The government should release records of the first attempted assassination, lawmakers and legal organizations demand. The United States Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security-DHS-are being sued by a conservative legal watchdog group to explain how gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to “fire a relatively simple shot that came within an inch of killing President Trump and struck fellow Americans.”
America First Legal filed a complaint Thursday alleging the Secret Service and DHS are illegally withholding federal records relating to the July 13 attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania. The group maintains that “despite repeated demands from AFL for public records regarding the incident, no documents have been produced.”.
AFL senior counsel Gene Hamilton said in a statement, “The American people watched in horror as a lunatic attempted to assassinate former President, and current candidate for President, Donald Trump, on July 13.”
Grave mistakes were made on that terrible day and in the days, weeks, and months leading up to it. The fact is widely recognized across the political spectrum. “So that the American people can learn exactly what top DHS leadership was focusing on in its mission and why more significant resources were not dedicated to the safety of President Donald J. Trump, we are committed to securing these documents,” Hamilton said.
Related Posts
AFL also sought records from the Secret Service regarding hiring and employment practices, manpower shortages, and correspondence between Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and his two senior DHS officials, Jonathan Davidson and Kristie Canegallo.
The Secret Service allegedly told AFL that there was “no threat to the life or safety of anyone” and, therefore, no compelling need to answer its expedited request for public records, and as such, it would not process it.
This is because Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill have also sought the records from federal organizations about what transpired that day and any potential security breaches.
“Politicians on both sides of the aisle and the American people both agree that USSS and senior officials at DHS are failing to provide well-deserved and well-needed transparency,” AFL said in their released press statement.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also expressed his “total outrage” last week at the DHS’s “totally lacking” response to reporters on Capitol Hill.
The Connecticut Democrat added, “In many ways, I think it’s akin to stonewalling.”
Furthermore, the Secret Service has refused to turn over documents regarding paperwork on an autopsy report of Crooks, according to Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who recently said to Fox News Digital, “We don’t have any of the trajectory reports.”
“So, what happened to the bullets? He said, “We have no idea how they handled the murder scene. “We haven’t been able to interview the sniper who took out Crooks,” Johnson said. The would-be assassin Crooks opened fire at the July 13 event in Pennsylvania, killing one rally participant and gravely wounding two more. Crooks also managed to graze the former president’s ear.
An AFL statement explained, “There is no denying that President Trump currently faces genuine threats, and AFL’s requests would help ensure that USSS and DHS leadership are sufficiently trained and staffed to make sure President Trump is protected.” This followed the second attempt on Trump’s life, which occurred last week at his Florida golf course.
