WASHINGTON, D.C.: Even as the Trump administration this week blamed vetting failures by the Biden-era for the admission of an Afghan immigrant suspected of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., a U.S. government file seen by Reuters showed that the alleged gunman was granted asylum this year under President Donald Trump.

The 29-year-old Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the U.S. on September 8, 2021, under Operation Allies Welcome.

Addressing a press conference this week, FBI Director Kash Patel and Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, both Trump appointees, blamed the Biden administration's background checks or vetting of Lakanwal in 2021 for the inadequate screening.

However, they did not provide any evidence to support their claim.

Patel said Lakanwal had worked with U.S. government forces during the war in Afghanistan. Thereafter, under Operation Allies Welcome, "the prior administration decided to allow thousands of people into this country without doing a single piece of background checking or vetting."

According to a congressional report, the program that allowed more than 70,000 Afghan nationals into the United States included vetting measures carried out by U.S. counterterrorism and intelligence agencies. But because the evacuations were so significant and hurried, critics argued that the background checks were inadequate.

Under the program, evacuated Afghans received a two-year "parole" that let them live and work legally in the U.S. and later apply for a more permanent status.

A document reviewed by Reuters showed that Lakanwal applied for asylum in December 2024 and was approved on April 23 of this year, three months after Trump took office. Lakanwal, 29, who lived in Washington state, had no known criminal history, the official said.

Lakanwal's government said the United States had vetted him because of his work with U.S. government partners in Afghanistan, and no disqualifying information was found.

"This animal would've never been here if not for Joe Biden's dangerous policies, which allowed countless unvetted criminals to invade our country and harm the American people," said Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement that Lakanwal had worked with CIA-backed local units in Afghanistan.

"The Biden Administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. Government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation," Ratcliffe said. "This individual - and so many others - should have never been allowed to come here."

The shooting of U.S. troops on American soil by an immigrant is expected to echo throughout the political arena. Trump has already ordered an additional 500 troops to be deployed to Washington.

He has also called for a "re-examination" of all Afghan nationals who entered the United States during the Biden administration. Following the shooting, the Trump administration suspended all immigration applications from Afghan nationals.

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that the administration would review all Biden-era asylum cases, including refugee cases reported by Reuters earlier this week.

A source told Reuters that the suspension also covered applications from Afghans who had worked with the CIA. The attack has further revived criticism by the Trump administration over the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.