Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on Tuesday accused the Harris-Biden administration's Department of Homeland Security of “obstructing” a congressional investigation into the first assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“I am completely outraged by the totally inadequate response from the Department of Homeland Security,” the Connecticut Democrat said. He told reporters On Capitol Hill.
“In fact, in many ways I think it amounts to sabotage,” Blumenthal added.
Blumenthal, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, argued that the Department of Homeland Security has “essentially shirked its duties by resisting requests for documents, evidence and information necessary to investigate” the July 13 shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, that injured the former president and two others and left one man dead.
The gunman was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper shortly after the attack.
“The Department of Homeland Security needs to be more forthright, not just with me but with the American people, and they need to do it quickly. To do otherwise not only stokes conspiracy theories that are extremely dangerous to our democracy, but also undermines the department's own credibility,” the senator continued.
Blumenthal suggested his dissatisfaction with the Department of Homeland Security has reached such a point that he supports issuing a subpoena to the department to obtain the documents the committee is requesting.
“I certainly support subpoenas,” he said. “It takes very little drafting and very little time to create a subpoena here.”
“I know how to issue subpoenas, and I am ready, willing and able to use the subpoena process if necessary to obtain information from the Department of Homeland Security,” Blumenthal added.
The Post has reached out to DHS for comment.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the ranking member of the committee investigating the assassination attempt, echoed Blumenthal's complaints about the Department of Homeland Security.
“They are keeping all their cards close to their chest,” he told reporters on Tuesday, adding that the lack of cooperation “raises suspicion and spreads conspiracy theories.”
Last week, Blumenthal suggested at the Butler Trump Rally that “the American people will be shocked, amazed and appalled by what we report about the Secret Service's failures.”
As the president left a meeting with Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Lowe, he said, “The American people should be appalled and astounded that the Department of Homeland Security has not been more forthcoming and honest with the American people about the information it provides.”
