The House and Senate will hold hearings with the Secret Service and top national security officials in July.
Lawmakers have called for an investigation into how the shooter managed to gain access to the roof of a nearby building and fire at the former president, despite the presence of the U.S. Secret Service. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) announced on Monday that the committee will hear testimony from Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle during a hearing on July 22.
“The United States Secret Service has a no-fail mission, yet it failed on Saturday when a madman attempted to assassinate President Trump, killed an innocent victim, and harmed others,” Mr. Comer said in a statement announcing the hearing. “Questions remain about how a rooftop within proximity to President Trump was left unsecure.”
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) is also a member of the Oversight Committee.
“Congressman Gosar will be very interested in understanding how law enforcement failed to provide a secure perimeter, why law enforcement ignored multiple warnings that an assassin was positioned on a nearby roof and whether law enforcement ignored President Trump’s requests for beefed up security resources,” a spokesperson for Mr. Gosar told The Epoch Times in a written statement.
Bipartisan Senate Investigation
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee announced that it will investigate the incident and hold a hearing on the matter before Aug. 1.
“Our committee is focused on getting all of the facts about the security failures that allowed the attacker to carry out this heinous act of violence,” Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chairman of the committee, said in a written statement shared by his staff with The Epoch Times.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the committee’s ranking member, also commented in the written statement.
“This committee has an obligation to unearth the truth about the failures on Saturday and before, no matter how inconvenient to the government,” he said. “We will leave no stone unturned.”
“We would like to understand the security posture at the Trump campaign rally, how the suspect was able to get this close to a Secret Service protectee and cause injury to the protectee,” the letter said.
“We must get to the bottom of how the would-be assassin was able to access a nearby rooftop with a rifle and a line of sight to President Trump. The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has an obligation to exercise its jurisdiction and oversight authority,” the letter said.
Representatives for the Secret Service and the offices of Mr. Mayorkas and Mr. Wray did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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