Executive Summary
- A U.S. Congressman has accused the FBI of obstructing a congressional review into the 2016 assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
- The lawmaker alleges the agency is “stonewalling” by withholding documents and testimony requested by an oversight committee.
- The case involves Michael Sandford, who was convicted for attempting to take an officer’s gun to shoot Trump at a Las Vegas rally.
- The FBI has not yet publicly responded to the allegations of obstruction.
A U.S. Congressman has accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of deliberately obstructing a congressional inquiry into the 2016 attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. The allegations, made public this week, raise new questions regarding the federal handling of the high-profile case involving a British national in Las Vegas.
According to a statement from the lawmaker’s office, the FBI has allegedly failed to comply with requests for documents and testimony related to the investigation into Michael Sandford. The Congressman claims the agency is actively “stonewalling” the committee’s oversight efforts aimed at reviewing the circumstances surrounding the attempt on President Trump’s life during a campaign rally.
Michael Sandford was arrested at the June 2016 event after attempting to seize a police officer’s firearm. He later pleaded guilty to charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and disrupting an official function. He was sentenced and subsequently deported to the United Kingdom. The congressional inquiry reportedly seeks to determine if the FBI’s original investigation was sufficiently thorough.
As of this report, the FBI has not issued a public response to the Congressman’s accusations. The allegations have introduced a new element of political scrutiny to the settled case, with the lawmaker demanding greater transparency from the federal agency. It is important to note that all individuals and entities are presumed innocent of wrongdoing until proven otherwise through official legal or investigative processes.