Washington — The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Wednesday night to create a bipartisan task force to investigate the assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced the creation of a panel earlier this week and said it would have all of HouseArray’s investigative authority adding the force of a subpoena. It will be made up of seven Republicans and six Democrats selected through Johnson and Jeffries, who have yet to announce their selection.
The solution requires the implementing organization to submit a final report of its findings by December 13, 2024.
The House Freedom Caucus, a far-right membership organization, suggested House leaders keep at least one Democrat, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, out of the task force.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, and Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said the task force would seek to perceive what happened on July 13, the day of the shooting; ensuring accountability; and prevent a failure of this type in the police component from falling again. At the conclusion of its investigation, the panel will make recommendations to the appropriate government agencies and recommend mandatory law to put the reforms into effect.
The solution the task force created came through Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, whose district includes Butler County, where the rally was held.
Several federal agencies have launched their own investigations into the assassination attempt, including the FBI and the Secret Service. At the Department of Homeland Security, its internal watchdog is investigating security flaws that allowed the shooter to access a rooftop near where Trump was speaking. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also appointed an independent committee to investigate the shooting, which he ordered through President Biden.
The Secret Service received harsh complaints following the attack, and its director, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned Tuesday after a day of harrowing testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.
Cheatle frustrated Republicans and Democrats with his refusal to provide details about the event and referred to the ongoing FBI investigation, prompting lawmakers from both parties to call for his resignation.
FBI Director Christopher Wray appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and shared new details with lawmakers about the shooter, known as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, and his movements before opening fire on the manifestation.
Wray revealed that on July 6, a week before the rally, the shooter did an online search to locate “how far is Oswald from Kennedy,” a reference to Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
The FBI leader said he signed up for Trump’s rally in Butler on the same day he was seeking information about the Kennedy assassination and had been “very focused” on Trump and the Kennedy event. crossed at that time.
Wray also told members of the Judiciary Committee that Crooks flew a drone near the protest site about two hours before opening fire. The drone and two explosive devices were recovered from his vehicle. A third explosive device discovered at Crooks’ home.