DHS Stonewalling Investigation Into Trump Shooting Attempt

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

The Department of Homeland Security hasn't exactly been forthcoming in response to congressional investigations under the Biden administration, to put it mildly. Many Republicans have been quick to note the obvious weaponization of DHS, particularly when it comes to investigations involving unequal enforcement of the law and "prosecutorial discretion." But in the wake of recent attempts on the life of Donald Trump, even some Democrats are showing signs of being fed up. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is the chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and he has been seeking details about the attacks from DHS. Thus far, he claims to have been stymied in his efforts, claiming that DHS has been "stonewalling" his investigation rather than assisting by providing requested details. Because of this, he is now threatening to break out the power of the subpoena to compel DHS to comply. (Just The News)

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Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) under the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), threatened to use "subpoena power" to compel the Biden-Harris administration's Department of Homeland Security to cooperate with their requests for the probe of the assassination attempts on former President Trump.

Blumenthal said on Monday that DHS has been "stonewalling" his subcommittee, describing the department as "almost derelict in its duty by resisting our requests for documents, evidence and information that are necessary to investigate."

He went further, saying he is "angry" with the department's handling of his subcommittee's requests.

As with so many of these distasteful stories, all trails seem to lead back to DHS Chief Alejandro Mayorkas. Every time some partisan hijinks come to light, Mayorkas seems to be at the bottom of it in one fashion or another. But this time he may be pushing his luck a bit too far. Under what possible pretense would DHS justify withholding information about the attempts on Trump's life from a congressional investigation?

Granted, when there is an ongoing investigation, some information may need to be held back from the public for a time in order to avoid poisoning the well or tipping off people who may themselves be subjects of inquiry. But such information could readily be delivered in a closed, secure setting without turning the entire affair into a dog and pony show for the media. Denying a request from the Subcommittee on Investigations only makes DHS look all the more suspicious.

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And what sort of information might be withheld even under those circumstances? In both the Butler, Pennsylvania and Mar-a-Lago incidents, there has been no suggestion that the suspects had any sort of ties to anyone further up the food chain. Both of the suspects appear to have been loons of one flavor or another. The other possible avenue of exploration might involve some potential wrongdoing or at least incompetence on the part of the Secret Service. I'm sure nobody wants that to be the case, but with the complaints we've heard about staffing issues and lack of training inside the Secret Service, it certainly can't be ruled out.

At this point, DHS is only casting a shadow of doubt upon itself. Amid an absence of solid documentation, the public's mind is left to run wild and that's where the real conspiracy theories begin to kick in. Has the Secret Service coverage been less than satisfactory because someone in a position of influence doesn't want Donald Trump to have the appropriate level of coverage? Are investigators getting uncomfortably close to determining that this lack of full security coverage was intentional on someone's part? I'm not suggesting that either of those theories are likely, but those are the thoughts that will begin making the rounds if it's found that DHS has been standing in the way of identifying and addressing the problem.

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Ed Morrissey 12:40 PM | November 21, 2024
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David Strom 11:20 AM | November 21, 2024
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