WASHINGTON —U.S. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri wrote a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, demanding answers behind the U.S. Secret Service’s botched security rollout at President Donald Trump’s July 13 rally.
The letter comes after multiple whistleblowers contacted Senator Hawley’s office with disturbing new information behind the assassination attempt on the former president.
“Whistleblowers who have direct knowledge of the event have approached my office. According to the allegations, the July 13 rally was considered to be a ‘loose’ security event,” wrote Senator Hawley.
“For example, detection canines were not used to monitor entry and detect threats in the usual manner. Individuals without proper designations were able to gain access to backstage areas. Department personnel did not appropriately police the security buffer around the podium and were also not stationed at regular intervals around the event’s security perimeter,” Senator Hawley continued.
Senator Hawley is a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee which conducts oversight of Secretary Mayorkas’ DHS.
Immediately following the assassination attempt against President Trump, Senator Hawley demanded that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee launch a comprehensive, transparent investigation into the incident with sworn testimony from DHS and Secret Service officials. That investigation was confirmed this week along with plans to feature public testimony from agency leadership.
Senator Hawley then opened a whistleblower tip line within his office earlier this week, pledging to protect the anonymity of all who contact his staff in an effort to shed light on last Saturday’s disastrous security breach.
Senator Hawley has also written two additional oversight letters—one to the DHS Inspector General and a second to BlackRock’s CEO—requesting all records related to the staggering security failures on July 13.
Click here to read the full letter sent Friday.