Former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., told 'America's Newsroom' on Thursday that “some kind of radicalization” happened involving Trump rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks.
“They really have to start when that guy graduated from high school. Something happened between then and the day of the shooting,” Rogers said about the deceased 20-year-old gunman.
“It was either self-radicalized, or he had some mental distress or other things or external forces,” Rogers added.
“They really are going to have to spend some time and effort” getting into encrypted files linked to Crooks and in the FBI can’t do it internally, Rogers says, “they need to go to the private sector, there are some capabilities out there that might help them do that.”
“They need to at least eliminate that possibility of somebody else helping this guy get up on that roof and crank off some rounds,” Rogers also said.
FIRST ON FOX: As details slowly emerge about the assassination attempt against former President Trump, one Republican lawmaker is introducing a bill to force the federal government to declassify all information related to the event.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., will introduce the "Trump Assassination Attempt Transparency Act" on Thursday, just a day after FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee about the Trump rally shooting and investigation into gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks.
"We need the truth about the assassination attempt against President Trump," Hawley told Fox News Digital in a statement. "We can't let the federal government hide behind the ‘classified’ label."
The bill would require the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and the Secretary of Homeland Security to declassify any critical information about the assassination attempt and the motive of the shooter as well as Trump's repeated requests for resources. The legislation, if passed, would also require intelligence agencies to produce a report to Congress on its findings.
FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed during a House Judiciary Committee hearing that someone affiliated with the agency is being internally investigated for posting something "totally inappropriate" about former President Trump's assassination attempt.
Wray's comments came while the agency's director was testifying under oath on Wednesday on the Trump rally shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the subsequent investigation into the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, asked the director whether "any FBI agents texted, emailed or expressed disappointment that Trump survived the assassination attempt or otherwise editorialized about the assassination attempt?"
Wray said he was not aware of any agents voicing inappropriate rhetoric, but there had been one instance "of an individual who posted something that I consider outrageous, totally inappropriate, and unacceptable."
The agency's director said the individual was referred to the FBI's inspection division for an internal investigation.
{{#rendered}}Drone footage taken by Fox News shows the vantage point Trump rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks had when he opened fire on July 13 during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The footage shows that Crooks was mostly concealed by trees when he started shooting at the former president.
Crooks eventually was killed by a Secret Service countersniper who a source tells Fox News pulled off a “one in a million shot.”
Fox News’ CB Cotton contributed to this report.
Former President Trump has announced a new book Thursday called "Save America" which features a cover image of him raising his fist after being shot during the July 13 rally in Pennsylvania.
“In ‘SAVE AMERICA’, President Donald J. Trump offers an unparalleled look into his four years as the 45th President of the United States, and a vision for his next term! ‘SAVE AMERICA’ is filled with iconic moments from the first Trump Administration,” reads a description of the book.
“From Historic Summits with World Leaders to candid scenes from the White House, every photo has been selected by President Trump, alongside his words, which provide insight into what will shape his next four years in office,” the description adds.
President Biden delivered an approximately 11-minute address to the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday.
While sitting behind the Resolute Desk, surrounded by portraits of American presidents, Biden spoke of his decision to discontinue his re-election campaign and laid out his plan for the remainder of his term.
He also said "I'll keep calling out hate and extremism. Make it clear [that] there is no place, no place in America for political violence or any violence that ever. Period."
Trump survived an assassination attempt on July 13 at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, sending a unifying shock wave throughout the Republican Party, which formally named him their nominee the following week.
{{#rendered}}House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told ‘America’s Newsroom’ on Thursday following a vote to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the Trump assassination attempt that “the reason we created the task force is so that they can move quickly – speed and precision are really important here.”
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified Monday that “when I have a full and complete, report of exactly what happened, there will be accountability and we will make changes” -- but then said a report on that won’t be complete until up to 60 days from now.
“Sixty days is not soon enough,” Johnson said Thursday, adding that the Republicans and Democrats who will serve on the task force will be named later today.
“They will work in earnest, there is a deadline of early December for their final report, but we expect and anticipate interim reports along the way,” Johnson said.
Former Secret Service agent Bobby McDonald told ‘Fox & Friends’ on Thursday that "I think that the American people need some more answers and need them in a rather quick fashion” when it comes to the FBI’s investigation into the Trump rally shooting.
“I’m sure they are moving along with the investigation, and I understand the need to keep that investigation with a high level of integrity, but we got a situation here – what 12 days out now – where there is a lot of information that is already out, a lot of eyewitnesses were there, a lot of cell phone video, a lot of people who saw exactly what was happening and a lot of witness statements,” McDonald said.
“This is a serious situation now and as we keep getting these nuggets of information, we don’t need to be fingerpointing. We need the Secret Service to stand up and take responsibility for this, and then we need to continue the investigation to get the answers that we deserve, and the Secret Service needs to continue to reboot, reset what it is doing on a daily basis,” McDonald continued.
“A lot of good work done by the men and women of the Secret Service every day, we weren’t very good on July 13. But we have to continue to go out and do what we are doing as we move into the home stretch of the election season,” he added.
Former President Trump said Thursday to 'Fox & Friends' that the Secret Service are "such great people" but the assassination attempt against him that happened in Pennsylvania is "a blight on their reputation.
"There should have been somebody on the roof. When you look at it now, it's a clear shot," he said.
{{#rendered}}Former President Trump told 'Fox & Friends' on Thursday that the "biggest mistake they made is allowing me to go... they shouldn't have let me go on the stage" at the rally in Pennsylvania where he was shot at.
"Different groups of people knew there was some nutjob on the roof, and he was up there," Trump added, noting that there was one woman screaming "there's a guy with a gun on the roof."
"And that was, you know, quite a bit before I walked up to the stage. And then you had the local policeman who, it looks like he got up there and he saw the guy, and then he fell off the roof and what happened to him?" Trump continued. "Why didn't he start screaming there's a gun? So there are many people, but the communication was bad. "
Former President Trump, speaking to 'Fox & Friends' on Thursday about the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, said "some big mistakes were made."
Trump made the comment after he was asked for his thoughts on FBI Director Christopher Wray revealing Wednesday that shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks searched about the JFK assassination in the days leading up to Trump's July 13 event in Butler.
"My people were constantly complaining that they need more people and they would -- I mean I wasn't very much involved in it, that was up to them -- but they were constantly complaining that they're not given enough people," Trump said.
Trump, speaking about the Secret Service agents that rushed to protect him that day, called them "very brave."
"But they made a mistake in not having somebody on the roof. And the communications with local police was obviously horrible," he added.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said that his agency is still not certain how Thomas Matthew Crooks accessed the roof of the building where he took aim at former President Donald Trump – but they don't believe he used a ladder.
Despite the fact that a "bloodied receipt" found on Crooks' dead body included a 5-foot ladder purchase, Wray told the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, his agency believes that "the subject climbed onto the roof using some mechanical equipment, on the ground and vertical piping on the side of the AGR building" on July 13.
"In other words, we do not believe he used a ladder to get up there," he said in Washington, D.C.
"We did not find the ladder at the scene," Wray told Rep. Steve Cohen. "He did buy a ladder. But the ladder was not found at the scene."
{{#rendered}}Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told ‘Your World’ following Christopher Wray’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee that he believes the FBI director is “pretty embattled at the moment.”
“I think that the FBI director is pretty embattled at the moment – you got the former president and current Republican nominee who had an assassination attempt. Secret Service [Director Kimberly Cheatle] has already resigned,” Roy said.
“You got the FBI director covering up the fact that they got DEI watering down their standards. You got the FBI director trying to obfuscate the mental competency of the president. You got the FBI director basically acknowledging that they couldn’t stop this guy who was a 20-year-old lone shooter who shows up three times ahead of the event and has a drone flying overhead – why didn’t they have that place locked down?” Roy continued. “Why didn’t they have their own assets flying over it? What is the FBI actually doing?”
Roy also said one thing he found “astounding” from Wray’s testimony on the Trump assassination attempt response is “we have this individual who shows up there three times ahead of the event, and then flies a drone 200 yards away – and he does that the afternoon of the event – and the Federal Bureau of Investigation can’t stop this shooter.”
BETHEL PARK, Pa. — FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed on Wednesday that Thomas Matthew Crooks' family had more than a dozen firearms in their Pennsylvania home and that father Matthew Crooks legally sold his son the weapon that the 20-year-old would use in his assassination attempt on former President Trump.
"We located a number of firearms associated with the shooter and his family," Wray told the House Judiciary Committee. "I think it was a total of … 14 in the house."
"The weapon that he used for the attempted assassination was an AR-style rifle that was purchased legally," Wray said. "We believe, based on what we’ve seen, that his father, after purchasing the gun, legally sold the gun to his son." with a rifle onto a rooftop just outside the rally perimeter.
Acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald L. Rowe, Jr. will testify before three Senate committees next Tuesday on the July 13 attempted assassination of former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The hearing, which will also feature testimony from Deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate, is titled "Examination of the Security Failures Leading to the Assassination Attempt on Former President Trump."
It is a joint hearing between the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Homeland Security Committee and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.
The testimony comes after days of hearings on Capitol Hill this week about the security lapses leading up to the July 13 shooting.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified on Monday before the House Oversight Committee, before resigning the following day, while FBI Director Christopher Wray testified to House lawmakers on Wednesday.
Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}The House of Representatives unanimously voted to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
No lawmakers voted "no" nor "present," and 416 voted "yes." Ten Democrats and six Republicans did not vote.
The task force will be comprised of seven Republicans and six Democrats, with the members likely being announced this week.
House GOP leaders raced the bill to the floor after the deadly shooting at Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally nearly two weeks ago. One attendee died, and two others were injured, with Trump himself getting shot in the ear and evacuated off the stage by the Secret Service.
The vote was bipartisan, as expected — the hours following the shooting prompted a flurry of bipartisan condemnations against political violence, as well as scrutiny of the security situation that allowed a 20-year-old gunman with a rifle onto a rooftop just outside the rally perimeter.
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