Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Thursday called for transparency from the FBI on the Biden administration’s failure to adequately vet Afghan evacuees.

Citing a DHS inspector general’s report released this month that showed the Department of Homeland Security failed to properly screen thousands of refugees who fled Afghanistan after last year’s botched U.S. troop withdrawal, Grassley said the FBI must be transparent about the ordeal as public safety and national security "are clearly at stake here."

"The Biden administration, specifically the FBI, must be transparent about steps being taken to thwart risks stemming from the reckless vetting process that was used. So far, the agency has relied on classified briefings instead of full transparency," Grassley said in a press release Thursday. "Transparency brings accountability, which is no doubt what the administration is trying to avoid here given the string of failures that ensued.

"That’s why it’s unacceptable that the FBI continues to take a secretive approach, hiding behind classification as an excuse to withhold information that all Americans deserve to have and failing to provide Congress clear answers to important security questions."

He added: "Given the number of briefings Congress has received since the administration’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, including two in the last two months from the FBI, it’s clear the FBI knows this is a serious issue.

"It’s past time for the FBI to inform the public on the threats we face in our communities and the specific steps it’s taking to protect the homeland. Attorney General Garland should demand exacting transparency from the FBI, which he has thus far failed to do."

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