(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for details of a U.S. Secret Service agent reportedly breastfeeding her baby while on duty at a Trump rally in North Carolina in August (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:24-cv-02925)).
Judicial Watch filed the suit after the Secret Service failed to respond to an August 15, 2024, FOIA request for:
1. All records related to a reported incident on August 15, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina in which a Secret Service agent was found to be breast-feeding her child at a Trump campaign rally site in violation of Secret Service regulations, including but not limited to: All emails and text messages sent to and from members of President Trump’s protective detail concerning the incident, as well as all USSS memoranda, reports, cables, directives and disciplinary records related to the incident.
2. All emails and text messages regarding the aforementioned incident sent to and from the following USSS officials: Acting Director Ronald Rowe, Chief Operating Officer Cynthia Radway, Asst. Dir. Michael Plati, Asst. Dir. Brian Lambert, Chief Human Capital Officer Denise Walker Hall, Asst. Dir. David Smith, Asst. Dir. Miltom Wilson, Uniformed Division Chief Michael Buck, Chief Counsel Thomas Huse, and Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi.
The Secret Service denied the request on August 22 and later denied an appeal.
A few minutes before Donald Trump arrived at the fateful campaign event in Asheville, NC, the agent in charge of security was reportedly doing a sweep of the walking route and found an agent had “abandoned her post … ‘to breastfeed with no permission/warning to the event site agent.’” The report also noted that “a working Secret Service agent on duty is not allowed to bring children to a protective assignment.” The agent at issue also allowed unvetted family members to bypass security.
“The Biden-Harris Secret Service is covering up yet another dangerous security failure in protecting President Trump,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said.
Judicial Watch has done extensive reporting on the Secret Service.
Judicial Watch recently sued for Secret Service records about a break-in at a hair salon by Secret Service agents in Pittsfield, MA, during a campaign fundraising visit by Vice President Kamala Harris.
In September Judicial Watch sued for records regarding potential increased protective services to former President Trump’s security detail prior to the attempt on his life at his July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
In August, Judicial Watch received Secret Service records that showed the Secret Service has made it a top priority that “diversity and inclusion is not just ‘talked about’ – but demonstrated by all employees through ‘Every Action, Every Day.’” [Emphasis in original]
Judicial Watch also uncovered records from the district attorney’s office in Butler County, PA, detailing the extensive preparation of local police for the rally at which former President Trump was shot, including sniper teams, counter assault teams and a quick response force.
In response to a separate open records request, Judicial Watch obtained bodycam footage of the July 13 assassination events from the Butler Township Police Department.
Judicial Watch reported that the FBI withheld information on a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for information about its coordination with the U.S. Secret Service regarding the July 13 Butler, PA, rally.
On July 31, Judicial Watch reported that the United States Secret Service completely denied multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for documents about the assassination attempt on former President Trump.
Judicial Watch has more than 25 FOIA and open records currently pending on the shooting of Trump with the Biden administration and local and state officials and agencies in Pennsylvania.
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