FBI Director James Comey (AP Photo)

(CNSNews.com) – FBI Director James Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that his agency is notified when someone on the terrorist watch list tries to buy a gun and that there are various actions they can and do take when that happens.

The FBI directors statement contrasts with President Barack Obama’s recent assertion that authorities can’t stop someone on the no-fly list from buying a gun.



“There are a variety of things that we do when we are notified that someone on our known or suspected terrorist database is attempting to buy a firearm. The FBI is alerted when that is triggered, and then we do investigation,” said Comey. The FBI looks for disqualifiers that can be used to stop the transaction, and if the transaction can’t be stopped, the FBI agents assigned to that subject are alerted to investigate, he said.

Comey was responding to a question from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), who asked whether there were tools available to the FBI that would stop a suspected terrorist from buying a gun.



According to the FBI, the no-fly list is a subset of the Terrorist Watchlist, also known as the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB), which contains thousands of records “updated daily and shared with federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement; and international partners to ensure that individuals with links to terrorism are appropriately screened.”



“The No Fly and Selectee Lists are two much smaller subsets of the Watchlist,” the FBI stated on its website. As of September 2011, there were 420,000 individuals on the Terror Watchlist – 98 percent of which are “non-U.S. persons.”



As CNSNews.com previously reported, in a speech Wednesday, Obama reacted to the San Bernardino terrorist attack, which claimed the lives of 14 people, by calling for increased gun control.



“And for those who are concerned about terrorism, some may be aware of the fact that we have a no-fly list where people can't get on planes, but those same people who we don't allow to fly could go into a store right now in the United States and buy a firearm, and there's nothing that we can do to stop them. That's a law that needs to be changed,” Obama said.

“Last week, our president stated that there are individuals who can’t get on planes, but they can go to a gun shop and buy a firearm there and he said ‘nothing we can do to stop them,’ but – and correct me if I’m wrong - the FBI is notified when someone on the terrorist watch list attempts to purchase a firearm, and a NICS [National Instant Criminal Background Check System] check is requested, and the FBI has multiple avenues that they can pursue,” Grassley said at the committee’s hearing on the oversight of the FBI.



“These are some of these avenues: delay the firearms transaction, and if the person is actually a terrorist, the FBI can arrest them for any crime for which there is probable cause, and in addition, the FBI can intervene and directly confront the individual. The FBI can also put the suspect on what’s called around-the-clock surveillance. My question: Aren’t these some of the tools available to the FBI to stop a suspected terrorist from buying a gun?” Grassley asked.



“Mr. Chairman, you’re right,” said Comey. “There are a variety of things that we do when we are notified that someone on our known or suspected terrorist database is attempting to buy a firearm.



“The FBI is alerted when that is triggered, and then we do investigation, understand, are there disqualifiers that we’re aware of that could stop the transactions, and if the transaction goes through, the agents who are assigned to that case, to that subject are alerted to it so they can investigate,” Comey added.



“Thank you very much for that clarification,” said Grassley. “So there are then actually many things that can be done, done right now to stop one, someone on the no-fly list from buying a gun, and that leads me to say that our president is misrepresenting the facts and misleading the American people on that point.”



Also, Comey admitted that he is concerned that terrorists have the ability to “manufacture fraudulent passports” which they could use to gain entry to the U.S. through the Syrian refugee program.



“Earlier this week, we learned that the National Counterterrorism Center has identified individuals with ties to terrorists in Syria who are attempting to enter the United States through the refugee program,” said Grassley.



“You have acknowledged that there are gaps in the information in screening of Syrian refugees, but isn’t it true that it’s not just a lack of information that we have to worry about with people coming from Syria. After all, ISIS controls a large part of the country, including former Syrian government offices and facilities,” he added.



“Presumably, it has the personal information of many innocent Syrians. It has virtually unlimited funds. So now my question: Are you concerned ISIS has ability to create fraudulent passports or other identification documents for its operatives that as a practical matter, it would be almost impossible to detect?” Grassley asked.



“Yes, Mr. Chairman, the intelligence community is concerned that they have ability, the capability to manufacture fraudulent passports, which is a concern in any setting,” Comey replied.