The House Oversight Committee has formally invited the head of the Secret Service to a hearing following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on July 13.
“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability has initiated an investigation into today’s assassination attempt on President Trump and requests your voluntary appearance at a full Committee hearing on July 22,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), committee chairman, said in a letter to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on July 13.
The letter added to mounting calls for investigations into the shooting, which left the former president injured and bloodied at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One attendee was fatally shot and two others were seriously injured, according to the FBI. A Secret Service counter-sniper killed the shooter.
Footage from the scene shows the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee placing his hand on his head amid gunfire. He then dropped to the ground and was surrounded by Secret Service agents.
He was taken off the stage and airlifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.
“I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania,” he wrote.
The former president said that he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.”
The FBI and Pennsylvania authorities held a press conference on the evening of July 13 and stated that they were working to formally identify the shooter and the motive behind the shooting.
Questions About Security
“Today, President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt when a gunman fired a weapon at him at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania,” Mr. Comer said in a post on X.“The tremendous bravery of the individual United States Secret Service agents who protected President Trump, eliminated the gunman, and possibly averted more loss of life cannot be overstated.”
More letters requesting officials to testify are likely after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also called for a full investigation of the attack.
“The House will conduct a full investigation of the tragic events today,” he wrote in all capital letters on X.
“The American people deserve to know the truth. We will have Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other appropriate officials from DHS and the FBI appear for a hearing before our committees ASAP.”
Following the shooting, members of Congress and others raised questions about the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) preparation for the event.
A spokesperson for Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), former chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, confirmed that he was aware of reports that the DHS had rejected the Trump campaign’s requests for increased security.
A senior congressional source, referring to the House Homeland Security Committee, told The Epoch Times: “The committee has seen these reports as well and is going to be conducting thorough oversight into what happened both leading up to and in the immediate aftermath of the attempted assassination of President Trump. Obviously, such reports are deeply troubling and demand investigation.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called on the Senate Homeland Security Committee to “investigate this assassination attempt and attempted mass murder and get to the bottom of how it could have happened.”
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi issued a statement that reads, in part: “U.S. Secret Service quickly responded with protective measures and the former president is safe and being evaluated. ... The incident is currently under investigation and the Secret Service has formally notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
The FBI stated that it would be leading the federal investigation into the shooting. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said state authorities will investigate the incident as it relates to the other victims.
