(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Observers hoping that the Trump Shooting Task Force’s investigation would lead to federal agents being disciplined, fired or even criminally charged are likely to be disappointed.
Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., who chairs the House Task Force investigating the Trump assassination attempts, recently signaled that one of the outcomes of his investigation will be recommending that the Secret Service become an independent, standalone agency—removing it from being housed within the Department of Homeland Security.
“Separating them, truly making them this elite group to increase the numbers of the people they need, all the assets they need that’s the best approach,” said Kelly told WENY News in an article published Monday. Kelly was likely referencing the fact that the Secret Service had to rely on agents from the DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations to assist with security at Butler and other campaign events.
Kelly’s statement came with just over two weeks left for the Task Force to complete its investigation by its Dec. 13 statutory deadline. Task Force members toured FBI facilities in Quantico last week as part of their investigation.
Last week, the Task Force met with officials at FBI Quantico to review evidence and information related to the assassination attempt of President-elect Trump in Butler. As our investigation continues, this critical information will help to frame our final report next month. pic.twitter.com/iUlsXJZ3Lz
— Task Force on Trump Assassination Attempt (@TFAADJT) November 26, 2024
Ranking member Rep. Jason Crow, D-Co., said the Task Force has interviewed 45 law enforcement officials, examined thousands of documents, and held several closed-door briefings as part of its investigation into the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump.
Crow said in a statement that the final investigatory report will include recommendations to ensure “something like this never happens again.”
Last month, an “independent panel” commissioned by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recommended that the Secret Service limit its mission to protecting dignitaries—as opposed to investigating counterfeiting and other crimes.
“The Service shall specifically consider what current responsibilities the Service needs to shed or discharge so that it can provide its protective mission with all resources required to fulfill that responsibility,” the panel recommended.
“The Panel does not make these recommendations or related observations lightly, but rather offers them in view of the crucial nature of the Secret Service’s protective mission for the ongoing continuity of American government and democratic functioning and the extent to which the events of July 13 at Butler have revealed critical deficits in the Service’s ability to operate that mission,” the panel added.
“In that context, in the Panel’s opinion, it is simply unacceptable for the Service to have anything less than a paramount focus on its protective mission, particularly while that protective mission function is presently suboptimal.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
