The Hill TV host Jessica Burbank suggested the death of former Trump administration official Mike Gill was an assassination due to his position on the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, calling it “dangerous business.”
Burbank appeared on The Hill’s “Rising” television show with co-host Amber Duke, a former Daily Caller reporter, to give a reaction to Gill’s death following a Jan. 29 carjacking in Washington, D.C. As the two discussed D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s response to the rising crime in the city — in which he claimed officials cannot “prosecute and arrest” their “way out” of the issue — Burbank claimed Gill’s job had been “dangerous business.” (RELATED: Former Trump Administration Official Dies After Being Shot During Carjacking Spree)
The Hill TV host continued to question if Gill’s murder was “organized or random” before pivoting to agreeing with Schwalb’s take on handling crime in the city, claiming there were other factors to lowering crimes besides arresting and prosecuting criminals.
“Finally D.C. using the data on how to address crime in the city, but I don’t know. That guy that was a commodities futures trader — dangerous business. Who knows if it was organized or random? But I kind of like this approach, it seems to be the right approach to me, given that the data shows that when people are comfortable, have access to resources, are receiving a good education, have a stable job — is that they don’t commit crimes as much,” Burbank stated.
“So, as a city, you have to focus on being a flourishing city because he said we cannot ‘arrest’ and ‘prosecute’ our way out of this. I think he’s right, that punishment can’t be the solution here. It needs to be a much longer term root source solution.”
Before moving on, Duke pushed back on Burbank’s statement, questioning if she had been “serious” about Gill being “a target.” Burbank quickly reiterated her statements, emphasizing she believes commodities future trading is “dangerous business.” Duke, however, continued to press, asking if Burbank had been “joking” about the reason behind Gill’s death, to which Burbank pivoted, stating she didn’t believe he was killed “during a carjacking.” (RELATED: Washington D.C. Proposal To Combat Violent Crime Surge Won’t Go Nearly Far Enough, Critics Say)
“Were you being serious about the Trump official being a target or was that a joke?” Duke questioned.
“Commodities Future Trading? That is a dangerous business. I do believe it is a very dangerous business,” Burbank stated.
“Were you joking about that being the reason why he was killed during a carjacking, though?” fellow Hill host pressed.
“Well, I don’t believe he was shot during a carjacking. That guy was shot on his way to pick up his wife, but we never know in the case of a shooting if it’s premeditated, if there’s a motivation here, or if it’s a random act,” Burbank stated.
The former Trump official was reportedly sitting in his car before being shot during a carjacking spree, later succumbing to injuries in the hospital. Gill served as the chief of staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission before moving to capital markets at the Housing Policy Council as senior vice president.
The shooting suspect, identified as Artell Cunningham, 28, allegedly went on a carjacking spree within the city, allegedly shooting another man following the encounter with Gill. While Cunningham was later shot by authorities following an encounter with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), aggravated D.C. residents met with community leaders, including Schwalb, to discuss the rise in crime, according to Fox News.
In response to the concerns, the attorney general stated the community needed to be “much more focused on prevention and surrounding young people” in order to effect the “long run,” claiming official could not rely on prosecuting and arresting, the outlet reported.
“We as a city and a community need to be much more focused on prevention and surrounding young people and their families with resources if we want to be safer in the long run,” Schwalb stated, according to Fox 5. “We cannot prosecute and arrest our way out of it.”
Former President Trump hailed Gill as “wonderful and brilliant” and “highly respected” in a Truth Social post Sunday.