Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 34
Congressional task force tours site of assassination attempt on Trump in US state of Pennsylvania
Members of a US Congressional task force visited the site of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Monday to investigate the circumstances around the security failures at his political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The bipartisan committee, made up of six Democrats and seven Republicans, comes at a crucial political juncture as the Nov. 5 presidential election between Republican candidate Trump and Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris nears.
Both parties want to show the public that they are committed to thoroughly investigating the events that led to the attempted assassination on July 13.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced the establishment of the task force earlier this month to “help make certain such failures never happen again,” but a group of Trump allies on Capitol Hill have lambasted federal officials for the lapse in security at the rally and are calling for quick and strong accountability.
Lawmakers toured the rally site where the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to climb onto the rooftop at a nearby building and open fire at the crowd, striking Trump and killing a member of the audience.
The visit comes in the wake of at least five Secret Service members being placed on administrative leave, according to media outlets, but Kelly said it was “too early” to determine whether there was criminal negligence from those involved in the failures that day.
“Let’s make sure that we’re sure when we say something, because this has lasting effects on people,” Kelly said, criticizing other lawmakers who have been quick to call for severe actions against federal law enforcement officials.
Source: Anadolu Agency
