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Lawmakers on Trump assassination task force share rare bipartisan ‘commitment’; omitted reps question absence
After House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., named their nominees to the Trump assassination attempt incident task force, the panel’s members expressed a bipartisan willingness to get to the bottom of how the historic tragedy was able to happen in the first place.
Rep. Mike Kelly, the Pennsylvania Republican whose district includes the Butler Farm Show grounds where the attempt on Trump’s life occurred, was named the panel’s chairman.
Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., was named its ranking member. Crow served as a U.S. Army Ranger in the Mideast, and several other panel members have law enforcement or military backgrounds.
Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., who toured the Butler site last week, said the incident transcends party lines and that after his visit to Pennsylvania, he recognized where issues likely occurred.
TOP DEM WHO VISITED BUTLER SAYS LOCAL OFFICIALS TOLD HIM ‘WE NEED TO TALK MORE’ ABOUT SECRET SERVICE FAILURES
Former President Trump is rushed offstage after shots were fired on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“In the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Trump, I visited the site with a bipartisan group of my colleagues. It appears there were a number of security lapses – and it appears that this may not have been the first major security lapse for a national political candidate,” Correa said.
“This is unacceptable. I’m committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get to the bottom of what actually happened that day and develop policy solutions to ensure we never face a close call like that again.”
Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who served in the Louisiana National Guard and St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, was one of the GOP members named to the committee.
Higgins noted the committee will have subpoena power to get to the bottom of what went wrong in Butler and bring accountability to the victims and the American people.
TOP REPUBLICAN CALLS CHEATLE’S SLOPED ROOF DEFENSE THE ‘FINAL STRAW’
House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green speaks to the press alongside fellow members of Congress at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Monday, July 22, 2024. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital )
“I am honored to serve on the bipartisan Task Force on the attempted assassination of President Trump,” Higgins said in a statement.
“The American people demand answers, and we will use every tool at our disposal to reveal granular detail of what led to the attempted assassination, ensure accountability, and identify security failures. I look forward to working with my bipartisan colleagues to deliver the truth.”
In addition to Kelly, two other Pennsylvanians were named to the panel. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Democrat and Air Force veteran from the Main Line area, and Madeleine Dean from Montgomery County.
Houlahan called her appointment a “distinct and solemn honor” and noted the legislation necessitating the task force passed unanimously.
TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW GUNMAN EVADED SECURITY
Rep. Glenn Ivey, left, speaks to Rep. Bennie Thompson at the Butler Farm Show on Monday, July 22, 2024. A bipartisan group of lawmakers were visiting the site of former President Trump’s attempted assassination. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital )
“[That] underscore[d] the mandate from Pennsylvanians and all Americans to conduct this investigation free from political influences and divisive rhetoric. I am committed to upholding our values of truth, civility, decency, and patriotism through my work on this task force,” she said.
“As a representative of Pennsylvania, the birthplace of the Republic and our American democracy, I believe the recent assassination attempt against former President Trump is a stark reminder of the fragility of our democratic institutions.”
Houlahan said the assault went against the “fabric” of America and that all political sides must condemn violence and recognize political differences should never lead to such.
Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee who led the tour of the rally site, said the Department of Homeland Security’s – via the Secret Service – “utter failure to safeguard a former president and current candidate for our nation’s highest office was unacceptable from the start.”
“[I]t grows more troubling with each new report and effort by the Biden-Harris administration to stonewall congressional oversight,” Green said. “Establishing this task force is a critical step in addressing this failure and ensuring we get the American people the answers they deserve.”
Green urged DHS officials to cooperate with the task force’s investigation.
Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, cited his experience of 25 years as a prosecutor in pledging to work diligently to “uncover the facts, demand accountability and ensure these security failures” don’t happen in the future.
Thomas Matthew Crooks is pictured in front of the Butler Fairgrounds in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of the former president. (Bethel Park School District/Getty Images)
“President Trump, those injured on July 13th, Corey Comperatore’s family, and the American people deserve these answers,” Joyce said.
Another Republican member, Laurel Lee of Florida, called out the “inexcusable security failures” of the day and said the Secret Service failed at its “no-fail mission.”
Fellow Floridian Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat who attended and represents Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a mass shooting took place several years ago, was also named to the task force.
“As the former Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, I have been involved in after-action reviews to learn from the failures and successes of both natural and man-made disasters,” Moskowitz said.
“And as a state representative from Parkland, Florida, where 17 people died in a mass shooting at my alma mater, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, I helped to create the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Commission that investigated the failures of that day.”
In a statement Monday, Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., said the “safety and security of our presidential candidates is paramount.”
“Getting to the bottom of the security failures which allowed such an attempt is of the utmost importance. Political violence is unacceptable and protecting folks seeking elective office is a step we should take to protect our democratic process,” Ivey said.
On X, formerly Twitter, some observers criticized Johnson and Jeffries for not naming other top lawmakers with military experience to the task force.
One such lawmaker, Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., who has helped conduct civilian rescue efforts in Afghanistan, said he wasn’t surprised by being omitted from the list.
“It’s very unfortunate but not surprising for anyone familiar with how D.C. works. I’m not a politician, leadership, or a ‘yes man’,” Mills said.
“I wish the members of Speaker Johnson’s task force well,” he went on, calling for a parallel investigation with subject-matter experts and whistleblowers rather than politicians.
He also noted Rep. Elijah Crane, a former military sniper who immediately recognized the Butler water tower as a missed vantage for Secret Service, did not make the cut.
“I will be speaking with other members, and although I won’t have subpoena powers, I will personally fund whatever is required for additional staff to further investigate and expose the truth,” Mills said.
Other members of the task force include Reps. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., and Pat Fallon, R-Texas.
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A man was sentenced to 115 years in prison on Monday for the fatal shooting of a New York City police officer who had ordered him to step out of a car in Queens in 2024.
More than 200 people, mostly police officers, packed a courtroom in State Supreme Court in Queens to hear Justice Michael Aloise sentence Guy Rivera in the killing of Jonathan Diller, 31, who was promoted to the rank of detective after his death.
“It took me five minutes to calculate these numbers,” Justice Aloise said. “It’s going to take you a lifetime to calculate the damage you did and the grief that you caused.”
He said that Mr. Rivera had determined his own fate “the second you pulled that trigger.”
Detective Diller’s wife, Stephanie, who sat among the officers in the courtroom, read a statement in court just before the sentencing, speaking of the pain and loss that she and her son, Ryan, now 3, have suffered. Ms. Diller, who testified during the trial, spoke directly to Mr. Rivera as he sat at the defense table.
“This is the last moment I will allow you to take from me,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. “You took my husband, Jonathan. You took the future we planned together. The life we were building, the years we were supposed to share together.”
“What you did to Jonathan” she said, “gave me and our son a life sentence without him.”
A jury found Mr. Rivera, 36, guilty earlier this month on four charges, including aggravated manslaughter, in Detective Diller’s death, but acquitted him of the most serious charge, first-degree murder. The decision, after a three-week trial in Queens, stunned the dozens of police officers present when it was announced in the courtroom on April 1.
To find him guilty of murder, the jury had to decide whether they believed Mr. Rivera had intended to kill Detective Diller when he pointed his gun at him in the Far Rockaway section of Queens on March 25, 2024. They ultimately determined that Mr. Rivera had intentionally pulled the trigger, but did not intend to kill him.
Mr. Rivera did not speak at his sentencing at the advice of one of his lawyers, Jamal Johnson, who told Justice Aloise they would appeal the conviction.
Mr. Johnson, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society, said after the hearing that Justice Aloise’s statement at sentencing showed the court “had already made up its mind about sentencing well before the trial was conducted.”
During the trial, prosecutors said that before the fatal shooting, Detective Diller’s partner, Sgt. Sasha Rosen, saw Mr. Rivera and another man, Lindy Jones, come out of a store and get into a car. Mr. Rivera had an L-shaped object in the pocket of his sweatshirt that resembled a firearm, prosecutors said.
Detective Diller approached the vehicle and asked Mr. Rivera repeatedly to comply with orders. When he did not, Sergeant Rosen reached in to pull him out of the car.
Then Mr. Rivera fired, the jury found. The defense argued that Mr. Rivera’s gun went off accidentally when Sergeant Rosen pulled him out, striking Detective Diller. Prosecutors said Mr. Rivera then turned his gun on Sergeant Rosen, but the weapon jammed.
Justice Aloise did not allow the jury to see video that, the defense contended, showed Mr. Rivera’s arm was broken during his confrontation with the police.
That evidence would have directly undermined the prosecution’s contention that Mr. Rivera was physically able to pull the trigger when he tried to shoot Sergeant Rosen, they said.
In all, Mr. Rivera was sentenced to 25 years to life for the aggravated manslaughter conviction; 40 years to life for the attempted murder of Sergeant Rosen; and 25 years to life for each of the gun possession counts. He was ordered to serve those sentences consecutively.
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On Monday, after the sentencing, dozens of police officers smiled and embraced one another as they left the courtroom. The prosecutors who tried the case and Melinda Katz, the Queens district attorney, hugged several of Detective Diller’s family members.
Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner, called the sentence “obviously the right result, for him and for anyone who kills a New York City police officer.”
Outside the courthouse, members of the Police Benevolent Association, the police officers’ union, said they were pleased with the sentence.
“The verdict in this case did not send the right message to the Diller family and every police officer who wears the uniform,” said Patrick Hendry, the union president, who spoke at the foot of the courthouse stairwell, backed by nearly 100 police officers.
“But this sentence,” he said, “it sent the right message.”
Say bonjour to the return of “Beauty and the Beast.” The national tour has been in Boston before, but this is the first time in 25 years that Disney is behind the production.
Kyra Belle Johnson stars as Belle, the bookworm who doesn’t quite fit into her quiet village.
“I think part of treating her like a real person is finding the humor and finding the faults and breathing and being present on stage every night,” Johnson said.
As Mrs. Potts, Kathy Voytko embodies the beloved teapot.
“When I was talking to my daughters about, ‘How do you feel about mom being gone for the better part of a year?’ They said, ‘Well, geez, mom, we’re gonna miss you, but it’s Mrs. Potts,’” Voytko explained.
The actors told WBZ-TV that Disney’s involvement in this tour makes a noticeable impact, with Voytko saying, “There is nothing like a Disney-produced Disney production because the magic in the show, the attention to detail, the loving recreation of the movie that we all know and love, plus some elements of surprise.”
Johnson added, “They care about this piece of art so much… And they’re really precious with it, but at the same time, they’re open with it.”
Book writer Linda Woolverton worked with the cast in the rehearsal room to make sure the piece felt modern.
“She literally changed some scenes and lines specifically for us and our versions of these characters to make it seem grounded and real,” Johnson explained.
And Johnson gained extra insight into Belle’s life by visiting the Alsace region of France, which inspired the original Disney animators.
“Walking in the town and having like a storefront and then the leaning building that was this like blue and the wooden windows and somebody leaning out of it talking to somebody on the street. These are real places, it’s not just like a made-up place in your head.”
The wonder she felt is echoed in the audience’s response.
“This is a gate for a lot of new theater lovers. We get a lot of people who this is their first show,” said Johnson.
“It’s for everybody,” added Voytko. “It’s for adults, it’s for married couples, it is for a date night, it for a pack of pals who just want to see something nostalgic from their youth and it makes it a thrill for us every single day.”
You can see Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” at the Citizens Opera House in Boston through Sunday.
A historic number of people flooded into Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft on Thursday.
Around 320,000 fans attended the opening round of the draft on Thursday night just outside of Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, which marked an attendance record for round one of the draft, ESPN announced on Monday afternoon. In total, about 805,000 people attended the three-day event.
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ESPN also said that about 13,2 million people tuned in to watch the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, which made it the third-most watched opening round under the current format, which started back in 2010. Only the 2025 and 2020 editions of the draft drew a bigger audience on the first night.
The league said that a record amount of merchandise was sold throughout the NFL Draft weekend, too, though it did not provide a figure or metric there. The previous record on that front was set last season in Green Bay.
The Las Vegas Raiders used the No. 1 overall pick on Indiana quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza on Thursday night. Mendoza, who led the Hoosiers to the national championship earlier this year, was not in attendance in Pittsburgh. Instead, he celebrated with his family from home in Miami.
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The NFL Draft will be held next spring in Washington D.C. for the first time in modern history. It’s expected to be held on the National Mall. Washington D.C. held the draft one other time back in December 1940.
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