A Texas congressman says that the army psychiatrist accused of gunning down 13 people at a U.S. military base had financial dealings in Pakistan, a hotbed of Islamic extremism.
Rep. Michael McCaul, who is the GOP's top member of the Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee, told The Associated Press Friday that Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan made or received wire transfers to the country.
"He may have friends or relatives or whatever and this could be totally (innocent)," McCaul said in a telephone interview.
"But if he is wiring money to Pakistan, that could be terrorist financing. If he was receiving money from Pakistan, that is more significant."
The information came from sources close to the investigation, McCaul said.
Meanwhile, questions are being raised as to whether the massacre could have been prevented.
Hasan, 39, was wounded during the Nov. 5 attack in Fort Hood, Texas, and immediately taken into custody. Thirteen were killed and 29 were wounded.
Hasan has since been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder. It isn't yet known if he could face the death penalty if a guilty verdict is delivered.
Investigators have since learned that Hasan had come to the attention of the FBI last December, after it was revealed that he was exchanging emails with Anwar al-Awlaki -- a radical Islamic cleric who left the U.S. for Yemen in 2002.
It has also come to light that Hasan had shared anti-American views with classmates while he was studying in a military medical program.
U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered a full review of the way that intelligence officials handled Hasan's file in the months leading up to the shooting.
The questions over Hasan's alleged financial dealings in Pakistan are underscored by reports the army major rented a modest apartment, which cost only $350 per month. He also drove a 2006 Honda and lived frugally, according to reports.
However, Hasan likely earned $92,000 in basic salary per year and was eligible for a living allowance of about $16,000 per year. He may have also qualified for a $20,000 yearly incentive payout.
However, Hasan's exact earnings aren't known and his file has been sealed pending the investigation.
Tom Ridge, the former U.S. Homeland Security secretary, told Canada AM that as in several previous state-side tragedies, it may well turn out that U.S. authorities had enough information at their fingertips to identify "a very, very serious problem."
"I guess, we are going to go, just as we did after September 11, 2001, just after we did after the horrible tragedy of Virginia Tech, we all have the benefit of 20-20 hindsight," Ridge told CTV's Canada AM during a telephone interview from Chicago on Friday morning.
"But once again, it appears that there were different pieces of information, different observations, different investigations that had an individual or individuals collected them all together, would have pointed out that they had a very, very serious problem," he said.
Ridge said investigators will be looking to determine if any clues were missed and how information was being shared between different branches of law enforcement.
"One of the challenges of the upcoming investigation is to really determine who knew what, when did they know it, and with whom did they share it," he said.
The former U.S. Homeland Security chief said he suspects that the shooting spree was terror-related, and is not convinced notion that the attack was related to combat stress.
Hasan may be paralyzed
On Friday, Hasan's lawyer John Galligan told The Associated Press that his client may be paralyzed from the waist down. Hasan had told Galligan he has no feeling in his legs, and that doctors say his condition may be permanent. Hasan was shot by police officers responding to last week's shootings.
Galligan told AP he spoke with Hasan Thursday at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
With files from The Associated Press
