The Obama administration and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch were widely criticized for their initial decision to redact portions of Orlando shooter Omar Mateen’s 911 phone call, specifically the portions where he pledged allegiance to the terrorist group ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The administration ultimately caved to pressure from critics and released the full, unedited transcript of the call, saying the uproar over the omissions was “an unnecessary distraction.” Here’s what it looked like beforehand:
Orlando Police Dispatcher (OD): Emergency 911, this is being recorded.
Shooter (OM): In the name of God the Merciful, the beneficial [in Arabic]
OD: What?
OM: Praise be to God, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of God [in Arabic]. I let you know, I’m in Orlando and I did the shootings.
OD: What’s your name?
OM: My name is I pledge of allegiance to [omitted].
OD: Ok, What’s your name?
OM: I pledge allegiance to [omitted] may God protect him [in Arabic], on behalf of [omitted].
The unedited version reads, in part: “I pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may God protect him [in Arabic], on behalf of the Islamic State.”
The initial decision was a rather confounding one, especially given President Obama’s recent proclamations that, when it comes to acts of [omitted] terrorism, “there’s no magic” in words.
It wasn’t the first time the administration had engaged in censorship on the topic of radical Islamic terrorism. In April, the White House was criticized for removing a portion of a video in which French president François Hollande used the phrase “Islamic terrorism.”
What other controversial statements might Loretta Lynch have decided were too controversial for public consumption?