The House task force investigating the two assassination attempts on President-elect Donald Trump has subpoenaed two Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives employees to testify.
The ATF hasn’t made any personnel available to the task force, despite the panel sending letters on Oct. 5 and Nov. 6 requesting documents and interviews related to its role in responding to both assassination attempts.
In its Oct. 3 letter, the task force requested interviews with any ATF special agents who provided “critical incident response functions” after a gunman shot at Mr. Trump during his July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, agents who responded to the home of the Butler shooter, Thomas Crooks, and agents who provided support in connection with the thwarted Sept. 15 assassination try on Mr. Trump at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The two subpoenas the task force issued Monday are for testimony from an agent who participated in the ATF’s response to the Butler shooting and a supervisory agent.
The task force in the Oct. 3 letter also outlined 17 requests for document production, identifying five as priority items.
“ATF’s October 22 response was insufficient and untimely,” Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Mike Kelly, the task force chairman, wrote in a letter accompanying the subpoenas. “It was delivered to the Task Force five days past the deadline and contained less than four and half pages, more than half of which consisted of summary narratives.”
In the Nov. 6 follow-up letter, the task force reiterated its request for interviews and documents and said if ATF didn’t begin cooperating by Nov. 13 it would “be forced to consider compulsory process.”
Mr. Kelly said in his letter that “ATF has failed to produce a single document responsive to the Task Force’s requests and has failed to make any of its personnel available for interviews.”
Less than an hour after the subpoenas were served, the ATF sent its first set of documents to the task force.
Mr. Kelly had told The Washington Times in an interview last week that the task force has received cooperation from most federal agencies that had roles in responding to the assassination attempts, except for the ATF.
The ATF reportedly provided assistance retrieving and investigating evidence connected to the Butler shooter’s firearm and self-made explosive devices.
The task force has to finish its investigation and produce a report on its findings by Dec. 13.
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.
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