The Task Force will send further requests to the Secret Service
Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump Chairman Mike Kelly (R-PA) and ranking member Jason Crow (D-CO) issued the following joint statement following yesterday’s site assessment of the Butler Farm Show site, the American Glass Research (AGR) property in Butler, and meetings with state and local law enforcement agencies who worked alongside the Secret Service during the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump:
“The site assessments and meetings with law enforcement in Butler gave the Task Force greater insight into the July 13 security failures. What we saw and heard underscored concerns about multiple security failures and the lack of a shared understanding among local law enforcement officials about exactly how the Secret Service planned to address a threat such as the one that just unfolded. The valuable information gathered yesterday complements the Task Force’s work over the past few weeks and will be used to urge the Secret Service and other federal agencies to provide necessary documents and interviews when we return to Washington. We plan to send the Secret Service a follow-up request for documents soon. We will continue to demand accountability and work to ensure that the events of July 13 never happen again. We want to thank law enforcement and other local officials for meeting with us.” said Chairman Kelly and Ranking Member Crow.
During the site assessment, Task Force members met with local law enforcement officials to obtain firsthand information relevant to the Task Force’s ongoing investigation into the events leading up to and on July 13. Members surveyed the Butler Farm Show grounds and the American Glass Research (AGR) building to better understand how gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks could attempt to assassinate former President Trump. In addition to the injuries to former President Trump, one person was killed and two others were seriously injured in the shooting.
Members involved in the site evaluation include Chairman Mike Kelly (R-PA), Ranking Member Jason Crow (D-CO), Representatives Laurel Lee (R-FL), David Joyce (R-OH), Lou Correa (D-CA), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Glenn Ivey (D-MD), and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL).
BACKGROUND
On July 29, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced the creation of the bipartisan task force. The task force is vested with all of the investigative powers of the House, including subpoena power, and will assume control and jurisdiction over all ongoing House committee investigations into the Trump assassination for the remainder of this legislative session.
This is the only official task force commissioned by Congress to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump.
On August 12, 2024, the Task Force sent two investigative letters requesting documents and information related to the assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. The first letter is addressed to Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, and Ronald Rowe, acting Director of the U.S. Secret Service. The second letter is addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The Task Force has received briefings from the Secret Service on the July 13 assassination attempt and from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on the criminal investigation into the shooting. The Task Force is using the information obtained in these briefings to make additional requests for documents, following up on its August 12 letters to federal authorities.
The task force has three objectives:
- To understand what went wrong on the day of the attack
- To ensure accountability
- To prevent such agency failure from ever happening again
The Task Force will submit reform recommendations to the relevant government authorities and recommend any legislation necessary to implement the reforms.
