‘Election Interference In The Extreme’: GOP Lawmaker Advocates For Trump Shooting Task Force

3 months ago

During House floor remarks before the House recess, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) spoke about the need for a task force to investigate the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.

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Transcript

00:00Mr. Speaker, on the afternoon of July 13th in Butler, Pennsylvania, a 20-year-old man

00:05walked across a barren field just outside a rally for Donald Trump with a rifle, a transponder,

00:13and a cell phone.

00:15He'd previously flown a drone over the site.

00:17The man was able to traverse the field, climb up to the roof of a building, position his

00:22rifle at the president, and take at least five shots, killing one, injuring two others,

00:28and grazing the head of the former president.

00:31Thankfully, the man was neutralized shortly thereafter by the efforts of nearby Secret

00:36Service counter-sniper team, but not before killing former Fire Chief Cory Compitore,

00:45who was struck as he protected his family from the oncoming gunfire, and critically

00:50wounding David Dutch and James C. Copenhaver.

00:55We are here today not just because this domestic terrorist was able to carry out this violent

01:00act, but also because he did not go undetected.

01:04Several eyewitnesses and firsthand accounts confirmed that they had not just spotted the

01:10individual, but had also alerted authorities.

01:14A recent BBC article noted sources identified the individual as a person of interest.

01:19He was shot 52 minutes before the first shot rang out, and again located 20 minutes prior,

01:25climbing a warehouse roof.

01:27Yet the individual was able to get an unacceptably close distance and fired our former president

01:33undeterred and came within a millimeter of tragically altering the history of this election

01:42and our nation.

01:44The toll taken on civilians and attendees will forever remain an indelible stain.

01:51The Secret Service not only failed to protect the president, but they failed to protect

01:55everyday Americans who were placed in harm's way, and that led to tragic consequences,

02:02taking a loving father away from his wife and children in the process.

02:07The apparent failures at protecting a former president and now-presidential nominee are

02:13deeply troubling for their own sake, but also for the ramifications of the security

02:18of those trusted at the highest levels of our government currently and in the future.

02:25House Resolution 1367 establishes the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump.

02:31The Task Force will be empowered with all of the investigative authority of the House

02:37of Representatives, including subpoena authority to investigate the events that led to this

02:42heinous attempt at political violence and intimidation.

02:47This is election interference in the extreme.

02:52Political violence is unexpectedly evil and is un-American regardless of political creed.

02:58That's why this Task Force will be bipartisan, with the chairman and ranking member working

03:03together, drawing conclusions and recommendations based on input from witnesses and from each

03:09other.

03:10I want to thank my fellow member and friend, Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania.

03:13It was his district where this occurred.

03:16He's sponsoring this critical legislation.

03:20Through the work of this Task Force, we will understand what went wrong on the day of the

03:24attempted assassination, what led to these failings, hold those responsible accountable,

03:29and make the necessary reforms to prevent this from ever happening again.

03:34Thank you, and I'll reserve my time.

‘Election Interference In The Extreme’: GOP Lawmaker Advocates For Trump Shooting Task Force

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