(The Center to Advance Security in America has sued the Department of Homeland Security to compel bureaucrats to release records related to Secret Service staff possibly colluding with Democratic members of Congress to strip then presidential candidate Donald Trump of his Secret Service detail.
In July, CASA’s director, James Fitzpatrick, filed Freedom of Information requests with DHS inquiring if DHS Legislative Affairs’ and Secret Service’s staff were involved with House Democrats who filed a bill to strip Trump of his USSS detail in the event that he were sentenced to prison, The Center Square exclusively reported.
At the time, one failed assassination had already occurred, and a New York judge had yet to issue a sentencing in a 34-felony count verdict in a trial Democrats argued would send Trump to prison for decades. Trump denied the charges, arguing the case and trial were a witch hunt, the weaponization of the court system, lawfare and baseless.
It would not be until after he was reelected that that the judge sentenced him to an unconditional discharge, meaning Trump wouldn’t face jail time. This was after two other federal cases against Trump were dropped, an alleged election interference case in Washington, D.C., and a classified documents case in Florida.
Prior to the first assassination attempt in Butler, PA., nine House Democrats cosponsored a bill last April, led by U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., to strip Trump of his Secret Service detail. After the failed assassination attempt, one of Thompson’s staffers, who was subsequently fired, reportedly said in a Facebook post the shooter needed shooting lessons so he wouldn’t “miss the next time.”
Thompson’s bill went nowhere in the Republican-controlled House. But Fitzpatrick, a former U.S. Senate staffer, had questions about how writing the bill came about, including how involved USSS staff were in crafting it – if at all– just months before the agency’s security failure in protecting Trump from the assassination attempt, The Center Square reported.
Fitzpatrick sent two FOIA requests, one to DHS and USSS, which is part of DHS, and another to DHS’s Office of Legislative Affairs. The first FOIA requested records, calendar entries, communications and other information related to a specific staffer “or any U.S. Secret Service Office of Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs employee” and Thompson’s bill. The second request asked for similar information but lists other staffers’ names.
The Center Square asked Thompson’s office if he or his staff sought the input of Secret Service staff to craft the bill and received no response.
After more than six months of not receiving a response, CASA sued DHS on Monday. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It states that it filed two FOIA requests last July and did not receive the requested information. It cites federal law, arguing DHS violated its FOIA obligations. It requests the court to require DHS to comply with federal FOIA requirements, provide the requested information and cover its attorney fees.
Even though there’s a new administration, a new DHS secretary and new USSS director, the information has yet to be released and the public has a right to know, CASA argues.
“Given the multiple assassination attempts and the many varied threats received by President Trump and his team prior to his re-election, transparency regarding attempts to strip him of his Secret Service protection are of utmost concern to the American people,” Fitzpatrick told The Center Square. “Unfortunately, some in Congress and the prior administration allowed politics to influence their judgment given the introduction of this misguided legislation. The public has the right to see the records and communications that led to the introduction of this irresponsible bill.”
CASA is dedicated “to improving the safety and security of the American people” and educating them “about the actions of their government,” according to its website. Its staff aim to “discover the truth, using whistleblowers, research, information requests, and legal action,” it says, believing that raising awareness helps Americans “to become better-informed about what their government is doing to protect their safety and security in a dangerous world.”
The lawsuit was filed on CASA’s behalf by the Dhillon Law Group. Its founder, Harmeet Dhillon, has represented Trump and was nominated by him to lead the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. In her three-hour confirmation hearing last week, she highlighted her commitment to upholding the rule of law.
