Justice Department to release transcripts of calls with Orlando gunman

The Justice Department on Monday will make public some conversations between hostage negotiators and the perpetrator of the deadly Orlando, Fla., nightclub massacre, Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch said Sunday.

The partial transcripts of three separate phone conversations set to be released will reveal Omar Mateen discussing his motivations for the shooting rampage and pledging allegiance to terrorist groups, Lynch said during appearances on Sunday news programs.

“It’s been our goal to get as much information into the public domain as possible, so people can understand, as we do, possibly what motivated this killer, what led him to this place, and also provide us with information,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Lynch will travel to Orlando this week to receive additional updates about what she called a “very aggressive investigation” into Mateen, as well as others who may be subject to criminal charges in connection with last week’s killings. But she said it was too early to talk about who might be subject to investigation, including Mateen’s wife.

“We are trying to recreate the days, the weeks, the months of this killer’s life before the attack,” Lynch said on “Fox News Sunday.” “And we’re also asking people who had contact with him to come forward.”

Lynch reiterated that law enforcement officials viewed the Pulse nightclub massacre as both an act of terror and an “act of hate.” She said it was concerning that Mateen targeted a gay nightclub on Latin night in particular and added that part of her trip to Orlando this week would be to stand with those communities and repeat the commitment of law enforcement to protect them.

The transcripts will reveal Mateen’s stated allegiance to terrorist groups, but Lynch said no information indicates he was directed to commit the act by anyone overseas.

“But we do have information that shows that, over the course of time, he, like, sadly, too many individuals, was consuming radical jihadist information online and was becoming radicalized here in the United States,” she said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

“So we’re looking at all of those connections as well to determine, when did it happen, and what was the point that led him to actually pick up that gun?”

Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Lynch acknowledged that Mateen had previously been on the radar of the FBI for discriminatory statements reported by his coworkers and later in connection with a separate investigation of a suicide bomber from Florida whom Mateen had been in contact with.

“We are going back and scrubbing every contact we had with this killer,” she said.

Part of the investigation will include a reevaluation of what more could have been done to prevent him from committing the crime, she said.

Mateen’s failed attempt to purchase body armor from one Florida retailer could not have prompted scrutiny of him, she said.

“He didn’t make a purchase. And so, because he didn’t make a purchase, no identifying information was left,” she said on “Face the Nation.” “Once we realized after the news broke last weekend who the individual was, we were able to connect those dots.”

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said his panel would also examine why Mateen was not subject to greater scrutiny leading up to the attack.

“What is our capability when someone posts a public social media posting that says that they’re going to conduct attacks on the United States, on behalf of the Islamic State. Why can’t we pick up that information and then stop that act of terror?” he said.

michael.memoli@latimes.com

For more White House coverage, follow @mikememoli on Twitter.

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