Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, questioned why the Secret Service allowed former President Donald Trump to take the stage on July 13 even though it knew about the potential threat more than an hour before.
The Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees jointly Hearing Lee worked with the Secret Service and the FBI to investigate security failures that led to an assassination attempt at a rally for former President Donald Trump in Butler County, Pennsylvania, earlier this month. Said The Secret Service repeatedly lied about the events of that day and questioned their motives. (RELATED: 'Stop interrupting me': Sen. Ted Cruz slams acting Secret Service director for 'refusing to answer questions')
“Why on earth would you let Donald Trump on stage?” Lee asked at the press conference.
That damn sloping roof!
pic.twitter.com/Gl7D737K1S— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) July 30, 2024
“The Secret Service has not behaved in a way that invites you to follow us or trust us,” Lee said at a news conference. “No one wants to believe or suspect the worst about what's going on in our government, but the Secret Service has repeatedly lied to us, refused to answer the most basic questions, and almost willfully refused to take the most basic precautions to protect a former president.”
20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crookes attempted to assassinate the former president from a rooftop just 130 yards from the stage. It's been found It was reported by a witness, flagged by the Secret Service about an hour before and identified by a local counter sniper about 100 minutes before Trump took the stage. (Related article: President Trump vows to continue outdoor rallies despite Secret Service advising against it)
“These are obvious, simple, basic questions that the Secret Service should be able to answer, and they had at least 17 days after the attack to answer these questions,” Lee said at a news conference. “These are questions that they should have started asking, and they probably could have answered them within 24 hours.”
“What I've heard, what my colleagues have heard, and what you've heard if you've been watching, is that we are investigating,” Lee said at a news conference. “I'm sorry, but that's not enough. (Related: House of Representatives passes bipartisan resolution to establish task force to tackle assassination attempts against President Trump)
During the attack, Crooks wounded the Republican candidate and killed attendee Corey Comperatore, as well as wounding attendees James Copenhaver and David Duch. Stable Status as of last Monday.
“Remember, King David did not kill Uriah the Hittite himself,” Lee told reporters at the news conference, “but he sent them onto the battlefield knowing that they were at imminent risk of serious bodily injury, and he made sure that they did not have adequate protection. We must get to the bottom of these questions to make sure that Donald Trump was not going to become Uriah the Hittite.”
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