Camilla Jessen
Fallout grows over investigation into Trump rally attack.
New questions are being raised about what federal investigators knew, and failed to disclose, before the July 13, 2024 attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.
Lawmakers and commentators are challenging the FBI’s account of how much prior information it had about the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks.
Early warnings disputed
Crooks opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle from a rooftop overlooking Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing two people and injuring the then-Republican nominee.
At the time, FBI officials said they had limited information about him.
But Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas, who chaired the congressional task force reviewing the shooting, now says investigators withheld critical details.
“We definitely got stonewalled,” Fallon told The National News Desk, adding that information once thought complete “now seems like it wasn’t.”
The task force ultimately concluded the attack had been preventable.
Online activity never shared
Former Deputy Director Paul Abbate told Congress in 2024 that investigators traced more than 700 online comments believed to have been authored by Crooks between 2019 and 2020, many featuring extremist and antisemitic themes.
Fallon says his task force never received that material.
“They didn’t share any of the information with us,” he told CBS Austin, calling it “either deliberate or incompetence.” He now plans to speak with House Oversight Chair James Comer about recalling Abbate for further testimony.
Accusations of a cover-up
Political commentator Tucker Carlson claimed last week on X that officials misled the public and that Crooks’ digital trail contradicts the Bureau’s statements.
He criticized FBI Director Kash Patel and former FBI leaders Christopher Wray and Dan Bongino, questioning how Crooks’ online footprint could have gone undetected.
Patel defended the investigation, citing more than 1,000 interviews, 2,000 public tips, nearly half a million digital files, 13 seized devices, and information from 25 online profiles.
Former FBI Special Agent in Charge Jody Weis told The National News Desk that Crooks’ threat indicators should have been visible.
“For them to say we just didn’t see much there, that we couldn’t identify a motive – I can’t understand why,” Weis said.
Sources: The National News Desk, CBS Austin
