Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) suggested that “nefarious purposes” were at play in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, questioning why the Secret Service refused additional resources the day the shooting occurred.
Mills is the co-leader, alongside Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ), of an independent investigation into the assassination attempt, which just conducted a forum interviewing three witnesses considered subject matter experts on government security. The Florida congressman argued the investigation into the shooting has only raised more questions, such as how the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, had access to “multi-channel detonating devices,” along with having no presence on social media.
“There was help, in my opinion, that has been provided based on what I see, what I’m hearing, and also from confidential information that’s coming forward, and that leads me to believe that this is far more than just criminal negligence, that there was more nefarious purposes to this event,” Mills said on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle, guest-hosted by Jeanine Pirro.
Among the questions that have been raised in their investigation, Mills explained, are why the Secret Service opted not to use a surveillance drone to help secure the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, or why it did not attend a meeting to go over any last-minute plans to secure the event. As such, he believes many factors were at work to set the event’s security up for failure, with the shooting killing one person, Corey Comperatore, and injuring two others.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) also provided an update on the investigation, explaining that whistleblowers revealed that Secret Service leaders told the agents protecting the rally and Trump’s campaign not to ask for more resources because such a request would be denied. The senator argued this “directly contradicts” what the Secret Service director told Congress.
“What the director told Congress is a lie,” Hawley said on Fox News’s Jesse Watters Primetime. “We need to know why are these guys lying to us, and what are they hiding?”
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The independent investigation’s forum meeting on Monday included former Secret Service special agent Dan Bongino, former Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince, and Washington regional SWAT operator Ben Shaffer. Mills indicated that this will be the first of more meetings to come.
On Sunday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) accused the Secret Service and FBI of “basically dragging their feet” on providing information to help with Congress’s investigation into the shooting. He added that both agencies are raising suspicions and conspiracy theories with how they have helped in this investigation, as “this is exactly how you do that.”
