The gunman who nearly assassinated former President Donald Trump used encrypted messaging accounts on several foreign platforms, according to a Republican appointed to a congressional committee investigating the assassination attempt.
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), a member of the bipartisan House Task Force on the Assassination Attempt of President Donald Trump, has identified three countries linked to the encrypted messaging account used by Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who attempted to assassinate President Trump.
“This is not an isolated incident and they need to release information as soon as they have it.”
Last month, Waltz said“What we know now is that, according to a report we just received, he has three overseas encrypted accounts that the FBI is looking into.”
“Well, we know they were based on servers overseas,” he added, “so we would have to work with our FBI contacts overseas to get through to them through their authorities.”
Wednesday Waltz Got information Chicago reporter: “We don’t know much yet. We don’t know much about the overseas accounts. We know they were in Belgium, New Zealand and Germany, if I understand correctly.”
“Why would a 19-year-old paramedic need an encrypted platform based not in the United States but overseas, where most terrorist organizations know it will be difficult for U.S. law enforcement to penetrate? This is a question I’ve had from day one in office,” the congressman asked.
The FBI, Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General are conducting their own investigations into the assassination attempt on President Trump.
Waltz, a retired Army Special Forces officer and former White House and Pentagon adviser, blasted the FBI and Secret Service for apparently concealing information about the investigation into the attempted assassination of President Trump at last month’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“This is not an isolated incident, and Iran needs to disclose information as it becomes available,” Waltz said. “The Iranian threat continues.”
Walz, who serves on the Intelligence, Armed Services and Oversight committees, addressed the alleged murder-for-hire. plot A plot to assassinate President Trump and other senior US government officials involving Pakistanis suspected to have ties to the Iranian government.
Before the shooting, the National Security Council Reportedly He warned the Secret Service and the Trump campaign that there were intelligence reports that Iran was actively planning to assassinate the former president.
Iran has denied accusations that it had a plot to assassinate President Trump.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said Iran said it “strongly denies any allegations of involvement in the recent armed attack against President Trump or of Iran’s intent to take such action.”
Kanani added, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to take legal action against President Trump for his direct involvement in the crime of assassinating martyr General Qassem Soleimani.”
Soleimani was the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.
The FBI was reportedly scheduled to brief the 13 members of the House Select Committee on Intelligence on Wednesday, and Walz said he hoped the bureau would provide insight into the “horribly flawed” security arrangements at Trump’s July 13, 2024, rally.
Crooks entered the rooftop just 130 yards from the stage where Trump was delivering his campaign speech. He fired eight shots, including one that struck Trump in the right ear, before being neutralized. Crooks shot and killed Trump supporter and firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50. Two other rally attendees, James Copenhaver, 54, and David Duch, 57, were also wounded in the gunfire.
The BlazeNews reached out to the FBI and Secret Service for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
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