Former President Donald Trump will formally speak to the FBI for the first time following the assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pa., nearly two weeks ago as part of the bureau’s effort to get more information regarding the attack, per CNN.
The agency continues to investigate the evidence from the scene, maintaining that the shooting was an assassination attempt. “Since the day of the attack, the FBI has been consistent and clear that the shooting was an attempted assassination of former President Trump which resulted in his injury, as well as the death of a heroic father and the injuries of several other victims,” the bureau said in a statement on Thursday.
During testimony on Capitol Hill this week, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that there was “some question” about whether a bullet or shrapnel had hit former President Trump. Republicans, including the former president himself, have used Wray’s statement to raise concerns about his leadership of the agency. “No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. “No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) also cast doubt on the testimony provided by the FBI director. “We’ve all seen the video, we’ve seen the analysis, we’ve heard it from multiple sources in different angles that a bullet went through his ear. I’m not sure it matters that much,” Johnson told NBC on Thursday, adding that Wray “was not forthcoming with some of the information that we would expect.” He continued: “There’s a lot of frustration and concern about the leadership with these agencies.”
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday in response to mounting pressure following the assassination attempt on former Trump. Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, just over a week after a failed assassination attempt on Trump’s life at his rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13 by Thomas Crooks.
“As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency,” she said. “We must learn what happened and I will move heaven and earth to ensure that an incident like July 13th does not happen again.” Cheatle added: “Our agents, officers, and support personnel understand that every day we are expected to sacrifice our lives to execute a no-fail mission.”
Trump, during his rally, ever-so-slightly turned his head—narrowly missing the bullet shot by 20-year-old suspect Crooks’ AR-15-style rifle by just a quarter of an inch. The bullet hit him, instead, in his upper right ear, Fox News noted. “The bullet killed firefighter, father and husband Corey Comperatore as he protected his family from the shots, and severely injured two others,” the outlet added.
House Republicans, including Chairman James Comer of the House Oversight Committee, had been urging Cheatle to resign, branding her and the agency under her leadership as “the epitome of incompetence.” He said during the hearing, “It is my firm belief, Director Cheatle, that you should resign. The safety of Secret Service protectees is not based on their political affiliation. And the bottom line is that under Director Cheatle’s leadership, we question whether anyone is safe.”
Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) spent a considerable amount of time questioning Cheatle about whether her team shifted their focus from the rally to attend to First Lady Jill Biden.
Jordan, a loyal supporter of President Trump, became part of a group of Republican legislators urging the head of the agency to step down two weeks following the incident where 20-year-old shooter Thomas Crooks took out a 20-year-old soldier. In earlier statements, Cheatle justified her choice not to position a counter-sniper team on the rooftop where Crooks was located, and the agency had to retract an earlier statement that it did not compromise the strength of Trump’s security team.
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