Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) suggested the FBI was cutting Congress off from its investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Trump.
“Unfortunately, I think our congressional investigation is going to be similar to the FBI and Secret Service investigation, in that we haven’t been given the opportunity to have timely access to individuals,” Johnson told radio host John Catsimatidis on WABC 770 AM’s “The Cats Roundtable” on Sunday.
Johnson said Congress has tried to interview local, state and federal law enforcement about the July assassination attempt in which a 20-year-old gunman shot President Trump in the ear, but he said federal law enforcement has “kept quiet.”
“We’re four weeks away [the attempted] “We don’t know even basic information about the assassination because the FBI and Secret Service hold the law in their hands. They think they are above the law. They don’t think they are accountable to the American people because they have never been held accountable by Congress or the American people,” he said.
Johnson added that Congress has not received the results of the shooter’s autopsy and has not received sufficient cooperation from federal authorities regarding the assassination attempt.
Johnson also claimed that while local police said one of their officers shot the shooter, the Secret Service has not confirmed this and has not released any related information.
“That’s why the shooters need to be questioned, because the acting superintendent says the shooter wasn’t even aiming at him until just a split second before he fired,” Johnson said. “Is it strange that the acting superintendent didn’t acknowledge that local law enforcement fired shots that could have been prevented or stopped the shooting?”
Democrats and Republicans alike have slammed the Secret Service for providing security at President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.
Republicans began attacking former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle in the aftermath of the shooting, when she resigned after refusing to answer most of lawmakers’ questions during a congressional hearing.
“She did the right thing. What happened yesterday was terrible. It was all secret, it accomplished nothing. And she didn’t answer any of the questions that the American people have,” Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the Oversight Committee’s top Democrat, told reporters after Cheatle’s testimony.
The Senate held a hearing on July 30 with his successor, Acting Attorney General Ronald Lowe, but Republicans were frustrated that many of their questions went unanswered.
The Secret Service has acknowledged there were security lapses at the event, with local law enforcement blaming the service for “poor planning” and “poor communication.”
Republican lawmakers, led by Johnson, have questioned why the Secret Service did not have personnel on the roof where the gunman shot Trump, with the service saying the roof was “sloped” so no snipers were deployed.
