According to President Biden the FBI has been leading the investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. While law enforcement has identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, several key questions remain unanswered regarding the FBI’s response to the crime scene.
The lack of transparency during prior FBI investigations has raised concerns among the public and media about the FBI’s ability to this time conduct a thorough and responsible investigation, especially in light the “lawfare” that has been used against the former President. The shooting is being treated as an “attempted assassination” and act of domestic terrorism and the Director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, is scheduled to testify before a House Oversight Committee on July 22nd. The purpose of the hearing is to provide insight into how the twenty-year old was able to commit the assassination attempt, resulting in the former President being wounded, a fellow American dead and two others seriously injured.
This attack was deadly serious, and the information needed to satisfy the American public that this attack was, in fact, a random lone gunman, must be convincing. Afterall, there already are numerous videos on social media that show the public alerting law enforcement of the assassin’s position on the roof of the building prior to any shooting. These videos also show snipers zeroed in on the assassin long before the shooting occurred, yet the snipers waited…hesitated until the assassin’s shots were fired. Why? This is just one question in a long list that needs to be answered.
The public will also want to know exactly how the FBI conducted the identification of the assassin. According to news reports, the FBI identified Crooks through a face recognition process, however, no details have been provided as to how that process works, how the match was made and what database was utilized? Early reports indicated a DNA identification process was utilized, but the exact details of this process have not been disclosed. It is unclear whether the DNA was matched from existing records or if it was obtained from evidence found at the scene. Given the fact that law enforcement announced that Crooks had no criminal record, it is curious what database was used to make an identification. The FBI has not provided information on how they linked the DNA to Crooks, which already has raised questions about the thoroughness of its investigation.
Furthermore, the disposition of the assassin’s body is critical for chain of custody purposes. There are no reports as to the disposition of the assassin’s body – who has custody and where was it taken for further examination? It seems odd that in all of the footage of the shooting incident and aftermath, that there are no photos of ambulances or FBI agents on the scene. Were photographers at the scene disinterested in the aftermath of the shooting, which surely would have required medical assistance?
Hellbound and Down 