[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 120 (Monday, July 14, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S4331]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, on July 13, 2024, an assassin nearly
killed President Trump. The gunman injured him and two rally
participants and killed Corey Comperatore. We keep him and his family
in our prayers as well as everyone affected that day. Today, 1 year and
1 day later, I come to the floor to provide an update on my ongoing
oversight of that attempted assassination.
The day of the shooting, I launched an investigation focused on
gathering and releasing information to the public. I didn't want the
public to be kept in the dark. Public transparency stops conspiracy
theories. Sixty years after JFK's assassination, we still have
questions being asked. Unfortunately, there are still aspects to that
shooting where the government hasn't been transparent.
The Biden administration stonewalled my oversight requests. I
strongly urge the new administration to let all the facts breathe,
unlike the last administration.
The day of the shooting, my oversight unit quickly got to work. They
talked to patriotic whistleblowers. They performed dozens of witness
interviews, including local law enforcement officials, rally goers, and
local businesses. My staff obtained and reviewed weeks' worth of
security footage, text messages, pictures, law enforcement briefing
materials, after-action reports, and other records. They also obtained
police body camera footage that provided the first video of what
happened in the aftermath of that shooting. I made it all public.
At the time, my investigative work unveiled the most detailed picture
of the Trump assassination attempt. As part of my oversight, I asked
the Department of Homeland Security inspector general to review the
matter. I also requested that the Government Accountability Office do
the same as I asked the inspector general to do. The American people
wanted answers. They wanted accountability in the aftermath of this
tragedy. I worked hard to do just that, and I know there is more work
to be done.
This past weekend, the Government Accountability Office produced to
me its report on the July 13 assassination attempt. The Government
Accountability Office report starts by stating:
The U.S. Secret Service failed to implement security
measures that could have prevented the assassination attempt
on then-former President Donald J. Trump during a July 13,
2024, campaign rally.
According to the report, prior to the July 13 rally, Secret Service
received information from the intelligence community about a threat
against President Trump's life. Yet this threat information wasn't
shared with Secret Service personnel or local law enforcement
officials--all responsible for securing that event. Clearly, had all
Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials known of this
threat, it would have changed how they secured the AGR building where
the sniper opened fire from.
As I previously made public, Secret Service and its local partners
had cell phone issues on July 13. The Government Accountability Office
report found that the Secret Service didn't have a policy to assess
cellular service at the site even though communication is key during
any major event like this. This resulted in the Secret Service not
receiving real-time threat information and updates during the search
for the gunman. Every delayed second in finding the gunman meant that
he was one step closer to carrying out his evil objective.
I previously made public documents showing that the Secret Service
had issues with a counterdrone system at the rally. The Government
Accountability Office confirmed my previous oversight. GAO found that
the Secret Service's counterdrone operator lacked the training,
knowledge, and support to fix and operate the counterdrone system.
According to the Government Accountability Office report, these
problems occurred because the Secret Service didn't follow its own
requirements that personnel must complete training before operating a
counterdrone system.
The GAO report says the Secret Service said that using a counterdrone
is like ``turning on a flashlight.'' Yet the counterdrone did not work,
and the Secret Service could not fix it. Had a counterdrone been
operating as planned, it could have identified the shooter's drone and
even the shooter.
The Government Accountability Office's report also found that the
Secret Service planned to use farm equipment to address a line-of-sight
issue when securing the AGR building. Before the rally, a campaign
staffer asked Secret Service to modify the plan, and the advance team
did as the staffer requested.
But they didn't notify senior officials overseeing the rally of these
changes. If they had, the senior officials might have overruled them.
While the report says the Secret Service has made changes to correct
some of these problems, they still have more work to do. The Secret
Service operates in a zero-fail mission, and they don't have room for
any error.
Every failure exposed by the Government Accountability Office report
must be turned into positive changes in the Secret Service. I want my
colleagues to know that I will be riding hard on them until I am
satisfied the job is done.
I want to close out by thanking the law enforcement officers serving
on the frontlines, including the Secret Service, Capitol Police, their
law enforcement partners, and, of course, their families--all working
hard and sacrificing to keep the public and the government safe.
I am grateful to you all and do not, in the future then, take the
days that seem uneventful for granted.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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