The House Oversight Committee will receive a bipartisan briefing Tuesday from the Secret Service on the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and is planning for a public hearing on the matter next week.
Other congressional committees are also receiving briefings from federal law enforcement officials after a lone gunman targeted Mr. Trump, grazing his right ear with a bullet, during the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s campaign rally Saturday in Butler County, Pennsylvania. One rallygoer was killed and two others suffered critical injuries.
Lawmakers have raised questions about the Secret Service protection at the event and how the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, could fire several rounds before being shot dead.
Crooks fired at Mr. Trump from the rooftop of a building less than 150 yards from the event stage before Secret Service agents quickly returned fire and killed him.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer, Kentucky Republican, said Monday on Fox News that his panel will receive a briefing Tuesday from the Secret Service “as to what they know thus far.”
That will be followed next Monday with a “full-scale committee hearing that will hopefully deliver some answers that every American has about what went wrong,” he said.
The committee formally scheduled the hearing with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle for July 22 at 10 a.m.
“By next Monday, she should have a lot of answers to a lot of questions that not only the Oversight Committee has but the American people have,” Mr. Comer said.
Mr. Comer said in addition to reviewing security decisions around Saturday’s rally, the committee hearing will help determine if the Secret Service is “in a better shape moving forward” to protect the presidential candidates. The Biden administration said Monday it is extending Secret Service protection for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Several congressional committees with jurisdiction over federal law enforcement agencies are engaged in oversight of the assassination attempt on Mr. Trump.
House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, Tennessee Republican, sent a letter Sunday to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asking for communications and documents related to the security planning for Mr. Trump’s Saturday rally. His requests focus in part on whether there was a plan for securing the perimeter building where Cooks fired at Mr. Trump, and whether there had been any communications regarding increasing protective resources for Mr. Trump ahead of the rally.
Mr. Green also held a call with Ms. Cheatle on Sunday, probing her with similar questions about what led to Saturday’s historic failures, according to a committee spokesperson. She is expected to brief the panel soon.
Mr. Green and Homeland Security ranking member Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat, held a call Monday afternoon with FBI assistant director Robert R. Wells, who heads the bureau’s counterterrorism division.
Mr. Wells told the committee leaders that the FBI has conducted nearly 100 interviews as it builds a timeline of events surrounding the assassination attempt and promised to be transparent with Congress as the agency continues to investigate Crooks’ motive and potential associations.
Mr. Green intends to schedule a visit to the rally site, if possible, once the scene has been processed, the committee spokesperson said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said on The Brian Kilmeade Show that he is compiling additional questions from House Republicans, including those with backgrounds in law enforcement and military security, that he planned to send to Mr. Mayorkas on Monday.
Mr. Johnson said he spoke to Mr. Mayorkas on the phone within hours of the shooting Saturday, and he did not have many answers about what led to the security failures.
“One of the first questions I asked him was, to me, what is the most obvious: Where were the drones?” Mr. Johnson said. “It is standard practice now for drones to be in the air over an event like this.”
Across the Capitol, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Monday announced a bipartisan investigation into the “security failures” that led to the attempted assassination of Mr. Trump.
Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the Democratic chairman, and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the top Republican on the panel, said they have requested an “urgent” briefing for their committee and will demand a public hearing to air the issues by Aug. 1.
The senators fired off a letter to Mr. Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray asking for continuous updates on the government’s own investigation into the lapses that led to the shooter getting a line of sight on Mr. Trump at a campaign rally Saturday.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, received a briefing on Monday morning from FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, who oversees the bureau’s investigative and intelligence activities.
Mr. Durbin, according to a spokesperson, has requested the FBI, DHS and Secret Service provide a closed-door, in-person briefing for Judiciary Committee members next week when the Senate is back in session.
Senate Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner, Virginia Democrat, has also been briefed by the FBI.
• Stephen Dinan contributed to this report.
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.
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