Rep. Eli Crane, a former Navy SEAL sniper, claims 'there's a lot of politics that went into' task force selection
Americans don't trust government to properly investigate Trump shooting, Rep. Eli Crane warns
Former Navy SEAL sniper Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., joins 'America's Newsroom' after touring the site of the Trump rally shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania
EXCLUSIVE: Former Navy SEAL Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., is concerned that the bipartisan House task force to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Trump is missing a critical component in terms of the experience of its members.
"I did reach out to the speaker and volunteered, and reminded the speaker that I was…one of the snipers in Congress. I think there's only three of us. So clearly it's not about me," Crane told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"I think there's three – myself, [Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., and Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas]. If even one of us was put on that committee, I think it would have shown that they were actually trying to put at least a cross-section of experience on the committee. But that didn't happen."
Crane argued that the circumstances of the shooting – a 20-year-old gunman firing an AR-style rifle from 400 to 500 feet away from Trump, then subsequently being killed by a Secret Service sniper – added to the need for someone with his experience.
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Rep. Eli Crane spoke with Fox News Digital about the bipartisan House task force to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Trump (Getty Images)
"I am a former Navy SEAL sniper. The actual term would be NSW, Naval Special Warfare sniper. I graduated from sniper school in 2009 and went to several other advanced sniper schools. And I think the reason that it's important is because, obviously…the alleged individual that tried to kill the president, did take a shot at the president, was training prior to taking a shot at the president," Crane said.
"You're dealing with counter sniper teams. You're dealing with the advance work that was done, you're dealing with, you know, someone who can cite angles, trajectories – all sorts of things that snipers have to be proficient and experienced in. And so I don't know, it just kind of makes sense that in this specific case, you would probably want people to have that background and experience on your task force."
The task force, comprised of six Democrats and seven Republicans, was announced by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., after a unanimous House vote to commission it.
Crane and Mills are aiming to launch a parallel probe to make up for what they see are shortfalls on the existing task force, Mills indicated on X Monday.
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Rep. Cory Mills announced he wanted to launch a parallel investigation. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"I wish the members of [the] Task Force well, and think it’s time for a parallel independent investigation with subject matter experts (SME) and the whistleblowers who’ve already come forward," Mills wrote, adding that he and Crane had already heard from people in those groups.
The current task force is led by Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., whose district the shooting took place in and who has deep ties with the local law enforcement who were also charged with security that day, and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a retired Army Ranger with combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The panel also includes several other veterans, including Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa. It also includes legal experts like Crow, a lawyer, and Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., a former assistant district attorney.
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But both Mills and Crane accused House leaders of political motivations in selecting the task force.
"I think some of the most qualified people were clearly left off of there. And so, like many things in Washington, there's a lot of politics that went into the formation of…that task force," Crane said.
He said "several" other "pretty impressive" lawmakers share their concerns.
Jeffries, Johnson, Kelly and Crow have all emphasized that they want the probe to be free of politics. Crow told Fox News Digital earlier this week that it would be a "robust and serious" investigation.
Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are leading the task force assembly as a bipartisan effort. (Getty Images)
Jeffries' office declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital. Johnson's office did not return a request for comment.
When asked whether he was concerned that setting up their own GOP-led probe could itself be viewed as political, Crane said, "I'm not really worried about it, but is it possible? Absolutely."
But panel member Waltz told Fox News Digital he was not worried about either investigation politicizing the other.
"Look, if we have folks that want to bring in – like, Representative Cory Mills, who I plan to call on his expertise as a former sniper, Representative Eli Crane, former Navy SEAL sniper – look, I mean, we should be using their expertise," Waltz said. "If they want to bring outside experts from their networks – I think this is an all-of-the-above approach. So the more eyeballs looking at it, the better."
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to
