Democrat lawmakers on the task force investigating the attempted assassinations of former President Donald Trump that shocked the nation reportedly declined to attend during important testimonies at a hearing on Thursday.
The Democrats on the House task force probing into the incidents skipped the portion of the initial hearing where two Republican representatives appeared, Fox News reported on Friday.
The article said the two lawmakers who testified have been investigating both of the cases on their own.
The outlet reported:
Reps. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., and Cory Mills, R-Fla., two Republicans and both military veterans, took part in the second portion of the hearing, but the Democratic minority fumed behind the scenes that their leadership was not informed of their testimony until late Wednesday afternoon, Fox News sources said. Some Democratic lawmakers were not informed until Thursday morning, however.
The move was seen as the first bipartisan split in what has been a united effort to investigate the incident thus far.
The first assassination attempt against Trump happened in July as he spoke during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet struck the former president’s ear, leaving him bloodied.
However, Trump is reportedly planning to return to Butler for another rally in October, per Breitbart News. The article then detailed both attempts on his life:
Trump survived the first assassination attempt on his life during a July 13 rally in Butler, when assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on him from a rooftop 130 yards away from the stage, reportedly shooting the 45th president in the ear and allegedly killing former Pennsylvania fire chief Corey Comperatore, as well as severely injuring rallygoers David Dutch and James Copenhaver.
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As Breitbart News reported, Trump survived a second assassination attempt on his life on September 15 — two months after the first attempt in Butler — when wannabe assassin Ryan Wesley Routh was allegedly caught hiding in the bushes near Trump International Golf Course with an AK-47 style rifle with a scope, lying in wait for Trump, who was golfing, to come into his view.
Secret Service agents noticed Routh before he was able to fire at the former president. Although he fled the scene in a vehicle, authorities eventually caught up with the man and took him into custody.
Trump has since said the two assassination attempts failed to break his will but “hardened” his resolve to use his time “on earth to make America great again,” Breitbart News reported on September 18.
Trump: “Thank You” God — He Has Spared My Life “Twice”; My Resolve is “Hardened”
Per the recent Fox article, the panel of seven Republicans and six Democrats has been looking into security failures at the Butler rally, interviewing officers and gathering thousands of documents from the Secret Service.