FBI chief to face questions over Trump assassination attempt as he returns to Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Christopher Wray is set to testify Wednesday about the bureau’s investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, with lawmakers at a congressional hearing likely to press him for fresh details about the gunman’s motive and background.

The hearing before the House Judiciary Committee will represent Wray’s most detailed comments to date about a shooting that has again thrust the FBI into the political maelstrom as agents continue to investigate the 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, and the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.

The hearing had been scheduled well before the June 13 shooting as part of the committee’s routine oversight of the FBI and Justice Department, and though lawmakers may touch on a broad array of topics, questions about the shooting are expected to dominate the session.

Despite being appointed by Trump, Wray typically faces antagonistic questions from the Republican-led panel, a reflection of lingering discontent over the FBI’s investigation into potential ties between Russia and the 2016 campaign. Though the FBI has avoided the same level of scrutiny directed at the Secret Service over security lapses that preceded the shooting, culminating Tuesday in the resignation of Director Kimberly Cheatle, Wray is likely to be questioned by lawmakers skeptical of the bureau’s assessment that Crooks left behind no obvious ideological motive that could explain his actions.

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