Senate Democratic leaders have accused the Biden-Harris administration of “obstructing” its response to requests for information about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and potential failings by the US Secret Service.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is “essentially dereliction of duty by resisting our requests for documents, evidence and information necessary for our investigation.”
The Democrat reiterated his disappointment with the Department of Homeland Security, adding that he was “angry” that the department had not been more “upfront.”
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Senator Blumenthal accused the Department of Homeland Security of obstructing Congress' requests for information. (Reuters)
“We may need to ask for their further cooperation, and we have the authority to do that through compulsory process – in other words, subpoena authority,” the Democrat told reporters on Monday, hinting at the possibility of using subpoenas in the future.
PSI's lead director, Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson, echoed Blumenthal's views on the Department of Homeland Security and its lack of transparency, arguing that “they're keeping all their cards close to their chest.”
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Senator Ron Johnson questions Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill on July 30, 2024. (Umit Bektas/Reuters)
In fact, he said, hiding information “creates suspicion and spreads conspiracy theories.”
“I hope they're frustrated,” Johnson said of PSI and his Democratic counterpart on HSGAC, Chairman Gary Peters (D-Mich.).
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Acting Director of the U.S. Secret Service Ronald Rowe Jr. provided media with an update on the investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a press conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, Monday, September 16, 2024. (Mega from Fox News Digital)
“I wrote a letter that took two weeks to be signed by all four departments. I sent it to the Secret Service and to Homeland Security, which infuriated them. I got a response in four hours, and the response was extremely rude,” he said. “And I think that infuriated Chairman Peters and Chairman Blumenthal, and I think that's exactly the response we heard last week. They're not happy with the way they've been treated.”
Neither DHS nor the Secret Service immediately responded to Fox News Digital for comment.
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President Trump plays golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA on December 30, 2020. (Reuters/Marco Bello)
On Sunday, Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a suspect with a weapon at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. The suspect fled the scene in a black Nissan SUV but was later arrested by authorities.
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The suspect, a 58-year-old man named Ryan Wesley Routh, is said to have pressed the muzzle of an AK-47 through a chain-link fence outside where Trump was playing golf.
HSGAC and PSI were already investigating the first assassination attempt, which took place in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, and were briefed by Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Lowe just last week, but said they were frustrated and disappointed by the failures that had been uncovered.
