WASHINGTON: Two Texas politicians made public details of an investigation into a terrorism suspect while it was still in progress, potentially jeopardizing the inquiry, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lieut. Gov. Dan Patrick released statements on Thursday with details about the case contained in documents that were still under court seal, the sources said.

Abbott was briefed on the case by the Texas Department of Public Safety, but was not informed that it was under seal, said Abbott’s spokesman, John Wittman. The department, in an emailed statement, said it “does not discuss matters related to ongoing investigations.”

A spokesman for Patrick said in an emailed statement that the “Lt. governor’s office did not issue any public statements about the arrests or investigation until they had been widely reported in both Houston and Sacramento, California.”

The statements from the two Texas Republicans concerned the arrest of Omar Faraj Saeed Al-Hardan, 24, an Iraqi refugee who is accused of providing material support to Daesh overseas.

Abbott provided his statement in response to a later inquiry from a reporter, Wittman said.

The US Department of Justice on Thursday released a statement about two hours after Abbott’s statement was released.

In his statement, Abbott urged Democratic President Barack Obama to halt the resettlement program of Syrian refugees so they can all be vetted to ensure they “do not compromise the safety of Americans and Texans.”

Republicans widely oppose Obama’s plan to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees into the country, arguing that they pose a security risk to the United States. The Obama administration has rejected that assertion. Hardan, who appeared in court on Friday, entered the United States in November 2009 and lived in Houston, according to a court document. Other Republican politicians also seized on Hardan’s refugee status, as well as another Iraqi refugee who was arrested on Thursday in Sacramento, California, and who US prosecutors publicly accused of supporting a foreign terrorist group, to renew opposition to Obama’s refugee plan.

At a campaign stop in Iowa on Thursday, presidential candidate and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas called for a “retroactive assessment” of refugees coming to the United States from “high risk” countries.

The sources familiar with the probe said Abbott and Patrick’s comments on Thursday forced federal authorities to wrap up their inquiries and rush out public statements and court papers on the case earlier than planned.

Texas Democratic Party Deputy Executive Director Manny Garcia said Abbott and Patrick’s utmost concern ought to be the security of Texas families, “not how to best score cheap political points.”