Phone calls this week between lawmakers and the heads of the Secret Service and FBI did little to quell a growing litany of questions about what actions law enforcement officials did or did not take to enable an assassination attempt on former President Trump.
New admissions that the Secret Service had flagged shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks as a “suspect” and a possible threat more than an hour before Saturday’s shooting — and that Trump was still allowed on stage — have put intense pressure on the agency.
With more questions than answers at this point, Republicans have stepped up calls for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to be removed from office.
Cheatle has so far refused to resign, with the agency stating that “continuity of operations is critical during a critical incident,” according to a statement released Wednesday night.
Here are four revelations:
Almost an hour between ‘person of interest’ and ‘threat’
In one of the most explosive discoveries this week, law enforcement authorities identified Crooks as a person of interest at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally 62 minutes before the gunman fired multiple shots at Trump.
Crooks, 20, of the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, drove about 35 miles north to the Trump rally with an AR-style gun, scaled a building outside the event perimeter and fired several shots at Trump. A bullet grazed Trump’s ear, a spectator was shot and two others were injured.
It is now known that Crooks visited the rally site on July 7 to scout the site and also visited on the morning of the rally, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and FBI Director Christopher Wray told senators in a conference call from half an hour on Wednesday.
Crooks later returned and was watched by authorities at around 5:10 p.m., before police spotted him with a rangefinder at 5:30 p.m., sending a radio alert to a command post.
Local law enforcement and Secret Service agents attempted to locate Crooks, but he was not located again until approximately 5:52 p.m., when the shooter was seen on the rooftop by an agency counter-sniper positioned on rooftops immediately in the vicinity of the stage.
Ten minutes later, Trump took the stage, where he spoke for several minutes before, at around 6:09 p.m., those in the crowd aware of thugs crawling across the roof began trying to alert authorities about the shooter, according to multiple videos posted on social media.
It would be another two minutes after that, at 6:11 p.m., when Crooks fired his first shots. The Secret Service located him and returned fire less than 30 seconds later, killing him.
Trump was allowed on stage 10 minutes after the sniper hunt began
Lawmakers are frustrated, in particular, with why Trump was allowed to attend the rally after law enforcement authorities became aware of a suspicious person in the area.
In a stunning scene on Wednesday, a group of Republican senators, including John Barrasso (Wyo.) – the chamber’s No. 3 Republican – Kevin Cramer (N.D.) and Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) chased the Secret Service director on the Senate floor. Republican National Convention on Wednesday. Lawmakers vehemently accused her of refusing to answer questions about the assassination attempt, according to a video posted on social media.
Cramer later told CNN that he and other lawmakers want to know specifically why Trump was allowed on stage after the potential threat was discovered at the rally.
The Secret Service has not yet revealed its reflection and decision-making process on why the demonstration was allowed to proceed.
“That shooter was identified as a suspect, suspicious character an hour before the shooting, had a rangefinder, had a backpack, and then they lost track of him and never followed up on it,” Barrasso said in an interview with NBC News Now. “That was an hour ago.”
No one was placed on the roof/local authorities said they could not secure the building
Questions remain about why no officers were sent to the roof of the building the shooter climbed before the rally began, even after Crooks was flagged in the area.
Cheatle said earlier this week that no officers were placed on top of the building in previous planning because it had a “slanted roof,” citing safety hazards. Instead, “the decision was made to protect the building from the inside.”
And local police informed the Secret Service that they “did not have the manpower” to fully secure the building, including placing a patrol car outside the structure, according to Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger.
Instead, local authorities placed three snipers inside the building, one of whom spotted Crooks and took a photo of him as he examined the building.
Later, after a threat seemed more concrete, an officer attempted to access the roof with the help of a colleague who lifted him up, according to Butler Township Manager Tom Knights.
The officer climbed the side of the building to try to see Crooks, who pointed a rifle at him, Knights said.
“The shooter actually turned around and pointed the gun at the officer. The officer took a defensive position to get down. He lost control of the roof, fell about 2.5 meters to the ground and was injured. But both officers involved in that attempt were radioed indicating that, yes, there is someone on the roof and yes, he is armed,” Knights said.ABC’s Pittsburgh Station.
Moments later, however, “the individual began shooting,” Knights said in a separate statement.
Reason not yet defined
Five days after Crooks tried to kill Trump, federal investigators appear no closer to understanding the shooter’s motives.
Cheatle, Wray and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, who briefed the House and Senate by phone Wednesday, told lawmakers there was still no clear motive for Crooks to climb onto a roof and shoot the presidential candidate. , the lawmakers said.
Authorities now know that Crooks, who bought a box of ammunition at a Walmart on July 5, two days after the rally was announced – had images of Trump and President Biden on one of his cellphones, according to ABC news.
Lawmakers also told CNN that the phone had photos of congressional leaders, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), as well as politicians Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former lawyer involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney currently prosecuting Trump and Giuliani.
Tipsters noted that Crooks was using encrypted communications platforms that have not yet penetrated, The Hill previously reported.
The shooter’s home has also been a dead end for political or ideological information about Crooks, with Abbate reportedly telling lawmakers at briefings that the FBI had found no such evidence there.
Senators were told that Crooks had another phone, found in his home, that contained just 27 contacts, which FBI agents are trying to interview, Fox News reported.
Meanwhile, the search history on his laptop included dates from the Democratic National Convention, upcoming Trump events and searches for major depression disorder, authorities told lawmakers, according to multiple reports.
Investigators have been looking for more clues about what Crooks — a registered Republican who donated to a progressive campaign in 2021 — was doing in the weeks, days and hours leading up to his assassination attempt. But digital and physical trails have proven frustratingly limited, and no one yet interviewed has reported bandits discussing politics.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
