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 below, 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.
WATCH:
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.
Tickets to the historic rally on October 5 are available here.
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.”
Watch Representative Crane’s opening statement below:
CRANE: For those of you who don’t know, I served in the US Navy from 2001 to 2014, had the opportunity to deploy to Iraq multiple times with SEAL Team Three. One of my qualifications was as a sniper. We are highly trained in various aspects of military operation, weaponry, technology, tactics, and all sorts of mission sets to include executive protection. With that background, it’s evident to me that many basic security measures were completely dropped. That being said, you do not have to have a background in special operations to recognize the incompetence and security failures that led to the catastrophic vulnerability surrounding President Trump and the crowd that day. I hear from Americans every day, in complete disbelief in the wake of two assassination attempts in two and a half months, that cannot believe how ineffective our Secret Service has become. There’s simply no excuse. I’m glad I can testify today to share some insight into the operational failures of that fateful day. Rep. Mills and I visited Butler Pennsylvania rally site immediately following the assassination attempt to investigate. I’ve also visited the site with Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green and my colleagues on the committee. Some of the main challenges facing Secret Service were completely avoidable. For example, we investigated the second floor window Secret Service agents and local law enforcement had access to, overlooking the roof from where the shooter engaged the former president. I was able to confirm that had anyone stationed in the second story at AGR building come off of their weapon system, moved to the window, and looked out the window during their search to reacquire Thomas Crooks, they would have seen him within 30 to 40 yards of that position. He would have easily been spotted lying on that roof with no camouflage and his rifle. We 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. But as myself and others who went up on that roof, 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.
Furthermore, Secret Service did not have any of its counter snipers on a nearby water tower, the tallest structure at the farm show grounds. I knew immediately upon setting foot at that site—and Mr. Chairman, you were there as well—that that’s exactly where I would have placed myself as a counter sniper because of its commanding view over the entire property. Not only would any counter sniper have been able to easily engage Thomas Crooks from that position that he attempted to assassinate former President Trump, but it’s very likely that Thomas crooks might have decided to abort his mission and go home, had we had counter snipers on that water tower. The thing that we need to understand about security is how important deterrence is. Had Thomas crooks visually spotted or located counter snipers with the use of his drone that day, it is very likely that he would recognize that he would have been deterred long before ever getting into that position capable of having a direct line of sight to the podium and to President Trump, and would have possibly aborted his mission. Rep. Mills and I also ranged several other buildings and windows that were well within range for anyone with a desire to assassinate the former president. Upon our investigation that day, we were informed that nobody was posted on nor had conducted any advance work amongst these very choice and accessible firing positions Rep. Mills and I both concluded, within minutes of observation from the same exact positions used by secret service counter snipers, that this was a horrible venue for a rally, and Secret Service should have done everything possible to dissuade the campaign from hosting it there. To date, we have seen no evidence that secret service tried to dissuade the campaign from using the site due to the alarming threat profiles surrounding the site.
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. I cannot be more clear. To this point, we have been extremely lucky. Whether either of these individuals were working in coordination with other groups, organizations, or nation states who desired to kill the former president, none of the individuals attempting to kill the president have been professionals. I can tell you that with authority by the weaponry and the gear they used, as well as the fact that Thomas crooks took a head shot. I can tell you from experience that most snipers are trained to take center mass torso shots, if possible, for the very exact reason that we saw him miss a headshot on July 13. I can also tell by examining Ryan Routh’s final firing position on the fence line of the golf course that he too was not a professional. No trained sniper, no trained assassin, would have set up their final firing position the way he did. We are trained to make absolute sure that nothing on our person or in the vicinity of where we are located and going to take our final shots, that anything stands out from the environment we are in. You could see those large bags holding ballistic plates on the fence, which would easily catch the eye of any trained security agent. He also stuck his barrel through the fence instead of cutting what we call a loophole in it, so that he could stay back in the shadows, allowing his concealment. I want to reiterate, to date these individuals that have tried to assassinate former President Trump are not 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? What is going to happen next time there is a 10 man Hezbollah team, snipers, assaulters and drone operators launching a coordinated and overlapping assassination attempt on the president. I think we can all see by now that their likelihood of success would be tremendous. My suggestion to the former president and to his campaign is that he beef up his private security detail of 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. The reason for this is so they can plug holes that Secret Service continues to leave and make sure they are not putting him in vulnerable situations. It is important that these investigations and oversight continue to make sure that in the coming days, weeks and months and even years, this is no longer a regular occurrence and not even a possibility. I want to challenge this task force to continue doing the great work that they are doing here today. I also want to challenge them 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. There is a concern from the American people that this task force will be like most investigations in Washington, DC, that lead to zero accountability and transparency and simply call for money for an organization that desperately needs reforms at its core.
