(Headline USA) Florida sued the Biden administration’s Justice Department this week for allegedly blocking the state’s investigation into the second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said the DOJ has “frustrated” the state’s efforts to get to the bottom of the assassination attempt “at every turn.”
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in federal court, accuses the DOJ of preventing Florida officials from interviewing witnesses, pursuing state-level charges against the attempted assassin, Ryan Routh, and conducting their own parallel probe.
The DOJ may be withholding massive amounts of evidence. According to a recent federal court filing, investigators have amassed some 10 terabytes of evidence in Routh’s case.
The DOJ disclosed yesterday that they have some 10 TERABYTES of data in the 2nd Trump assassination case.
They seek a protective order to prevent Ryan Routh from giving that info to the media. Apparently, he's been trying to speak to media from behind bars — further supporting… pic.twitter.com/0p6PUqHLKn— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) October 17, 2024
“Every day that Florida is prevented from investigating, the State’s case becomes harder to prove at trial,” documents read.
The assassination attempt took place at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course in September. Secret Service agents opened fire on Routh, who had been hiding in shrubbery near the course. He was later apprehended and is facing multiple federal charges.
“The attempted assassination on the former president is a heinous act,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said at the time. “I am grateful that he is safe, and as I said immediately after the event, the Justice Department will spare no resource to ensure accountability.”
However, Moody said the DOJ has been deliberately withholding resources from Florida.
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨
FL v DOJ pic.twitter.com/bo77SIES0c
— AG Ashley Moody (@AGAshleyMoody) October 24, 2024
“Governor [Ron] DeSantis was very clear he wanted Florida to move forward with an independent investigation of state crimes, working with the federal government, of course. But he felt that was in the best interest of the state, our sovereignty, and for the American people, as there are concerns that the same federal agencies investigating the assassination attempt are the ones that are seeking to go after and prosecute the president, the victim in this case,” Moody told Fox News.
Instead of working with Florida, the Justice Department has gone so far as to threaten “suspending state jurisdiction, which would indefinitely put our investigation on hold,” she explained. “We don’t believe the law supports that.”
