Congress was privately briefed on the assassination attempt on July 17.
WASHINGTON—The Secret Service told lawmakers on July 17 that the gunman was identified as being suspicious one hour before he opened fire on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, according to Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) who was at the briefing.
“He had a range finder and a backpack. The Secret Service lost sight of him,” the senator said in a statement posted on X.
“Someone has died. The President was almost killed,” he added, before calling for the head of the Secret Service to resign.
His remarks came after members of Congress received a private unclassified briefing from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice regarding the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump and the resulting investigation.
The briefing was provided to senators and the House of Representatives amid congressional demands to be informed about the state of investigations into the incident. A briefing had been scheduled to occur on July 16 for members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee but was canceled due to alleged disagreements regarding its time. The July 17 briefing appears to have been held for all members of Congress in both chambers and was criticized by Republican lawmakers after it concluded.
“The USSS [U.S. Secret Service] Senate briefing was unbelievably uninformative. Only four questions were allowed,” wrote Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on X. “The rest of us are supposed to submit questions. I already have. Awaiting a response. Not holding my breath,” he added.
“[J]ust like that, Secret Service wrapped up the briefing after taking only a few questions. So much smoke and mirrors. So little accountability,” wrote Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on X. “So far, they’re flooding us with details that aren’t all that helpful. I have yet to hear them substantively address the failures that led to this tragedy,” he noted.
“The nation deserves answers and accountability,” wrote Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on X after the briefing. He added that “[n]ew leadership at the Secret Service would be an important step in that direction,” echoing Mr. Johnson and other Republican leaders who have called for Ms. Cheatle to resign.
By Arjun Singh
