Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced his intention to launch an “independent security review” of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, which will consist of a four-person panel that includes one of his predecessors, Janet Napolitano.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, Mayorkas released a statement on Sunday announcing the creation of the panel. Mayorkas had previously worked for Napolitano while she served as DHS Secretary for the entirety of Barack Obama’s first term; she had previously served as Governor of Arizona, and went on to serve as President of the University of California system after her DHS tenure.
Napolitano has long been an opponent of President Trump and his policies. In 2017, she filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration over its immigration policies. She later claimed on a conference call in 2020 that Trump had “no plan for how to deal with the issues of structural racism that we have seen erupt around the country,” and accused Trump of “throwing gasoline on the fire” after a peaceful protest at the United States Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
Another member of the panel will be Mark Filip, a former Department of Justice (DOJ) official who was part of the sweetheart deal that was ultimately granted to convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein back in 2008. Also on the panel are Fran Townsend, a former national security official during the George W. Bush Administration, and former University of Maryland police superintendent David Mitchell.
Mayorkas has said that the panel will release its report within 45 days.
As head of the DHS, Mayorkas is at the top of the chain of command with regards to the United States Secret Service, and as such has faced widespread criticism for his role in the multiple security failures on July 13th, when a would-be assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of killing President Trump on live television. One rallygoer, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, was killed in the shooting, and two others were seriously injured.
Along with Mayorkas, intense scrutiny has also focused on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who has refused to give definitive answers on what happened that day, or provide any specifics about her ongoing investigation. Testifying before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, Cheatle was grilled by members of both parties, who condemned her lack of transparency, the increasing incompetence of the Secret Service, and its failure to respond to a rising trend of political violence. She has faced widespread calls to resign.
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