FBI director grilled over assassination attempt investigation

Members of Congress grilled FBI Director Christopher Wray Wednesday over details of the FBI’s investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

Wray’s testimony at a House Judiciary Committee hearing comes as the FBI faces criticism over unanswered questions surrounding the agency’s handling of the ongoing investigation into the recent shooting at a Trump campaign rally earlier this month. 

The Secret Service has also come under fire for the security issues surrounding the rally shooting. 

Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Tuesday stepped down from her post after calls for her resignation, as The Center Square previously reported.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan questioned Wray on many of the details leading up to the attempted assassination.

“Why was the president allowed to walk out on stage when there was a suspicious person on the property?” Jordan asked. 

“We need to know what happened play by play, moment by moment, second by second,” Jordan added.

Jordan went on to say that Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas was “lying to the American people” with his prior comments about security failures. The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Wray slammed political violence during his opening statements. 

“We will not and do not tolerate political violence of any kind,” Wray said. “Especially a despicable account of this magnitude.”

“We are going to leave no stone unturned,” Wray added when discussing the investigation. 

“The attempted assassination of the former President was an attack on our democracy,” Wray said.

Wray went on to mention the United States being under an environment of “heightened threat” at several points during his testimony. 

“I have been saying for some time now that we are living in a heightened threat environment,” Wray said.

U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop asked about reports of an unmanned aerial surveillance drone at the Trump rally.

Wray said that the FBI found a drone and controller in the shooter’s vehicle as well as explosive devices. Wray called the three explosive devices that the FBI recovered in the shooter’s car “relatively crude.” 

Wray acknowledged that the shooter had a drone and said that the FBI thinks that he was “live-streaming” and “viewing the footage” for several minutes before the shooting.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler asked Wray for his response to people calling for the defunding of the FBI. 

“Cutting our funding is incredibly shortsighted,” Wray said. 

The question of any possible motives from the shooter leading up to the assassination attempt against Trump came up several times during the hearing. 

“I think it’s fair to say that we do not yet have a clear picture of his motive,” Wray said in response. 

Wray said that the shooter is thought to have visited the surrounding area three separate times leading up to the rally after Jordan asked him about it.

Wray revealed that the shooter did a “Google search for how far away was [Lee Harvey] Oswald from [the late President John F.] Kennedy” on July 6. Wray added that that was the same day that the shooter registered to attend the Trump campaign rally.

Wray said that the shooter seemed interested in images of various public officials and public figures who “cover both parties” and added that the FBI is still trying to “grill into that” amidst their ongoing investigation.

Many members of the Judiciary Committee denounced acts of political violence at several points throughout the hearing. 

“In America violence has never been the answer,” Rep. Eric Swallwell said.