House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan is demanding answers from Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Director Christopher Wray regarding the security failings that led to an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Jordan’s call to action follows revelations from United States Secret Service (USSS) whistleblowers about resource limitations due to overlapping events: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Washington, D.C., and First Lady Jill Biden’s campaign rally in Pittsburgh, PA.
The Daily Caller first reported on the letter Jordan sent to Wray, highlighting that USSS whistleblowers have disclosed to the committee about the limited resources available to cover Trump’s event. According to the whistleblowers, the USSS conducted two briefings on July 8, 2024, regarding the upcoming campaign rally. These briefings included the Western Pennsylvania Fusion Center (WPFC) and other stakeholders to discuss visits by both Trump and First Lady Jill Biden. During these briefings, USSS Special Agent in Charge Tim Burke reportedly informed law enforcement partners about the resource constraints due to the NATO summit. FBI personnel were present at these briefings, acknowledging their role as a critical source of intelligence on potential threats.
“The Committee has several unanswered questions about the failures that led to the attempted assassination of a president—the first in over forty years—as well as the FBI’s ability to conduct a rapid, transparent, and thorough investigation in the wake of its recent scandals. Accordingly, to ensure that the Committee can effectively evaluate these matters during your testimony on July 24, 2024,” Jordan wrote in his letter.
In his letter, Jordan outlined several pressing questions to be addressed:
- Resource Allocation: How many agents, analysts, and support personnel has the FBI dedicated to the investigation?
- Coordination: Was there coordination between the FBI, USSS, and WPFC before Trump’s event on July 13?
- Security Measures: How many buildings were secured inside and outside the perimeter for Trump’s event, and why was the roof of the AGR International building left unsecured?
- Response Time: How much time elapsed between identifying the shooter as a threat and the attempted assassination, and between the local police officer encountering the shooter and the attempted assassination?
- Interviews and Evaluations: Has the FBI interviewed the local police officer who encountered the shooter, and what does the FBI’s evaluation of the shooter’s phone and digital activity reveal about his actions leading up to the event?
- Resource Constraints: Was the security posture limited due to resource constraints from the NATO Summit and/or Jill Biden’s event in Pittsburgh?
- Scope of Investigation: Is the FBI’s investigation limited to the shooter’s motivations, or does it include the security failures that led to the attempt?
- Communication Breakdowns: How did communication breakdowns between law enforcement entities affect the ability to identify and mitigate the threat?
- Protective Actions: What actions did the USSS take to safeguard Trump after detecting the threat?
Jordan has also demanded comprehensive documentation from the FBI, including:
- All FBI reports, analyses, or threat assessments related to Trump’s event on July 13.
- All communications between WPFC and the FBI regarding the event, including requests for additional analytic resources.
- All documents and communications between the FBI and USSS regarding the event.
- All FD-1023s and FD-302s, confidential human source reporting, and reviews of domestic terrorism investigations in the Pittsburgh area that could indicate threats to Trump’s event.
Jordan has called on Wray to provide these materials “in their entirety and without redactions” by 5:00 p.m. on July 23.
This investigation seeks to uncover the extent of the security lapses and ensure accountability in preventing such critical failures in the future. As the hearing date approaches, the answers provided could significantly impact the perception of both the FBI and USSS’s roles in safeguarding high-profile figures.
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