House Schedules Hearing on Trump Assassination Attempt as Inquiries Grow

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress pressed for answers from the Secret Service on Monday about how a gunman got within 500 feet of former President Donald Trump before opening fire at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, quickly ramping up a series of investigations into the matter.

At least three congressional committees said they had begun preliminary inquiries, and some lawmakers called for an independent commission to oversee them. High-level talks were underway about what path the investigations should take. And the House Oversight Committee announced that the first hearing would occur next Monday, when Kimberly Cheatle, director of the Secret Service, is scheduled to testify.

“The American people deserve to know the truth,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote on social media shortly after the assassination attempt Saturday evening. In addition to Cheatle, he said lawmakers would ask “appropriate officials” from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, and the FBI to appear at a hearing “ASAP.”

The Secret Service was scheduled to brief members of Congress on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the plans. Lawmakers are already criticizing the agency for allowing the attempt on the former president’s life.

“The United States Secret Service has a no-fail mission, yet it failed on Saturday when a madman attempted to assassinate President Trump, killed an innocent victim and harmed others,” said Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the oversight panel. “We are grateful to the brave Secret Service agents who acted quickly to protect President Trump after shots were fired and the American patriots who sought to help victims, but questions remain about how a rooftop within proximity to President Trump was left unsecure.”

Later Monday, Comer also demanded that Cheatle produce a trove a documents by Thursday, including a complete list of all law enforcement personnel with roles in protecting Trump in Butler; all audio and video recordings in the Secret Service’s possession related to the rally; and any memos Cheatle issued to agency personnel regarding the assassination attempt.

The House Homeland Security Committee was also investigating. The chair, Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., demanded that the Secret Service turn over documents by Friday.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Green asked a series of questions about the shooting and the agency’s preparedness. Green requested the agency’s security plan for the event and all documents and communications among federal law enforcement regarding Trump’s security.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times .