I don't know a ton about Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), but I do know he has a background in law enforcement, so including him on the bipartisan task force investigating the J13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump seems like a sound decision. As one of 13 congressional members assigned to the task force, Higgins has been delving into the incident — had, in fact, already been investigating it personally prior to his appointment to the task force.
On August 12, Higgins filed a preliminary report to the task force Chairman Mike Kelly (R-PA), whose district encompasses the Butler County Fairgrounds (commonly referred to as "Butler Farm") where the incident occurred. The report was initially embargoed but on Thursday, was authorized for release.
Johnson, Jeffries Name Bipartisan Trump Shooting Task Force
Bipartisan House Committee Formed to Investigate Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump
As Higgins makes clear, this is a preliminary investigative report and is neither exhaustive nor final. It is brief — only six pages — and includes Higgins' own description of his training and experience, as well as his investigative approach. As part of his investigation, Higgins traveled to Butler County on August 4 and stayed until August 6, spending time on the ground investigating the scene itself as well as speaking with numerous local law enforcement personnel.
The full report may be viewed here, but as someone (one of many) who has been following the investigation and aftermath of J13, I wanted to set out several key points from it, along with my own related impressions/questions. (My notes are italicized and in brackets.)
I found the report informative and look forward to Higgins' more thorough report when he completes it. The key takeaway from this, in my view, is that the USSS didn't avail themselves of available radios, which would have allowed them to be in direct communication with the local law enforcement personnel with whom they were supposed to be coordinating and, more importantly, the FBI moved very quickly to clear the personnel, clear the crime scene, and clear the shooter's body, even while knowing that there were ongoing investigations and would be follow-on investigations. Why were they in such a hurry? How are we supposed to feel reassured that they are conducting and will conduct a thorough, honest investigation?