Is FBI Already Stonewalling on the Investigation into the Assassination Attempt?
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?
It has been two days since the assassination attempt and there is no discussion about the of chain of custody of the assassin’s body by the authorities. Simple information such as whether an autopsy has been performed or if any further forensic analysis is being conducted on the body would be helpful. Already the lack of transparency from the FBI prevents the public from understanding the full scope of its investigation and waiting months or years for results and the FBI slow-leaking information to grab political headlines doesn’t work anymore. Plus, it sure doesn’t have to be mentioned this was a political rival of the Administration in power who was targeted by the assassin. All the world will be watching to see whether the “lawfare” will continue and the Justice Department will drop the investigative ball. Jeesh! One can only pray that the FBI’s investigation will be better than the protection provided by the Secret Service.
But what we know is that the parents of the would-be assassin have been cooperating with the FBI. However, why have they not been criminally charged? While it may seem too early to have this discussion, one of the most pressing questions is what role the parents of Thomas Matthew Crooks played in providing access to the alleged weapon and whether they provided mental health assistance for their son?
It is not unreasonable to compare other mass killings and the approach the FBI’s investigations take considering its recently released report that completely ignored and excluded any mention of mental health “treatments”- prescribed psychiatric drugs – the shooters have in common. In addition, certainly it is the scope of the FBI investigation that led to the parents of Michigan school shooter, Ethan Crumbley, to be criminally charged, prosecuted, and imprisoned for failure to secure the weapon and failure to provide mental health services. How will it be possible for Crooks’ parents to not face the same charges?
The public is learning through leaked press coverage that the alleged weapon used in the killing of Corey Comperatore and attempted assassination of former President Trump was purchased by the father 6 months ago. It would be foolish to believe that Crooks’ parents were unaware of any mental illness problems or psychiatric drug use as the father is a behavioral health expert and private therapist.
But, within twenty-four hours, the FBI leaked that there are no signs of mental health issues with the alleged shooter. This kind of early leak is typical of multiple mass shootings and where the FBI has been completely wrong, leaving the public to discover years later that mental health drug cocktails were involved. So far, the lack of any information about the shooter’s parents raises concerns about purposeful withholding of familial information. The FBI’s silence on this matter just fuels speculation and distrust.
Finally, it seems odd that the FBI would release a statement that the shooter acted alone so early in the investigation. How can the FBI come to that conclusion when, at the same time, is revealing that it has yet been able to “get into the phone” of the shooter. Everyone knows that personal phones hold enormous amounts of information. It would appear that there is yet much to learn about the would-be assassin, yet the FBI has already decided, within hours of the shooting, that Crooks was the lone participant.
Given the open animosity coming from the Administration, the Justice Department, and the FBI, toward former President Trump (lawfare), it would be foolish to leave law enforcement to its own devices. In other words, it is necessary that the public stay on top of the investigative information being leaked and continue to hold the FBI’s feet to the fire.
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