Wray to Testify to Judiciary, Not Homeland Security

(Getty Images)

The FBI on Thursday declined an invitation from the House Homeland Security Committee for testimony from Director Christopher Wray concerning Saturday’s assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.

Wray, however, still plans to keep his July 24 appointment before members of the House Judiciary Committee, in a hearing scheduled before the attack on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Punchbowl News’ Melanie Zanona reported Thursday on X.

Earlier this week, Homeland Security Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., invited Wray, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify before the committee June 23 about the shootings, which killed a rally attendee and left Trump with an injured ear. Two others were wounded.

“The American people want answers on what happened Saturday in Pennsylvania,” Green said. “Secretary Mayorkas and Director Cheatle are responsible for the department and the agency charged with securing our homeland and protecting our nation’s chief executives and candidates, while Director Wray leads the agency with the vital responsibility of investigating this attempted assassination.”

Meanwhile, Wray will face tough questions from the Judiciary Committee, with Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, revealing that whistleblowers told the committee the Secret Service did not include proper resources for Trump’s rally because of staffing shortages caused by last week’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization and coverage of an event for first lady Jill Biden in Pittsburgh, located near where Trump had been speaking.

“The information provided to this Committee raises serious questions about the thoroughness of the security planning by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in support of President Trump’s campaign rally,” Jordan said in a press release, adding that law enforcement had overlooked numerous vulnerabilities, allowing shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, to open fire.

Jordan said he sent a letter to Wray requesting that he be “fully prepared” to answer all questions about the shootings and the FBI’s investigation during his July 24 hearing.

Jordan said some of those questions will include:

How many agents, analysts, and support personnel has the FBI dedicated to the investigation?
Was there coordination between the FBI, USSS, and the WPFC prior to President Trump’s event on July 13?
How many buildings had to be secured inside and outside of the security perimeter for President Trump’s event on July 13?
Why was the roof of the AGR International building left unsecured?
How much time elapsed between identifying the shooter as a potential threat and the attempted assassination?
How much time elapsed between the local police officer encountering the shooter on the sloped roof and the attempted assassination?
Has the FBI interviewed the local police officer who encountered the shooter?
What does the FBI’s evaluation of the shooter’s phone and digital activity show about his actions and movements in the days and hours leading up to the attempted assassination?
Is the FBI’s investigation limited to the shooter and his motivations or does it include the security failures that led to the attempted assassination?
Was the security posture at President Trump’s event limited due to resource constraints with the NATO Summit and/or Jill Biden’s event in Pittsburgh?
How did communication breakdowns between various law enforcement entities affect the ability of local law enforcement and USSS to identify the shooter as a potential threat and mitigate the threat before he took action?
What actions did the USSS take to remove or cover President Trump after a threat was known or detected?