Local officials point to communications problems surrounding Trump's first assassination attempt as tainted by politics.

Washington CNN —

The House task force investigating the near assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, has heard from local law enforcement and a medical examiner about what happened on July 13, when the former president was shot and a rally attendee was killed.

During Thursday's hearing, local officers testified about the convoluted communication established that day, where several different groups of officers were on different radios, all separate from the Secret Service's own channel.

But those findings were overshadowed by a second panel made up of two GOP officials who advanced blatant conspiracy theories around the shooting.

Democrats on the task force did not attend the second part of the hearing, which included testimony from Reps. Eli Crane of Arizona and CoryMills of Florida.

Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, the top Democrat on the panels, told reporters that members of his party left the party because they were not informed that Crane and Mills would join the hearing before Wednesday.

We didn't get that panel's opinion until late yesterday, Crow said, adding that they hadn't had time to add their own experts to the panel or find out what those members were going to say.

Crow added that he hoped the task force could return to the consensus-based approach with Republicans on the task force. We see no reason to participate in this panel for the reasons I have described, Crow said.

The first panel was very productive, Crow added when asked about the second part of the hearing, which included Mills and Crane.

The committee's chairman, Republican Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, told reporters that Mills and Crane's presentation did not change the bipartisan spirit of the panel and shared that he invited the lawmakers because of their combat experience .

This is not going to shatter my feeling that this is bipartisan. If anyone has another opinion, that's their opinion, Kelly said.

Asked if Crane and Mills' work was undermining his task force, Kelly added: “You know, at this point in my life, I'm not that fragile.” We were on a mission to find an answer. If we have assets that we have ignored because we think it is beyond our chance to be in the spotlight that day, then you should go home. I'm not here as a Republican. I'm here as an American

Crane and Mills' appearance at Thursday's hearing, where they urged members of the Republican task force to investigate all conspiracy theories related to the July 13 assassination attempt, including the idea of A second shooter, which has been categorically denied by federal investigators, represents a public mixing of the two investigative efforts at a time when Trump is increasingly blaming Democrats for threats against him during his election campaign.

Kelly said, “I think it's something we're going to seriously consider when asked if his task force would investigate the possibility of there being a second shooter.”

Some Republican members of the task force defended the decision to allow Crane and Mills to speak at the hearing, despite the fact that their appearance appeared to undermine the task force's authority as the primary investigative body of the House when it comes to investigating Trump's first assassination attempt.

We need to investigate all potential theories, said Republican Rep. Clay Higgins, who used his time earlier in the hearing to press the medical examiner on whether shooter Thomas Crooks could have been shot twice, in the same bullet hole, adding that he didn't believe it. the concept of conspiracy theories.

In withdrawing from the hearing room, Democrats made clear they viewed Crane and Mills' appearance as partisan, marking the first public sign of discontent within the task force, which has pledged to remain apolitical , to this day.

As House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called on members to put politics aside in the investigation, Crane, Mills and other ardent Trump allies on Capitol Hill continued to issue their own supposed conclusions and lambasting federal officials for Trump's security failures. Butler rally calling for swift and strong accountability.

When members of the bipartisan task force visited the site of Butler's rally in August, the group of conservative congressmen held a counterprogramming event about their separate efforts to investigate the assassination attempt, although they have no significant investigative power and are not affiliated with the task force.

During the first part of the hearing, local officers testified about communications problems, where several different groups of officers were on different radios, all separate from the Secret Service's own channel.

The hearing took place the day after a bipartisan Senate committee released a damning report highlighting the Secret Service's major failures that day, including a lack of decision-making and leadership structure.

These failures, the report said, led to significant gaps in security measures, including a denial of resources and a lack of decision-making over who was responsible for which area of ​​the gathering, including the group of buildings climbed by the shooter.

The first part of the House task force hearing instead focused on local law enforcement and their actions that day, marking the conclusion of the first phase of the task force's investigation . Witnesses include a patrolman and a local police sergeant as well as a Pennsylvania State Police officer and a medical examiner.

In the minutes before Crooks opened fire on Trump, reports of a man on the roof were broadcast on different channels, all set up to go through two different communications stations, according to testimony Thursday. Those calls never came through to Secret Service agents regarding Trump's details.

Members also highlighted how cellular systems established in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks worked well while normal cell phone connection was spotty and became a problem for local agents as they attempted to share early photos of Crooks.

Those systems, such as FirstNet, designed to allow emergency responders to communicate with each other in a crisis, worked that day, said Edward Lenz, commander of the Butler County Emergency Services Unit , to the working group.

They worked all the time, Lenz said.

Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida noted that 45 minutes before the shooting, some officers were unable to receive photos taken of Crooks that day, while others, who were on FirstNet, could.

We created a solution, and yet here we are in 2024, and we still haven't implemented that solution at the highest levels of our security agencies to keep Trump safe, Moskowitz said.

Local agents also testified about a lack of meetings with the Secret Service and a lack of guidance on certain coverage areas, including buildings scaled by the crooks.

The task force, which was recently expanded by the House to include in its investigation Trump's second assassination attempt in Florida this month, has already visited the site of the Pennsylvania rally and met and interviewed local and federal agents involved in security and subsequent investigations. in that day.

The Secret Service, although it initially blamed local law enforcement for the Butler disaster, has repeatedly stated that the agency was entirely responsible for that day's failures. Questions remain, however, as to why local officers failed to stop the crooks from climbing to the top of a group of neighboring buildings with a rifle, despite advance warnings about the crooks on the ground and on the roof within minutes before he starts shooting. Crooks was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene moments after the shooting.

Crow added that the Trump campaign and its coordination with the Secret Service and local law enforcement is also something the task force will need to investigate to better understand where communications breakdowns occurred. The panel has already requested interviews that Trump campaign officials conducted with federal law enforcement following the first assassination attempt.

We think this is a critical piece of the puzzle that we need to look at, Crow said Thursday.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

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