Few details are yet known about the man accused of trying to assassinate former President Trump, Thomas Matthew Crooks, but a member of the House Select Committee investigating the assassination attempt said the FBI is not cooperating with the investigation.
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), a member of the bipartisan assassinations task force, appeared on “Fox News Sunday” with fellow task force member Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pennsylvania) to discuss the group's investigation into U.S. Secret Service missteps at a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Crooks was left unchecked from a rooftop and fired a barrage of shots.
Both Waltz and Dean said the failure was the fault of the USSS, which has since taken full responsibility, but Waltz praised the USSS for being proactive in the investigation, while noting that the FBI is still not investigating the assassination attempt, more than two months after it occurred.
“The Secret Service has been forthright about its failure to communicate guidance to locals with proper command, while the FBI has completely stonewalled this task force,” Waltz said. “They're not speaking forthrightly.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray initially told lawmakers in July that “there's doubt as to whether it was a bullet or shrapnel that struck his ear.”
Two days later, the FBI released a statement saying, “The bullet that struck former President Trump in the ear was either a whole or fragmented bullet fired from a deceased individual's rifle.”
Walz said he hopes Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will hold a press conference similar to one the USSS recently held.
“We still know virtually nothing about Butler shooter Crooks, about his encrypted accounts, or how he learned how to make IEDs,” the congressman said.
On Thursday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), ranking member of the HSGAC Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said the few documents the FBI had provided to lawmakers were “heavily redacted.”
“I've never seen anything like this,” Johnson told reporters about the edits.
The shooting at a Trump rally on July 13 has increased scrutiny of the USSS and sparked debate about whether it is doing enough to ensure the safety of elected officials in today's hyper-partisan environment.
Waltz said another reason for “growing bipartisan frustration” with the FBI is the multiple ongoing plots by Iran, specifically the Iranian regime, to assassinate Trump, and its hacking of the Trump campaign and sharing it with the Biden-Harris campaign.
“And when asked about this privately, the FBI provided no information to the intelligence committee,” Walz said. “Only this week. This is completely unacceptable, and subpoenas should be issued.”
Dean also said it “makes sense” for a special team to investigate the second assassination attempt on President Trump, which took place on Monday at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, and condemned all political violence.
“I want to set the standard that political violence has no place in this country,” the congressman said.
