What the FBI Director Admitted This Week About the 2009 Ft. Hood Shooting Could Prove Significant

FBI Director James Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that he agreed with the intelligence communities assessment that Ft. Hood shooter Nidal Hasan -- whose bloody massacre in 2009 took the lives of 13 people -- was inspired by Al Qaeda terrorist tactics. His statement seems to be in contrast with other administration officials who have labeled the deadliest shooting at a military base in U.S. history as "workplace violence."

Since 2009, the victims and survivors of the Ft. Hood shooting have told TheBlaze that they have not only been battling their own wounds but the Obama Administration's classification of the attack and failure to recognize Hasan's actions as that of an enemy combatant. The military survivors, many who have made their case to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, have been fighting to be awarded the Purple Heart and the benefits that go with it.

FILE - This file combination image shows handout photos of the victims killed during the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas. From top left, Michael Grant Cahill, 62, of Cameron, Texas; Maj. Libardo Eduardo Caraveo, 52, of Woodbridge, Va.; Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow, 32, of Evans, Ga.; Capt. John Gaffaney, 56, of San Diego, Calif.; Spc. Frederick Greene, 29, of Mountain City, Tenn.; Spc. Jason Dean Hunt, 22, of Frederick, Okla., Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29, of Kiel, Wis.; Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka, 19, of West Jordan, Utah; Pfc. Michael Pearson, 22, of Bolingbrook, Ill.; Capt. Russell Seager, 51, of Racine, Wis.; Pvt. Francheska Velez, 21, of Chicago; Lt. Col. Juanita Warman, 55, of Havre de Grace, Md.; and Pfc. Kham Xiong, 23, of St. Paul, Minn. A military jury has sentenced Hasan to death for the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood that killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others. (AP Photo, File)

TheBlaze has published a multi-part series -- as well as a For The Record program -- telling the stories of the Fort Hood victims, revealing the hardships they have faced in the shooting's aftermath and the small victories they have found in survival.

Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who has been an advocate for the survivors and victims families of the attack, asked Comey during the hearing about Hasan's planned attack at Ft. Hood's Soldier Readiness Processing Center. Cornyn, along with colleague Texas Sen.Ted Cruz, have been pushing for legislation that would award the survivors and victims family compensation and Purple Hearts.

"Director Comey, thank you for your service to the country. And thank you for your commitment to cooperate with this committee and Congress as part of our responsibilities to conduct oversight," said Cornyn, at the hearing. "And that hasn't always been the case with the administration, but I appreciate the approach that you bring to it. In your opening statement, you mentioned Al Qaida-inspired terrorism. And I know you're familiar if not specifically, generally, with the facts of the 2009 attack at Fort Hood, Texas, when Major Nidal Hasan shot and killed 13 people, injured a couple dozen plus more...

"Do you agree with the intelligence community's assessment that Hasan was inspired by Al Qaida to conduct that attack?" Cornyn asked.

Comey responded: "Yes, sir, based on everything I've read. Again, I wasn't in office at the time, but I've read about it since, and I -- and I do."

Hasan, a psychiatrist who was transferred to Ft. Hood from Walter Reed Medical Center, injured 32 during his rampage.

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