Kelly task force subpoenas ATF for documentation on Trump assassination attempt
The task force led by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, issued subpoenas Monday, Nov. 18, to two employees of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regarding the attempted assassination of then-former President Donald Trump at the Butler Farm Show grounds on July 13.
The subpoena letter written by Kelly to the two ATF employees claims the agency missed the Nov. 13 deadline imposed by the task force to provide a host of documents and transcribed interviews regarding their response to the assassination attempt.
The task force previously sent two letters to the ATF seeking a list of documentation and transcribed interviews from employees of the agency. The first was dated Oct. 3, and the second was dated Nov. 6.
The task force sent the November letter after it received a response to its first letter from the ATF on Oct. 22. In his letter sent Monday to the ATF employees, Kelly characterized the Oct. 22 response as “insufficient and untimely.”
“It was delivered to the task force five days past the deadline, and contained less than four and half pages, more than half of which consisted of summary narratives,” Kelly wrote. “To date, ATF has failed to produce a single document responsive to the task force’s requests and has failed to make any of its personnel available for interviews.”
According to a news release sent Tuesday, Nov. 19, the ATF sent its first set of documents to the task force roughly an hour after the task force issued its subpoenas Monday. Matthew Knoedler, Kelly’s spokesperson, said the ATF’s submission consists of 40 pages of documents.
“While the task force is now reviewing the 40 pages of documents, it is only a start to cooperation that should have begun weeks ago,” Knoedler said.
The Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump, as it is officially known, was formed July 24, 11 days after the shooting at the Butler Farm Show grounds that led to the death of one spectator and serious injury of two others. Trump was grazed on the right ear during the shooting.
The task force consists of 13 members — seven Republicans and six Democrats, with Kelly as the chairman and Jason Crow, D-Colo., as the ranking Democrat. It aims to issue a final report on its findings by Dec. 13.
“The task force’s pressing need for your testimony is further perpetuated by the condensed time frame in which it is operating,” Kelly wrote in his letter to the ATF employees. “Given your role in the investigation after the attempted assassination on July 13, the task force believes you have critical information pertinent to its inquiry.”
In addition to the July 13 shooting in Butler County, the task force also is investigating another attempt on the president-elect’s life which took place at one of Trump’s golf courses in West Palm Beach, Fla., in September. That time, no one was hurt.
“The task force is continuing its thorough investigation of both the Butler and West Palm Beach assassination attempts,” Knoedler said. “We are on track to produce our final report by the Dec. 13 deadline.”
