WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, calling on the agency to declassify all documents related to the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, PA.
“I write to you following the one-year anniversary of the first assassination attempt against President Donald J. Trump. This occasion marks a deeply troubling chapter in our nation’s history and serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency in preserving public trust during moments of national crisis. To that end, I urge you to take the necessary steps to declassify all documents within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) related to the events of July 13, 2024,” Senator Hawley wrote.
In September 2024, Senator Hawley released a 22-page whistleblower report detailing the failures of the United States Secret Service in connection with the July 13, 2024 attempted assassination of President Trump.
Read the full letter here or below.
The Honorable Kristi Noem
Secretary
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
2707 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE
Washington, D.C. 20528
Dear Secretary Noem,
I write to you following the one-year anniversary of the first assassination attempt against President Donald J. Trump. This occasion marks a deeply troubling chapter in our nation’s history and serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency in preserving public trust during moments of national crisis. To that end, I urge you to take the necessary steps to declassify all documents within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) related to the events of July 13, 2024.
As you know, assassination attempts against current and former presidents are rare but profoundly consequential events in American life. And the American people rightly expect full transparency from their government. Unfortunately, the Secret Service and DHS under your predecessor stonewalled numerous congressional investigations—including my own—and denied the American people basic facts. The public learned far more from whistleblowers than they did from public officials, and I released a report documenting these disclosures, many of which have been corroborated to date.
In October of last year, in a unanimous vote, the Homeland Security Committee passed my legislation requiring the Secret Service release to the public all pertinent documents. Now, I am requesting that you immediately declassify and release all documents relating to the first assassination attempt on President Trump within the full extent of your authority, subject only to the narrowest possible redactions necessary to protect ongoing operations or individual safety.
The public deserves a full and accurate account of this event, the circumstances that allowed it to happen, and the steps the government has taken since to strengthen protective measures. To that end, and to advance congressional oversight work, I request that you provide the following by July 30, 2025:
1. A complete inventory of all classified or non-public materials related to the first assassination attempt on President Trump, including reports, internal communications, threat assessments, after-action reviews, and coordination records with other agencies.
2. A formal explanation for the continued classification of any materials you believe must remain restricted.
3. A proposed plan and timeline for the immediate declassification and public release of all remaining documents, with minimal redactions.