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Congress is snapping into action to investigate the shocking assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump by a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man.

Trump task force report finds ‘stunning’ security failures

News: The House’s bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassinations of former President Donald Trump released an interim report this morning detailing “stunning” security failures in the lead-up to the July 13 rally in Butler, Pa.

The 53-page preliminary report, which comes nearly three months after the task force was created, says congressional investigators found a serious breakdown in communication between the Secret Service and local law enforcement that enabled a gunman to climb up on a rooftop and fire at Trump from only 150 yards away. Two people were killed in the attack, including the shooter, while Trump was injured.

While there are few new revelations in the report, the document adds to a growing mountain of evidence detailing the Secret Service’s failures in preventing the attack. The agency neglected basic planning duties, such as holding a joint meeting on the day of the rally between the Secret Service and relevant state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as not providing clear guidance about managing the areas outside the security perimeter, according to the report.

The report particularly homes in on the Secret Service’s consequential decision to place the building where the gunman was located outside of the security perimeter despite the fact that it had clear sight lines to the stage, close proximity to the main road, and an elevated position. And while there were local sniper teams inside the building, they had a narrow field of vision and thought their assignment was to watch over the rally site — not to secure the roof.

The task force also faults federal, state and local law enforcement officers for not engaging the shooter at “several pivotal moments.” His behavior became increasingly suspicious throughout the day but “fragmented lines of communications” allowed the gunman to evade law enforcement.

“Put simply, the evidence obtained by the Task Force to date shows the tragic and shocking events of July 13 were preventable and should not have happened,” the report states.

Next steps: The task force will still release a final report by Dec. 13 with potential legislative recommendations, as required by the resolution creating the panel. There are also plans to hold additional public hearings when the House returns in November.

Task force members may also visit the site of a second Trump assassination attempt in Florida. Initial plans to travel there were scrapped due to Hurricane Helene, but a trip is still “on the table,” according to a source familiar with the planning.

This is just the latest report to find numerous security failures by the Secret Service, including an independent review released by the Department of Homeland Security last week and an interim report released by the agency itself.

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