and paved hundreds of kilometers of roads. His chief opponent is Rixi Moncada, who says Fidel Castro is her idol,” he said.
“Normally, the smart people of Honduras, would reject her, and elect Tito Asfura, but the Communists are trying to trick the people by running a third Candidate, Salvador Nasralla. Nasralla is no friend of Freedom. A borderline Communist, he helped Xiomara Castro by running as her Vice President. He won, and helped Castro win,” the president added.
“Then he resigned, and is now pretending to be an anti-Communist only for the purposes of splitting Asfura’s vote. The people of Honduras must not be tricked again. The only real friend of Freedom in Honduras is Tito Asfura,” Trump also said.
“Tito and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists, and bring needed aid to the people of Honduras. I cannot work with Moncada and the Communists, and Nasralla is not a reliable partner for Freedom, and cannot be trusted. I hope the people of Honduras vote for Freedom and Democracy, and elect Tito Asfura, President!”
Top Trump intel official reveals DC terror suspect wasn’t vetted for entry to US
WASHINGTON — A top Trump administration intelligence official said Friday that the suspected Afghan terrorist who gunned down two National Guard service members was “not vetted” before being allowed to enter the US in 2021.
Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, posted on X that the Biden administration was to blame for the lapse in vetting, which has led to the death of Guardswoman Sarah Beckstrom.
“During Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, his administration negligently used the vetting standard described above as the standard for being brought directly into the U.S., foregoing previous vetting standards applied to Special Immigrant Visas and any common sense vetting or concern for Americans,” Kent said.
“As a result, over 85k Afghans—including individuals with backgrounds similar to this shooter— were rapidly admitted into our country without the rigorous vetting that has protected us in the past.”
The NCTC director said there were more than 2 million in total who entered “from Muslim majority nations & regions surged … often with minimal scrutiny amid record border crossings.”
“This is a deadly combination,” Kent concluded.
The intel official noted that the suspected terrorist “was only vetted to serve as a soldier to fight against the Taliban, AQ, & ISIS IN Afghanistan, he was NOT vetted for his suitability to come to America and live among us as a neighbor, integrate into our communities, or eventually become an American citizen.”
Horrific new footage shows hero National Guardsman open fire on Afghan terror suspect
By Emily Crane
Disturbing new footage shows the moment a hero National Guard member opened fire on the suspected Afghan terrorist — just moments after the alleged gunman ambushed two troops in a broad daylight attack.
The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, could be seen brazenly wielding his gun as he fired rounds at the National Guard members in Washington, DC, on Thanksgiving eve, according to a series of live photos obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
At one point, a male guard can be seen running down the street as he frantically tries to reload his own weapon.
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