The Secret Service and FBI are undergoing six investigations and follow-up investigations into security failures around the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Multiple questions have been raised as to how shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to take up his position on a roof 150 yards away from Trump and open fire. He fired about eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service sniper team.
Here’s a rundown of every major Secret Service investigation following the Saturday assassination attempt.
The DHS’s OIG announced an investigation to “evaluate the United States Secret Service’s (Secret Service) process for securing former President Trump’s July 13, 2024 campaign event.”
Details about the investigation are sparse. However, the Secret Service is under the umbrella of the DHS. The parent department was late to announce an investigation into the agency, but was forced into action after it slow-walked responses to other investigators.
A date hasn’t been given for when the investigation will begin.
In a letter to Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) invited the director to speak with his committee about the shooting.
“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability … is investigating the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on President Donald J. Trump,” Comer wrote. “The Committee seeks clarity regarding the United States Secret Service’s … management of resources and personnel related to the July 13, 2024, campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.”
Among the information requested by the committee was a list of every Secret Service agent involved in the security of the rally, all video and audio recordings related to the event, all internal documents around the event, and all communications between Secret Service personnel around the event.
After Cheatle initially said she would cooperate with the committee’s investigation, communications seemed to break down Tuesday. The original July 22 date for a conversation was pushed off the calendar and a committee spokesperson said members intended to subpoena Cheatle to compel her to cooperate.
Less than 24 hours after the assassination attempt, President Joe Biden announced an “independent review” of the security at the rally to figure out what happened.
“We’ll share the results of that independent review with the American people,” he emphasized.
Biden didn’t give specifics as to who or what would be conducting the investigation, but he vowed to increase security at the Republican National Committee.
House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday, announcing an investigation.
“The seriousness of this security failure and chilling moment in our nation’s history cannot
be understated,” Green wrote.
He requested documents regarding the security plan for the Butler rally, coordination between the different agencies present, and the rules of engagement for Secret Service personnel, among other things.
The House Judiciary Committee announced it would be holding a hearing July 24 to conduct oversight of the FBI and its role in investigating the shooting.
The hearing “will examine the FBI’s investigation into the assassination attempt against President Trump and the ongoing politicization of the nation’s preeminent law enforcement agency under the direction of FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland.”
While the Secret Service was responsible for security leading up to and during the rally in Butler, the investigation into what happened is being conducted by the FBI.
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Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) and ranking member Rand Paul (R-KY) wrote to Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray on Monday, announcing an investigation into the agencies.
“We would like to understand the security posture at the Trump campaign rally, how the suspect was able to get this close to a Secret Service protectee and cause injury to the protectee, and what steps the Department is taking to increase its protection of presidential candidates and ensure the safety of the election,” the letter read.