United States – FBI Director Christopher Wray will testify before Congress on Wednesday over the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump but is unlikely to receive the level of opposition that led Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign.
Wray’s Upcoming Testimony
Wray is set to testify before the House Judiciary Committee at 10 a.m. (1400GMT) on FBI investigation into the suspected shooter, 20-year-old nursing home aide Thomas Crooks, who fired shots and got within range of a July 13 campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, to injure the Republican presidential candidate, as reported by Reuters.
Trump was shot in the ear, and one person was killed and another injured during the rally. Crooks was shot dead by the police. The reason for the shooting has not been ascertained.
Cheatle resigned on Tuesday in response to bi-partisan calls for her resignation because of the agency’s inability to prevent the attempted assassination.
However, while testifying on Wednesday, Wray is likely to be presented with calls for details of the incident by a shooting probe, an investigation that can be overshadowed by partisan divides within the committee.
Expectations for the Hearing
The FBI director has continually received resistance from some Republicans who felt a rage over the arrest of supporters of Donald Trump who invaded the U. S Capitol on the 6th of January 2021, to press for Biden’s 2020 victory.
Republican member of the Judiciary Committee, Representative Harriet Hageman who has been critical of the FBI and has called for Wray’s resignation stated, “I would like to hear the truth. But, I doubt it that’s what we will hear. ”
“They have drawn a ring around us, and they are going to ensure that we do not get the information that we require,” she noted, as reported by Reuters.
Democratic Perspectives
The Judiciary Committee Democrats expected that the hearing would not yield much.
“I’m expecting him to talk about how he’s doing his best to keep our country safe. But as you know, it’s the Judiciary Committee, so we will have all sorts of sparks fly,” Democratic Representative Deborah Ross said. “It’s never a productive exercise in Judiciary. It’s always a ‘gotcha’ game.”