House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) has subpoenaed Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify before the committee after the Biden regime failed to confirm her appearance at a scheduled hearing.
House Republicans are conducting a full investigation into the security failures surrounding the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, saying there are many questions and Americans need answers.
Chief among the questions is why no law enforcement officer was stationed on the roof of the building used by Thomas Crooks to shoot at former President Trump during the rally. Several bullets passed within millimeters of Trumps head, at least one grazing his ear. Two rallygoers were hurt, and Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief, was tragically killed by stray bullets while shielding his wife and daughter.
An “unimpeachable source” reportedly told former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino that a police officer was supposed to be stationed on the roof of the American Glass Research building, but he didn’t show up to work that day. Meanwhile, there are conflicting reports as to the level of Secret Service protection Trump was receiving.
Crooks, according to CNN, first aroused suspicion at 3 p.m. Saturday, roughly three hours before the shooting, when he was spotted at the security screening area for the rally.
A senior law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said Crooks passed through the magnetometers carrying a rangefinder, “which looks similar to a small pair of binoculars and is used by hunters and target shooters to measure distances when setting up a long-range shot,” CNN reported.
The rangefinder would not have prevented Crooks from getting through the security screening point, but it did attract the attention of security personnel who kept an eye on him until he left the secure area.
Investigators are unsure of where Crooks went after he left the screening area but the working theory is that he went to his car to retrieve the rifle.
Crooks was reportedly able to reach the rooftop by “climbing on top of the building’s air conditioning system and hoisting himself up.”
Incredibly, after witnesses alerted police that Crooks was crawling around on that roof, “one of the four counter-sniper teams observed Crooks looking at their position through the rangefinder,” the senior law enforcement official told CNN.
“They were looking at him while he was looking at them,” the official said.
In a letter to Cheatle on Wednesday, Comer noted that both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Secret Service had “failed to provide assurances” regarding her appearance at the Oversight Committee’s July 22 hearing, despite allowing her to speak to friendly media.
“Initially, the Secret Service committed to your attendance. Subsequently, however, DHS officials appear to have intervened and your attendance is now in question, Comer wrote.
“In addition, since DHS’s intervention, there have been no meaningful updates or information shared with the Committee. The lack of transparency and failure to cooperate with the Committee on this pressing matter by both DHS and the Secret Service further calls into question your ability to lead the Secret Service and necessitates the attached subpoena compelling your appearance before the Oversight Committee.”
The House Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, announced Wednesday that it will hold a hearing “to examine the FBI’s investigation into the assassination attempt against President Trump and the ongoing politicization of the Bureau.”