House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced that his committee will open an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s shooting.
Senator Comer (R-Ky.) said he has already contacted the Secret Service and requested that the director appear at a hearing on what authorities are investigating as an assassination attempt on the former president.
“I have already contacted the Secret Service to request clarification and have asked Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to attend the hearing, and the Oversight Committee expects to send a formal invitation shortly,” Comer said in a statement.
Trump, 78, was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when multiple shots were fired at him just after 6pm ET. The former president, who was bleeding from his right ear, later claimed he “felt the bullets cutting through my skin” and that he had been “shot.”
The suspected shooter, whose identity has not yet been released, was “neutralized by the Secret Service,” authorities said. At least one rally attendee was killed and two others were seriously injured, according to the Secret Service.
“My prayers are with President Trump and the victims of today’s assassination attempt at his rally in Pennsylvania. I am grateful to the brave Secret Service agents who risked their lives to protect President Trump and to the American patriots in the audience who helped those who were injured,” Comer continued.
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“Political violence in any form is un-American and unacceptable. There are many questions, and Americans want answers.”
The Post has reached out to the Secret Service for comment.
President Trump has been receiving medical treatment at Butler Memorial Hospital since the attack, while the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are investigating the situation.
Saturday’s shooting of Trump marked the first time a gunman has come close to killing a former or sitting president since the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.
One photo circulated after the shooting showed a bullet whizzing by inches from Trump’s head.
What we know about the attempted assassination of President Trump
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In his speech, the 81-year-old President Biden condemned the attacks on his biggest political opponent as “sick” and said he was seeking to reach out to Trump.
“There is no place for this kind of violence in America. This is sick. This is sick. This is one of the reasons we have to unite our country,” Biden said. “We cannot allow this to happen. It shouldn’t be like this. It’s unacceptable.”
The shooting happened just before the Republican National Convention was scheduled to begin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Monday.
