FBI engaged in 'major-league cover-up' of Trump assassination attempt: Judicial Watch

The FBI and the Biden-Harris administration are engaged in a “major-league cover-up on the near-assassination of former President Trump,” Judicial Watch Inc. asserted Aug. 12.

The accusation came after the FBI denied Judicial Watch's request for records on the July 13 Pennsylvania rally at which Donald J. Trump was shot by Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FBI on July 26, seeking documents, emails, presentations, and other data regarding the FBI’s coordination with the U.S. Secret Service in preparation for the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, at which Trump was shot in the ear. The request covered the time period from June 15 to present.

The FBI cited FOIA exemption 7A, which allows withholding of information that “would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication.” It did not elaborate or provide context for use of this exemption.

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said the records denial and reasoning raise some pointed questions.

“Were there others involved in the assassination attempt on Trump? If not, then why would the FBI use the excuse of protecting someone’s right to a fair trial to hide records on the FBI’s and Secret Service’s inexcusable failures to protect Trump from being nearly assassinated?” Fitton said in a statement. “The Biden-Harris administration is running a major-league cover-up on the near-assassination of former President Trump.”

In an email to Blaze News, the FBI National Press Office declined to comment.

'It’s curious that the acting director didn’t credit local law enforcement.'

It was the second records request denial Judicial Watch has faced related to the rally at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds that led to the wounding of Trump, the murder of former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore, and serious injury to bystanders David Dutch and James Copenhaver.

The Secret Service denied three comprehensive Judicial Watch FOIA requests filed on July 16 seeking advance security plans, videos, emails, and documents related to the attempted assassination. In its denial, the Secret Service cited an exemption because “disclosure could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.”

Fitton said Judicial Watch is preparing lawsuits against the FBI and Secret Service to compel release of the materials. He said Judicial Watch has more than 25 open-records requests pending on the July 13 assassination attempt with the federal government, local and state officials, and agencies in Pennsylvania.

The fight over assassination-related records is just the latest attempt to force more transparency in the numerous investigations launched since July 13.

Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was excoriated by U.S. House members of both major parties for her performance at a July 22 hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

In hours of testimony, Cheatle ducked and deflected many questions, from how many shots Crooks fired into the crowd to why he was not considered a threat based on his suspicious behavior. She also disclosed that she had not visited the shooting site.

As calls for her ouster reached a crescendo in Congress after the hearing, Cheatle resigned on July 23 and was replaced by an acting director, Ronald Rowe Jr.

Appearing before a joint U.S. Senate hearing on July 30, Rowe appeared to shift the blame for the deadly shooting to local police. He was also criticized for not having basic facts on the shooting available and rebuked for saying the Secret Service didn’t know about Crooks being armed until seconds before he opened fire.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said the FBI and Secret Service are not being forthcoming.

“The federal [law enforcement] just clammed up. They’re not giving us much information,” Johnson said Aug. 11 on WABC Radio in New York.

“We were briefed by local law enforcement that talked about that one of their officers took a shot at Crooks,” Johnson said. “That’s not being widely reported. We’ve asked to speak to that officer to get the details.

“It’s curious that the acting director didn’t credit [that] local law enforcement had taken shots that might have deterred or ended this shooting,” Johnson said.

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