US Sen. Bob Casey wants a thorough investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump before calling for Secret Service resignations.
US Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) called for a thorough investigation into the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump following a press conference on Wednesday.
“I think this review should be done as thoroughly and as expeditiously as possible,” Casey told reporters. “I can’t give you the number of days, but you’re right. People need to know how this happened, why it happened, and how we prevent it in the future.”
Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year old Bethel Park resident, climbed on top of a roof outside of Trump’s rally in Butler County on Saturday and fired shots at the former president with an AR-15 rifle.
Crooks killed Corey Compertore, 50, a former firefighter from Buffalo Township who died shielding his family, and wounded two others before being killed by the Secret Service.
He was a registered Republican who once contributed $15 to a progressive political action committee after the 2020 election, and had little to no social media presence. His classmates described himself as conservative leaning following the assassination attempt.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Crooks searched for “major depressive disorder” and for dates and appearances for Trump or President Joe Biden. Trump’s event in Butler County was 50 miles north of Crooks’ house in Bethel Park.
Casey brushed aside calls for the head of the Secret Service to resign and opted to go through the review and investigation process before determining if there should be resignations.
“In terms of what happens next, both houses of Congress are going to have reviews of this incident,” Casey said. “There’ll be a thorough review of this, but I’m not going to make a determination about some position based upon just what I know from only from news reporting.”
Even though little was known about the Saturday’s shooting, Republicans were quick to blame Democrats for their rhetoric about Trump being a threat to democracy.
Casey strongly condemned the shooting, saying, “Every candidate, every elected official has to make a determination about the language that they use. I think a good rule of thumb is don’t use language that’s incendiary and don’t use language which is categorical.”
However, Casey, who is running for reelection against Republican challenger Dave McCormick this fall, said that it’s appropriate for Democrats to raise concern about the ongoing threats to democracy in this election cycle.
“We have never, in my lifetime, certainly, had a debate like we’re having now about rights, whether it’s voting rights and democracy, whether it’s women’s rights or workers’ rights,” Casey said.
“If we’re not debating the issue of voting rights in this country and not debating the impact that bad policy on voting rights can have on a democracy, then what the hell are we doing? Why have any debates? It is fundamental and even foundational to our democracy.”
