(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The task force appointed by House Speaker Mike Johnson and ranking member Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, to investigate the Trump assassination attempt began requesting documents this week from the Justice Department, FBI, Homeland Security and the Secret Service.
In letters sent Monday, task force chairman Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., requested all Trump shooting documents and information that’s been produced to the House or Senate. He also asked for a closed-doors briefing on the DHS, Secret Service and FBI investigations by this Friday.
Perhaps more significant than Kelly’s requests was his disclosure that the Johnson/Jeffries task force will “supersede” other House investigations into the July 13 shooting.
The Trump shooting task force formed by Mike Johnson and Hakeem Jeffries started requesting records from DHS, SS, FBI and DOJ this week. Good news, right?
Not so fast! According to the letter requests, the Johnson/Jeffries task force now 'supersedes' other House probes. Other… pic.twitter.com/YDknpxAMIh— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) August 13, 2024
“The Task Force’s requests for documents and information henceforth supersede all other requests from House Committees and Members, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) should produce documents and information directly to the Task Force from this point forward, including any documents and information that are in process in response to pending requests,” Kelly said in his letter to the DHS and Secret Service.
Additionally, Kelly noted that the resolution creating his task force requires all other House committees to transfer their Trump shooting records to be transferred to him.
The Johnson/Jeffries task force has been criticized since its inception, including by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who blasted Johnson for leaving off former Navy Seals sniper Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., and decorated combat veteran Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla. Both and Crane have accused the federal agents at the July 13 rally of criminal negligence.
Instead, the Johnson/Jeffries task force is comprised of six Democrats and seven Republicans—a mix of RINOs and MAGA-leaning lawmakers.
The Democrats on the Task Force are Reps. Jason Crow, D-Co., Lou Correa, D-Calif., Madeleine Dean, D-Penn., Chrissy Houlahan, D-Penn., Glenn Ivey, D-Md., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla. Crow, who helped spearhead the impeachment attempts against Trump, is the ranking Democrat.
Along with Kelly, the Republicans are Reps. Mark Green, R-Tenn., David Joyce, R-Ohio, Laurel Lee, R-Fla., Michael Waltz, R-Fla., Clay Higgins, R-La., and Pat Fallon, R-Texas.
Along with its composition, the task force has been criticized for setting a Dec. 13 deadline to produce the results of its investigation.
Outrageous https://t.co/eA9laNURTw
— Arthur Bloom (@j_arthur_bloom) August 5, 2024
Kelly did reportedly say this week that he expects to put out interim results sooner than that.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
