Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is urging Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to declassify all documents related to the assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
Hawley’s request comes a year after 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired off several shots at Trump from a rooftop near the presidential rally grounds. The gunman had a clear shot and grazed the president’s ear.
Even after a year, though, questions still remain about how Crooks was able to get a clear shot.
In his letter to Noem, Hawley mentions the one-year anniversary of the first assassination attempt on Trump.
‘This occasion marks a deeply troubling chapter in our nation’s history and serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency in preserving public trust during moments of national crisis,’ he wrote. ‘To that end, I urge you to take the necessary steps to declassify all documents within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) related to the events of July 13, 2024.
‘As you know, assassination attempts against current and former presidents are rare but profoundly consequential events in American life,’ Hawley continued. ‘And the American people rightly expect full transparency from their government.’
The senator pointed to investigation stonewalling tactics from the Biden administration’s Secret Service and DHS, which he said ultimately denied basic facts to the American people.
‘The public learned far more from whistleblowers than they did from public officials, and I released a report documenting these disclosures, many of which have been corroborated to date,’ Hawley wrote. ‘In October of last year, in a unanimous vote, the Homeland Security Committee passed my legislation requiring the Secret Service release to the public all pertinent documents.
‘Now, I am requesting that you immediately declassify and release all documents relating to the first assassination attempt on President Trump within the full extent of your authority, subject only to the narrowest possible redactions necessary to protect ongoing operations or individual safety,’ he said. ‘The public deserves a full and accurate account of this event, the circumstances that allowed it to happen, and the steps the government has taken since to strengthen protective measures.’
Hawley requested a complete inventory of all classified or non-public materials related to the first assassination attempt on Trump, including reports, internal communications, threat assessments, after-action reviews and coordinated records with other agencies.
He also requested a formal explanation for the continued classification of materials Noem believes must remain restricted, as well as a proposed plan and timeline for the immediate declassification and public release of all remaining documents, all by July 30, 2025.
Fox News Digital has reached out to DHS for comment on the matter.
Hawley released a report in September, detailing the failures of the Secret Service in connection with the attempted assassination of Trump in July, which included whistleblower allegations that are ‘highly damaging to the credibility’ of the agency.
The report uncovered a ‘compounding pattern of negligence, sloppiness, and gross incompetence that goes back years, all of which culminated in an assassination attempt that came inches from succeeding.’
Hawley accused the Secret Service, FBI and DHS of all trying ‘to evade real accountability.’
‘These agencies and their leaders have slow-walked congressional investigations, misled the American people, and shirked responsibility,’ the report states.
After the first of two assassination attempts against Trump in just over two months, Hawley visited the Butler rally site to interview whistleblowers and opened up a whistleblower tip line, encouraging those with relevant information to share with officials.
Documents subpoenaed by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs also show major failures among the six U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agents who were suspended without pay in response to the assassination attempt.
The documents were based on interviews with the agents and their colleagues and revealed that several agents admitted the existence of major security concerns at the Butler rally, but none of them elevated the concerns or helped produce a plan to properly cover the roof that provided Crooks a clear shot of Trump.
The documents show that some agents in charge never even conducted walk-throughs of the site. For example, the lead advance agent, documents show, never did a final security walk-through of the rally site because she was in the hospital for heat exhaustion, the special agent in charge said when questioned.
Some of the agents were suspended without pay for various terms, though none of the agents were fired.
