WATCH: Trump assassination attempt should surprise no one as political violence festers, Nadler says

Published 2024-07-24
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., spoke Wednesday in a hearing aimed at questioning FBI Director Christopher Wray about the investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13 at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

"The concepts of freedom of speech, of peaceful transitions of power, of a democratic government at its core — these cannot exist if political violence is allowed to fester and to go unchecked. And if you think that this one assassin's bullet was a bolt out of the blue and not part of a wave of violence that has threatened this nation for years, then you have missed the point of what my Democratic colleagues and I have been imploring you to hear for some time," Nadler said in his opening statement.

Recounting many recent threats or acts of violence perpetrated against election workers, lawmakers and their loved ones, and law enforcement at the U.S. Capitol, Nadler added, "This assassination attempt, as horrific as it is, should surprise no one."

The House Oversight Committee grilled Kimberly Cheatle, director of the U.S. Secret Service at the time of the deadly shooting, on Monday. Members on both sides of the aisle called for her resignation and she announced Tuesday she was stepping down. Cheatle repeatedly referred lawmakers seeking details to the investigation being carried out by the FBI.

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