Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said the Secret Service and FBI are “basically dragging their feet” on the Senate bipartisan investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Trump.
“All I can really tell you is the Secret Service, FBI are basically dragging their feet. They’re stonewalling us. And we have gotten some transcribed interviews, but the documents we request are heavily redacted,” he said on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” noting that the documents aren’t delivered until the day of the interview.
“So we’re not getting squat, from my standpoint, from the Secret Service or the FBI. We have requested all their 302s, their transcriptions of their interviews with hundreds of individuals. They’re not turning those over to us as well,” he added.
Johnson said that he is a part of the Senate bipartisan investigation on the shooting during Trump’s rally last month that left one person and the gunman dead. A bullet grazed the former president’s ear before a countersniper took down the gunman.
Now, lawmakers have pledged bipartisan probes into the incident. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.) said last month that there would be a bipartisan investigation into the matter spearheaded by his committee.
Johnson, the former chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, also joined calls for a congressional probe into security at the Trump rally last month. He criticized the agencies Sunday, saying they have not released all the necessary information.
“They hold themselves above the law. They don’t really think that they’re responsible to be coming under scrutiny by Congress or the American public. And so this is how they behave,” he said.
“They’re the only ones that are going to have access to this information until they decide what information to give us and when to give it to us. They’re in total control,” he added.
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said in a statement at the time that the agency “will also work with the appropriate Congressional committees on any oversight action.” She later resigned from her post after multiple lawmakers called on her to step down.
A spokesperson for the Secret Service told The Hill that it has “provided over 1,000 pages of responsive documentation” to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) regarding the investigation. The statement also said that it has made its employees available to the committee for transcribed interviews and said that it will continue to do so.
The FBI also reiterated in a statement to The Hill that it was continuing to share information with lawmakers about the attempted assassination.
“Any suggestion the FBI is interfering with congressional efforts to look into the attempted assassination which took place in Butler, Pennsylvania, is inaccurate and unfounded. The FBI has been working closely with our law enforcement partners to conduct a thorough investigation into the shooting, and we have followed normal procedures in the handling of the crime scene and evidence,” the FBI said.
“The FBI continues its painstaking work on the investigation to develop as complete a picture as possible of what led to the shooting, and we remain committed to maximum transparency as we continue to share information with Congress, which includes participating in open hearings and conducting multiple direct briefings, and publish information for the public regarding the ongoing investigation,” the statement continued.
Updated at 9:23 pm.
