Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., has called for a full congressional investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability beyond just the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability's investigation.
In a Monday interview with Newsmax on "Prime News," Donalds, highlighting the importance of a congressional probe, emphasized, "What we need to do, in my view, is that you need to have Congress investigate this matter. And that way, we get to the bottom of it because we've seen this dance before where an agency says we did our own internal review, and [they] 'took care of things.' To me, that's simply not good enough."
"That's why I know that the FBI is looking at the actual scene. They're supposed to be doing their own independent evaluation. I say no to any of that. I think it's important right now. And it really could be [the] House and Senate. It doesn't have to just be the House because this is a serious matter," he asserted.
The congressman was particularly critical of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who recently testified before Congress but failed to provide satisfactory answers regarding the security breaches during the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. "It might have been good enough if Director Cheatle came in today with concrete answers for the things that she could speak publicly to; maybe also have a closed hearing, a classified briefing, and a classified hearing for the members so we can get full accountability for everything," Donalds suggested.
Acknowledging the need for confidentiality on some issues, he stated, "I get it. There are things that [the] Secret Service does not want to talk about in an open session, and I respect that. But what we saw today in Oversight was a debacle. It was a travesty. She should be ashamed of herself."
Cheatle's testimony faced bipartisan criticism Monday, with lawmakers expressing frustration over her reluctance to address the security lapses adequately during a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing. According to CBS News, both Republicans and Democrats were outraged by Cheatle's evasiveness during her testimony about the attempted assassination of former President Trump.
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