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By Jordan Conradson - thegatewaypundit.com
Arizona Republican Congressman Eli Crane, a retired Navy SEAL sniper with five wartime deployments, testified on Thursday during the first public hearing of the Congressional Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump and warned the President against returning to the Butler, Pennsylvania rally site in the future.
"This was a horrible venue for a rally," Crane said in his opening statement, citing the potential security threats discovered after he and his colleague Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) examined the site. Crane continued, "Secret Service should have done everything possible to dissuade the campaign from hosting it there."
Later in his testimony, Crane also sounded the alarm on the potential of a second shooter in Butler, Pennsylvania, urging members of Congress to show courage in their investigation. Previously, in his opening statements, Crane challenged members of the Task Force to "have enough courage to think outside the box, challenge the mainstream narratives, and be willing to investigate every theory, regardless of how conspiratorial others might claim them to be."
In the clip, Crane references allegations and possible video evidence of a second shooter. The post from John Cullen points out inconsistencies in bullet trajectory that he says "could not have been fired from the AGR building" where the "lone shooter" was positioned.
CRANE: "One of the things that I've seen online, and let me be clear when I say this, guys, so much of any investigation, I think, needs to be open-minded and willing to look at anything and everything that even if it might be outside the official narrative, even if you talk to somebody and find out that the evidence that they're presenting, you know, might not hold water, might lack credibility, I think that's extremely important. One of the videos that I've seen online is from a gentleman named John Cullen, who talks about the possibility of a second shooter, and he shows a video Miss Lee, where In this video, he shows a bullet traveling down a path, and the disruption that that round supposedly makes and then flies into, you know, one of the stadium fence railings, that shows that it would have been very, very difficult for that round to travel the path that it did, had it come from Thomas Crooks.
I think that you need to bring this gentleman in, see as evidence. And if you don't think it holds water, then you know, you need to make that assessment. But that was one of the things I said in my opening testimony. Far too often, especially as representatives, we're scared that if we investigate something that others are saying might be conspiratorial, then that might defame us or give us a lack of credibility. But I think any investigation out there that's worth its salt will look at any theory and then try and disprove, debunk it, or see if it holds water and run with it. So, John Cullen is somebody, I think, you guys should bring in here and look at the video evidence that he has of a bullet traveling, you know, in a trajectory, in a path, that would not have been able to come from Thomas Crooks.
The task force, chaired by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), was established in response to the July 13 assassination attempt at President Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when the House passed House Resolution 1367 on July 24. The three goals of the task force include,
To understand what went wrong on the day of the attempted assassination
To ensure accountability
To prevent such an agency failure from ever happening again
During Thursday's hearing, Eli Crane and Cory Mills, an army veteran with sniper experience, testified on the Secret Service's security failures and what they observed while visiting the rally site in Butler, Pennsylvania.
On July 13, Trump was shot by Thomas Matthew Crooks while speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania. One rallygoer was killed in the shooting, and two were injured. Crooks fired the shot on top of a nearby building, where Secret Service counter snipers had a clear view of the shooter from their position at a higher elevation than the shooter behind Trump, yet they did not act. Crooks accessed the building with a ladder he bought at Home Depot the same day as the shooting.
Additionally, as The Gateway Pundit reported, an eyewitness told the BBC that several people witnessed the shooter crawling on the roof of a local building with a rifle before Trump was shot, but they did not act until Trump was shot. According to later reports, a police officer encountered the shooter on the roof but let him go after he pointed the gun at him and before he shot Trump.
Investigations into the matter have left more questions than answers. For example, former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle's excuse for leaving the building unmonitored by agents was that the building "has a sloped roof at its highest point" and it wouldn't be safe.
Crane responded to the sloped roof claim by Cheatle, stating that he and Representative Mills were "able to confirm that former Secret Service Director Cheatle was lying to Congress when she gave us the excuse that the roof was too slanted, too dangerous for Secret Service snipers to take up counter sniper positions" immediately following the attempted assassination. "It was not steep at all. Ironically, the positions that secret service counter snipers posted themselves upon were actually far steeper than that roof at the AGR building," he continued.
"Though I appreciate the former president's courage and strong desire to rally his supporters, I strongly suggest that he and his campaign avoid this site on October 5 and in the future, which leads me to my most concerning assessment now of both assassination attempts on the former president," Crane also said, noting, "we have been extremely lucky" that neither Thomas Crooks nor would-be assassin Ryan Routh, who targeted Trump at his West Palm Beach golf resort earlier this month, were professionals. "What is going to happen, Mr. Chairman, when the president of Iran, China, Russia, or any other country or group who does not want to see President Trump come back into office send professionals?" Crane asked. "I think we can all see by now that their likelihood of success would be tremendous."
The Trump campaign issued the following news release on Wednesday, announcing his return to Butler, Pennsylvania, to finish his speech and honor Corey Comperatore's heroism and sacrifice to his family:
"On Saturday, October 5th, 2024, President Donald J. Trump will return to Butler, Pennsylvania to hold a rally on the very same ground where he came within a quarter of an inch of losing his life less than three months ago.
President Trump's return to Butler will mark his first visit to the site of the attack since he was struck by an assassin's bullet on July 13th - but was saved in what the world has recognized as an act of divine providence.
During his visit, President Trump will honor the memory of Corey Comperatore, who heroically sacrificed his life to shield his wife and daughters from the bullets on that terrible day. President Trump will also recognize the two other Americans who were wounded by the shooter, David Dutch and James Copenhaver. He will express his deep gratitude to law enforcement and first responders, and thank the entire community for their outpouring of love and support in the wake of the attack.
President Trump's return to Butler will stand as a tribute to the American spirit. In America, we do not let monsters like that evil assassin have the last word. Every time our nation is struck by attack or hardship, we rally, we persevere, and we prevail. When terrorists knocked down our towering skyscrapers, we rebuilt taller. When our communities are ravaged by fire, storm, or natural disaster, we pull together and come back stronger. And when a shooter attacked our democracy and tried to end this movement, President Trump will return to the site, joined by tens of thousands of proud citizens, and together, they will celebrate a unifying vision for America's future in an event like the world has never seen before.
After not one, but two attempts on his life in the past nine weeks, President Trump is more determined than ever to see his mission through to the end. In that Butler field on July 13th, he took a bullet for democracy - and on November 5th, he is going to save our democracy. With the help of the amazing people of Pennsylvania and citizens all across our land, we will make America safer, stronger, freer, and greater than ever before."
Crane further took a shot at the Secret Service, suggesting to President Trump and his campaign that they "beef up his private security details with individuals who are loyal to him and not burdened by the bureaucracy and culture of an organization that many of us used to hold in high esteem."
Comments
It doesn't matter where he goes, they are trying to kill him and they don't care the place. Trump needs a loyal, private security team. The Secret Service has proven that they can't be trusted. Who is leaking Trump's Schedule, to include private, last minute decisions?
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