WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) revealed that whistleblowers have disclosed to the Committee that the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) did not have proper resources for President Trump's campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania due to staffing shortages caused by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit and First Lady Jill Biden's event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The information provided to the Committee raises serious questions about the thoroughness of security planning by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in support of President Trump's campaign rally. Law enforcement overlooked several vulnerabilities prior to and during the event in Butler, Pennsylvania, allowing an assassin to shoot a President, murder an attendee, and critically wound two others.
Chairman Jordan sent a letter to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray requesting he be fully prepared to address all questions about the attempted assassination of President Trump and the FBI's investigation during his upcoming testimony to the Committee on Wednesday, July 24, 2024.
Questions for Director Wray from the Committee include:
- How many agents, analysts, and support personnel has the FBI dedicated to the investigation?
- Was there coordination between the FBI, USSS, and WPFC prior to President Trump's event on July 13?
- How many buildings had to be secured inside and outside of the security perimeter for President Trump's event on July 13?
- Why was the roof of the AGR International building left unsecured?
- How much time elapsed between identifying the shooter as a potential threat and the attempted assassination?
- How much time elapsed between the local police officer encountering the shooter on the sloped roof and the attempted assassination?
- Has the FBI interviewed the local police officer who encountered the shooter?
- What does the FBI's evaluation of the shooter's phone and digital activity show about his actions and movements in days leading up to and hours before attempting assassination?
- Is FBI's investigation limited only to shooter’s motivations or does it include security failures that led up this attempt?
- Was security posture at Trump’s event limited due resource constraints with NATO Summit or First Lady Dr. Jill Biden’s Pittsburgh event?
- How did communication breakdowns among various law enforcement entities affect ability local law enforcement & USSS identify shooter as potential threat & mitigate threat before action taken?
- What actions did USSS take remove/cover Trump after threat known/detected?
