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---
title: Orlando Shooting: Paul Ryan Criticizes Transcript Redactions
description: House Speaker Paul Ryan criticized the FBI for not releasing all of the transcript of a 911 call made by Orlando shooter Omar Mateen.
canonical: https://time.com/4375000/orlando-shooting-transcript-redactions-paul-ryan/
author: TIME Staff
article:opinion: false
article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2016-06-20T16:46:59.000Z
article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T12:43:13.000Z
article:section: Politics
og:title: Speaker Criticizes FBI Over Redactions in Orlando Transcript
og:description: He called it censorship.
og:url: https://time.com/4375000/orlando-shooting-transcript-redactions-paul-ryan/
og:site_name: TIME
og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b49167d9ee62a16/698897f0524fc07cf0df862f/omar-mateen-orlando1.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=1200&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
og:image:width: 2560
og:image:height: 1440
og:image:alt: Undated photo from a social media account of Omar Mateen
og:type: article
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:title: Speaker Criticizes FBI Over Redactions in Orlando Transcript
twitter:description: He called it censorship.
twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b49167d9ee62a16/698897f0524fc07cf0df862f/omar-mateen-orlando1.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=1200&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
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![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b49167d9ee62a16/698897f0524fc07cf0df862f/omar-mateen-orlando1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# Paul Ryan Criticizes FBI Over Redactions in Orlando Shooting Transcript

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by 

[TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/)


## TIME Staff


Updated: Jan 24, 2024 12:43 PM UTCPublished: Jun 20, 2016 4:46 PM UTC

![Undated photo from a social media account of Omar Mateen](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b49167d9ee62a16/698897f0524fc07cf0df862f/omar-mateen-orlando1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

An undated photo of Omar Mateen, identified as the gunman in mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando, Fla., released on June 12, 2016.

An undated photo of Omar Mateen, identified as the gunman in mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando, Fla., released on June 12, 2016. Handout/Reuters

by 

[TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/)


## TIME Staff


Updated: Jan 24, 2024 12:43 PM UTCPublished: Jun 20, 2016 4:46 PM UTC

House Speaker Paul Ryan criticized the FBI for not releasing all of [the transcript of a 911 call](https://www.fbi.gov/tampa/press-releases/2016/investigative-update-regarding-pulse-nightclub-shooting) made by Orlando shooter Omar Mateen. The agency later released the full transcript.

During the shooting at the Pulse nightclub, Mateen made a 50-second call to 911 to take responsibility. Law enforcement officials [previously told NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/terror-hate-what-motivated-orlando-nightclub-shooter-n590496) that in the call he swore allegiance to the head of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, during the call, but those key words were redacted in the initial transcript released by the Tampa division of the FBI Monday:

---

> “”

---

Ryan called the decision to selectively edit the transcript “preposterous.”

> [](https://twitter.com/SpeakerRyan/status/744914695153397760)

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Sunday that portions of the transcript would not be released.

“What we’re not going to do is further proclaim this man’s pledges of allegiance to terrorist groups, and further his propaganda,”she [said in an interview on “Meet the Press.”](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/06/19/lynch%5Fpartial%5Ftranscript%5Fof%5Forlando%5F911%5Fcalls%5Fwill%5Fhave%5Freferences%5Fto%5Fisis%5Fcut%5Fout.html)

Later on Monday, the FBI released[ the unredacted transcript](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/joint-statement-justice-department-and-fbi-regarding-transcript-related-orlando-terror-attack):

---

> “”

---


President Obama has said that there is [“no clear evidence”](http://time.com/4366418/orlando-shooting-isis-barack-obama/) that the Orlando shooting was tied to a larger plot or the Islamic State.

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