Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is pressing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to declassify all documents related to the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, by July 30, 2025. Hawley’s letter highlights the continued public debate over how the 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to get a clear shot at Trump. The incident, which left Trump with a grazed ear, has raised significant questions about the Secret Service’s preparedness and response. Hawley’s demands come in the wake of reports detailing critical security lapses and the agency’s failures to address known vulnerabilities at the rally site.
Even after a year, the details of the attack remain under scrutiny. Hawley accuses the Biden administration’s Secret Service and DHS of obstructing transparency, citing leaked whistleblower reports that revealed systemic failures in the agency’s handling of the event. The senator claims that the public has learned more from these disclosures than from official inquiries, which he argues have been inadequate. He also points to an October 2024 report by the Homeland Security Committee, which found a compounding pattern of negligence within the Secret Service, leading to the near-successful assassination attempt.
During the incident, the Secret Service faces sharp criticism for its lack of preparedness. Documents obtained by the Senate Committee show that several agents involved in the event admitted to major security flaws at the Butler rally but failed to escalate their concerns or implement proper measures to prevent the attack. The lead advance agent, for example, did not conduct a final security walk-through of the site due to heat exhaustion, a detail cited by the special agent in charge. Some agents involved were suspended without pay, but none were fired, drawing further criticism over the agency’s accountability process.
Hawley’s letter also includes a formal request for an explanation for the continued classification of materials by Noem, as well as a proposed plan and timeline for the immediate release of all documents by the specified deadline. He argues that the American public deserves a full and accurate account of the incident, the circumstances that allowed it to occur, and the steps the government has taken to strengthen protective measures in the aftermath. This request comes amid a broader congressional inquiry into the incident, with multiple witnesses and officials expressing frustration over the lack of clarity and accountability surrounding the events of July 13, 2024.