America First Legal (AFL) on Thursday sued the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security for illegally withholding records on the first assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
The organization launched multiple investigations on an expedited basis on July 16, 2024, just three days after the July 13 assassination attempt, that grazed the former president’s head — a shot that would have been fatal with just a few centimeters’ difference.
AFL requested via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents detailing the Secret Service’s potential staffing shortages, the agency’s hiring and employment standards, and communications to and from DHS Secretary Alejandro Majorkas and two other senior DHS officials — Kristie Canegello and Jonathan Davidson — on the day of the attempt.
America First Legal also requested calendars from key Secret Service government officials, including the director and deputy director.
“To date, AFL has not received any requested records, despite requesting expedited processing and meeting all of the standards in law to receive such expedited proceedings,” the group said in a statement on Thursday.
According to AFL, the Secret Service said in July it would not expedite AFL’s FOIA request on staffing shortages since there was no threat to the life or safety of anyone and that there was no urgency to inform the public about government activity. AFL noted that the Secret Service did grant its request for expedited processing of the FOIA in another request that used the same justifications.
Even some Democrats have slammed the DHS’s lack of response to the assassination attempt.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told reporters recently he was “reaching the point of total outrage.”
“[T]he response from the Department of Homeland Security has been totally lacking. In fact, I think it’s tantamount to stonewalling in many respects,” he said.
AFL’s statement continues, “Just a few days ago, another assassin attempted to take President Trump’s life in Florida. There is no denying that President Trump currently faces genuine threats, and AFL’s requests would help to ensure that USSS and DHS leadership are suffcieintly trained and staffed to ensure the safety of President Trump.”
“The American people need total transparency,” the group added.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) on Wednesday introduced an amendment directing the Secret Service to release any and all information pertaining to the July 13 assassination attempt, which passed unanimously in the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.
“To date, Secret Service and DHS have provided virtually no answers, and there remain many outstanding questions,” Hawley said.
Senate HSGAC Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) Ranking Member Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said the Secret Service has refused to hand over the autopsy report of the would-be assassin Matthew Thomas Crooks, and other documents.
“[The] toxicology report; we don’t have any of the trajectory reports. So, where’d the bullets go? We don’t even know how they handled the crime scene,” Johnson told reporters recently, according to Fox News.
He also said he has not been able to interview the Secret Service sniper who took out Crooks.
“There’s just basic information we should have right now, and we don’t have it.”
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