Rank-and-file lawmakers will begin receiving virtual briefings today from the Secret Service about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump as committees on both sides of the Capitol investigate the shooting.
First up: The House Oversight Committee will receive a bipartisan briefing today. Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) on Monday officially noticed a hearing for July 22 with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
Oversight appears to be taking the lead here for Republicans. It’s no surprise given that Comer has tried to insert himself into almost every major news cycle through his perch atop the panel. The committee also has very broad jurisdiction.
Comer sent a letter to Cheatle on Monday requesting several documents, including a complete list of all law enforcement with roles protecting Trump at the rally and all video and audio recordings in the Secret Service’s possession from the event.
Second: The House Homeland Security Committee is also expected to get a briefing from the Secret Service today or tomorrow. It was originally supposed to happen Monday but was rescheduled.
Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) has also requested documents regarding the Secret Service’s security plan for the rally and intends to schedule a site visit with the FBI so members can see the area themselves. The panel is planning a hearing for next week.
We reported that Green and ranking member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) held a call with Robert Wells, executive assistant director of the FBI’s national security branch, on Monday.
Wells told the committee leaders that the FBI has conducted nearly 100 interviews, has access to the shooter’s phone, and that the Secret Service is conducting its own review of its security protocols.
Leadership angle: Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans are compiling a list of questions about the shooting and vowed to send a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in the coming days. Among the questions lawmakers want answered:
→ How did the shooter come within 150 yards of Trump?
→ Was the Secret Service or other law enforcement at the event alerted by bystanders that there was someone perched on a nearby rooftop with a rifle? And if so, how did they respond?
→ Why was the building not secured or included in the security perimeter? Whose responsibility was it to secure it?
→ Was there a breakdown in communication between local law enforcement and the Secret Service?
→ Were all proper security protocols followed both before and after shots were fired?
Also: The House Judiciary Committee will hold its annual FBI oversight hearing on July 24 where Director Christopher Wray will testify.
The hearing was already expected to be highly contentious, but given the timing of Wray’s appearance, we can expect even further scrutiny on the agency.
— Melanie Zanona, Mica Soellner and Max Cohen
