Top Dem on Trump shooting task force denies past impeachment manager role could politicize probe
EXCLUSIVE: The top Democrat on the newly commissioned House task force to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Trump is insisting that the investigation will be free of politics.
Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., was named ranking member of the panel after being selected by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
As a first-term lawmaker in 2020, Crow was selected as one of seven House Democrats prosecuting Trump’s first impeachment trial before the Senate.
But he denied in an interview with Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the role would open him up to criticism of his handling of the current task force.
BUTLER DISTRICT ATTORNEY SAYS LOCAL SNIPERS WERE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ROOFTOP SHOOTER FIRED FROM
"I’m not concerned about that. You know, I have a great reputation for being one of the most bipartisan members of Congress because, listen, that's what America does," Crow said. "We have … tough debates and deliberations about the things that we need to have tough debates and deliberations on. But we also come together and work together when and where we have to."
The retired Army Ranger said he was trained to serve without bias during his days in the military, which included tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I served overseas in combat with Americans from all different backgrounds – Republicans, Democrats, independents, people from the East Coast, people from the West Coast, of every different stripe and background – and we got the job done. We came together, we served together, and we got it done. And we're going to bring that same spirit to this task force," Crow said.
He’s one of six Democrats appointed to the task force by Jeffries, with seven Republicans chosen by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT VICTIM SAYS HE IS ‘SAD’ WITH STATE OF ‘POLITICAL DIVISION’ IN US
Johnson and Jeffries said in a joint statement of Crow’s appointment, "We have the utmost confidence in Ranking Member Rep. Jason Crow and this bipartisan group of steady, qualified and capable Members of Congress to move quickly to find the facts, ensure accountability and help make certain such failures never happen again."
It comes after a source previously told Fox News Digital that Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who was the Democrats' lead counsel in the first Trump impeachment, was being considered for a place on the committee. He did not end up on the final list.
Crow told Fox News Digital that the probe’s exact contours are still being ironed out between himself and Chair Mike Kelly, R-Pa., but he hopes a task force visit to the site of the July 13 Trump rally shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, will be part of their work. Would-be assassin Thomas Crooks, 20, opened fire from a nearby rooftop during the event, grazing Trump's right ear, killing a former firefighter and seriously wounding two other spectators before being shot dead by a Secret Service counter-sniper.
"Chairman Kelly and I have discussed that, and we do think that would be an important thing to do if we have the support to do it," Crow said.
He also said "a lot of things appear to have gone wrong" the day of the shooting and pledged a "fast investigation," noting the group has to release a report in December.
IRAN THREAT PROMPTS QUESTIONS ABOUT TRUMP GUNMAN'S UNCRACKED ENCRYPTION
Crow listed the questions he had: "Are we actually looking at that intelligence properly? Is it being disseminated to the proper law enforcement officials? Why wasn't there a secure perimeter? Why was that rooftop unsecure?"
He also explained that the apparent communications breakdown is going to be a major tenet of their probe, adding, "I learned in my time overseas in combat that one of the hardest things to do is actually achieve interoperability of our communications between … different units in different locations."
"It was very hard to do. But it's also the essential thing to do, because if you're not communicating and talking, things fall through the cracks."