(DailyEmailNews.com) – In a new move seeking to uncover the truth about the attempts on Donald Trump’s life, conservative group America First Legal (AFL) initiated legal action against the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
AFL has accused the two institutions of withholding government records concerning the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump, The Daily Caller reports.
The lawsuit claims that the DHS and USSS have obstructed access to documents regarding staffing shortages, employment criteria, and inter-departmental communications that pertain to the incident in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
AFL contends that despite fulfilling all the prerequisites for expedited processing, it has not received the requested records.
The group charges the agencies with “illegally concealing” these documents.
“On July 13, the American people watched in horror as a lunatic attempted to assassinate former President, and current candidate for President, Donald Trump,” Gene Hamilton, executive director of AFL, said in a statement.
“Today, there is widespread and bipartisan acknowledgment that there were catastrophic failures that tragic day and in the weeks and months ahead of it. We are committed to obtaining these records so that the American people can see for themselves exactly what senior DHS leadership was prioritizing in its mission, and why more resources were not devoted to the protection of President Donald J. Trump,” he added.
In response to AFL’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the USSS allegedly informed the organization in July that they would not expedite the request as there was no immediate threat to life or safety, nor an urgency to disclose government activities to the public, per the press release.
However, AFL indicated that the USSS had previously expedited a similar request.
“I am reaching the point of total outrage because the response from the Department of Homeland Security has been totally lacking,” Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut expressed on Monday.
“In fact, I think it’s tantamount to stonewalling in many respects. The Department of Homeland Security has to be more forthcoming, not only to me, but to the American people,” he added.
Following the incident where 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks managed to fire shots at and injure the former president during a rally from a rooftop just 130 yards from the stage, the AFL’s demand for information intensified.
Leading up to the shooting, Crooks had been observed by witnesses, flagged by the Secret Service, and spotted by a counter sniper more than an hour before Trump appeared on stage.
“The American people and Congress need total transparency,” the statement asserts.
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