Congressional task force to investigate attempted assassination of former Pres. Donald Trump

WASHINGTON — A new congressional task force will investigate the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, U.S. Congress unanimously approved the formation of the group.

Channel 2 Washington Correspondent Kirstin Garris learned about the formation of the group, and what concerns lawmakers have which prompted the investigation.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The task force comes out of lawmakers having major concerns about how the U.S. Secret Service failed to protect the former president and current presidential nominee, as well as everyone else attending the rally in Pennsylvania.

Now, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, with seven Republicans and six Democrats, will investigate what went wrong and what led to the security missteps before Trump was shot.

The task force will be able to issue subpoenas and compel witnesses to testify during hearings, as well as have the power to hold witnesses in contempt if they don’t comply with the congressional inquiry.

TRENDING STORIES:

• US Senate plans votes on several child online safety, social media bills
• As Delta returns to normal operations after IT outage, here’s how to get reimbursed for delay costs
• Atlanta doctor shares recommendations about staying safe amid US listeria outbreak

A final report will be released by the task force in December with its findings, as well as proposals to help prevent future security lapses.

The task force’s formation also follows the recent resignation of Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, who formally tendered her resignation after giving testimony to Congress on the assassination attempt, and after calls from both political parties for her to step down.

Channel 2 Action News has learned the congressional task force in the U.S. House of Representatives isn’t the only bipartisan effort on Capitol Hill to dig into the shooting.

U.S. Senators will also be holding a joint oversight hearing next week about the assassination attempt, where they’ll hear from the new acting director of the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI’s deputy director.

Some senators are also receiving classified briefings about the incident.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:

As Delta returns to normal operations after IT outage, here’s how to get reimbursed for delay costs

©2024 Cox Media Group