The conservative group America First Legal (AFL) is investigating whether the Biden-Harris administration was monitoring Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect who allegedly attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump on Sunday.
AFL announced Tuesday it was launching a “multi-front” investigation into any records the Biden-Harris administration may possess on Routh. The organization cited Routh’s reported history of anti-Trump views and ties to Ukraine, leading AFL to request information on whether the government was tracking Routh, according a press release.
/1🔎NEW INVESTIGATIONS🔍
Following the second assassination attempt of President Trump, we just launched investigations into the Biden-Harris:
‼️DHS
‼️DOJ
‼️CIA
‼️State Departmentand other agencies to obtain gov’t records on the suspect.
We must have total transparency: pic.twitter.com/mKLR01V5D0
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) September 17, 2024
The legal group requested all records pertaining to Routh in an effort to determine if the federal government knew he posed a possible threat to Trump. (RELATED: Police Release Bodycam Footage Of Arrest Of Alleged Would-Be Trump Assassin)
“Routh had a decades-long criminal history, publicly offered to facilitate deploying foreign fighters to Ukraine, and vocally criticized President Trump online – even immediately after the first assassination attempt,” the FOIAs state.
AFL requested records from nine agencies and departments: Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of State (DOS), Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
The Caller reached out to all of these agencies but have not heard back at the time of publication. The Caller also requested comment from the White House, but has not received a response. (RELATED: America First Legal Launches Investigation Into Biden Admin’s Potential Role In Brazil’s Censorship Of X)
“In just a few months, the American people witnessed two assassination attempts of former President Donald Trump,” AFL Executive Director Gene Hamilton stated in a press release Tuesday. “Undoubtedly, based on public reporting about the attempted assassin in Florida, the Biden-Harris government has records that the American public is entitled to see.”
Hamilton noted that it is unusual for a person to be involved in a foreign conflict and trying to recruit others to join the fight “without someone knowing something.” (CNN Host Questions How Trump Can Tone Down ‘Rhetoric’ Day After Second Assassination Attempt)
Prosecutors charged Routh with two gun crimes in a federal court Monday. The charges were possessing a firearm while being a convicted felon and possessing a firearm with “an obliterated serial number,” according to Reuters.
AFL launched a previous investigation concerning the first attempted assassination on Trump in July at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. AFL requested information from the DHS and Secret Service through FOIAs, citing the American people’s right to know if requests for additional security resources were denied, according to a press release.