DHS obstruction could hamper Trump shooting investigations, lawmakers warn

The Department of Homeland Security's record of obstructing its Office of Inspector General could hamper the OIG's investigations of the July 13 attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump, two lawmakers warned Aug. 20.

In a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) rapped DHS for not cooperating with the Office of Inspector General and for insisting on heavy redactions to reports issued by DHS Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari.

The most recent example, they said, was the OIG report on the mistakes made by the U.S. Secret Service at and near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — especially its response to the pipe bomb found outside the Democratic National Committee office while Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was in the building. The Secret Service is part of DHS.

'DHS’ rampant lack of transparency is a disservice to the American taxpayer.'

“The Biden-Harris DHS is keeping its watchdog on a tight leash by imposing unlawful access restrictions and delaying information sharing, which has interfered with DHS OIG’s ability to disclose its full findings to Congress and the American people in a timely manner,” Grassley said in a statement.

“DHS’ rampant lack of transparency is a disservice to the American taxpayer and highly concerning in light of recent Secret Service-related communication failures,” he said.

In an Aug. 2 letter to Grassley, Cuffari said his office has been handicapped for years by the DHS’ lack of cooperation.

“Since 2021, my office has consistently reported DHS’s delays and denials to our requests for information which we need to do our jobs and to which we are entitled, consistent with the law,” Cuffari wrote. This has included “delays in fulfilling and outright denials of OIG’s requests for records and information.”

Blaze News reached out to the DHS for a response to the Grassley-Loudermilk letter.

Congressional investigators in July called out parallels between Secret Service failures during the Jan. 6 pipe-bomb incident and the July 13 shooting of Trump in Butler Township, Pa.

Grassley and Loudermilk said the Aug. 2 release of a heavily redacted version of the OIG’s report on Jan. 6 is the latest example of the DHS' record of obstruction. The letter to Mayorkas cited four major examples where the DHS delayed or restricted OIG access to materials needed to complete an investigation or audit.

'The department’s continued actions don’t lend much credibility and may cause unnecessary harm.'

“I am very concerned that the department would interfere at all regarding what information DHS OIG provides to Congress or what information the DHS OIG can obtain during their investigations,” Loudermilk said in a statement. “The OIG has an independent reporting relationship to Congress. Under no circumstances should the secretary interfere in the Inspector General’s work.”

Cuffari’s Jan. 6 investigation began in February 2021, but the final report was not submitted to the Secret Service director for comments until April 2024. Sources told Blaze News that the DHS originally wanted to redact the entire report. That notion created a fury on Capitol Hill.

A bomb-sniffing dog searches a vehicle at the garage entrance of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.U.S. Capitol Police CCTV

The OIG report faulted the Secret Service for not conducting a proper sweep outside the DNC building with bomb-sniffing dogs and for failing to have an explosives disposal team on site during the sweep, among other missteps.

“The Secret Service’s inability to spot the pipe bomb on January 6 is part of the same pattern of incompetence that nearly led to the assassination of President Trump,” said U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). “The agency needs serious reform before another one of its protectees pays the ultimate price for its ongoing negligence.”

Cuffari was not able to analyze Secret Service communications from Jan. 6 because its agents’ phones were wiped of all data as part of a phone system migration.

Thousands of destroyed text messages could have answered key questions about Secret Service decisions and movements on Jan. 6. The OIG report said the deletions happened despite warnings from Cuffari and four congressional committees that the Secret Service should preserve its documents and electronic communications from Jan. 6.

Grassley and Loudermilk expressed concerns that the DHS behavior could hamper Cuffari’s investigations into the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

“It is clear that some of the access issues outlined by the DHS OIG show signs of much-needed improvements in cooperation and communication from the department, which is unfortunately a common trend in the department’s actions,” they wrote to Mayorkas.

“We have seen the seriousness of the consequences, such as the actions that transpired on July 13, 2024, when former President Trump was nearly assassinated, one innocent man was killed, and two others seriously injured. Yet, the department’s continued actions don’t lend much credibility and may cause unnecessary harm,” Grassley and Loudermilk wrote.

The lawmakers gave Mayorkas until end of business on Aug. 27 to provide a justification for every redaction of the Jan. 6 report, confirm in writing steps being taken to ensure that the OIG has the access necessary for the Trump shooting investigations, and pledge in writing that the DHS will not tell the OIG not to disclose information on Secret Service law enforcement functions during the probes of the July 13 attack.

Legislation passed in 1978 created Offices of Inspectors General at various federal agencies to deter fraud, promote efficiency, and provide timely information to Congress on government operations. In July, Grassley introduced a bipartisan bill to protect Offices of Inspectors General from partisan influence and promote their role as independent watchdogs.

Grassley is the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee. Loudermilk is chairman of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight.

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