Speaker Mike Johnson Reveals The Lawmakers In Charge Of Investigating Trump's Assassination Attempt

On Monday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) revealed the lawmakers that would be manning the bipartisan House task force in charge of investigating the assassination attempt against President Donald Trump on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania. The task force, made up of seven Republicans and six Democrats, will be responsible for leading the congressional investigation into the shooting.

"Today, I'm announcing the seven Republicans who will serve on the Bipartisan House Task Force to investigate the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump," Speaker Johnson posted to X. "We have the utmost confidence in this group of steady, highly qualified, and capable Members of Congress."

The Republicans assigned to the committee, four of whom are veterans, include Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Mark Green (R-TN), David Joyce (R-OH), Laurel Lee (R-FL), Michael Waltz (R-FL), Clay Higgins (R-LA), and Pat Fallon (R-TX). "Honored to serve," Rep. Joyce wrote on X. The Democrats on the committee include Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO), Lou Correa (D-CA), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Glenn Ivey (D-MD), and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL).

The task force will be chaired by Rep. Kelly, the lawmaker who introduced the resolution to create the task force and who represents Butler County. The House voted unanimously on Wednesday to form the task force, and the lawmakers will submit their findings by December 13. The task force is responsible for "assum[ing] control and jurisdiction over all pending House committee investigations regarding the Trump assassination attempt" until the end of the current Congress in January.

Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), who has been investigating the assassination independently, criticized Speaker Johnson for not placing hiim on the task force. "It’s very unfortunate but not surprising for anyone familiar with how DC works. I’m not a politician, leadership, or a 'yes man'. I wish the members of [Speaker Johnson] Task Force well, and think it’s time for a parallel independent investigation with subject matter experts (SME) and the whistleblowers who’ve already come forward that myself and [Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ)] and [Benny Johnson] have spoken with," Mills wrote. "I will be speaking with other members, and although I won’t have subpoena powers, I will personally fund whatever is required for additional staff to further investigation and expose the truth."

The investigation into the shooting by both the media and lawmakers has continued to outline the massive security failures that took place before the shooting, as previously reported by the DC Enquirer.

More than an hour and a half before the shooting, texts show that one of the local counter snipers, whose shift was ending, exited the AGR International building, where the gunman would later open fire from, and saw 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. The local officer sent a text to a group chat with other members of the security team to let them know that Crooks knew that the local countersniper team was positioned on the second floor of the AGR building.

"Someone followed our lead and snuck in and parked by our cars, just so you know. I'm just letting you know because you see me go out with my rifle and put it in my car so he knows you guys are up there," the text, obtained by the New York Times, read. "He's sitting to the direct right on a picnic table about 50 yards from the exit." Other officers in the group chat responded with a thumbs-up emoji and wrote, "Roger that."

A half-hour after the departing officer saw Crooks, the 20-year-old was seen again just below the countersniper team positioned on the second floor of the AGR building. One of the officers took a picture of Crooks at 5:38 PM and asked for the Secret Service to be notified.

"Kid learning around building we are in. AGR I believe it is. I did see him with a range finder looking towards stage," the text sent 31 minutes before the shooting, reads. "FYI. If you wanna notify SS snipers to look out. I lost sight of him," the text says. "Also a bike with a backpack sitting next to it in rear of building that was not seen earlier. Call it in to command and have a uniform check it out."

At 6:11 PM, a Secret Service sniper team eliminated Crooks after he fired eight rounds at the Republican nominee and supporters in the crowd. 

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