(Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
OAN Staff Abril Elfi
1:05 PM – Monday, July 29, 2024
Donald Trump has agreed to partake in a victim interview with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), focusing on the attempted assassination that almost took the former president’s life on July 13th.
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On Monday, the bureau told reporters that the Trump interview would be consistent with any sort of interview they would typically conduct for any victim of a crime.
The FBI also stated that, so far, their investigation has found that the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was a “highly intelligent” person and “a loner” with few friends and acquaintances outside of his family. His motive is still unknown.
According to an official, the FBI has already spoken with hundreds of people and asked dozens of businesses for information regarding his online accounts, including his gaming accounts.
The official also said that Crooks’s search history included looking up information on power plants, mass shootings, and the attempted assassination of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the FBI disclosed last week that Crooks had looked up “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?” regarding Lee Harvey Oswald’s assassination of former President John F. Kennedy approximately a week prior to the attack.
In a baffling statement, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress last week that “there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel” that hit Trump’s ear during the assassination attempt, adding fuel to anti-Trump conspiracy theories regarding the shooting.
Wray’s remark came off as highly disrespectful to the families of the three victims that were also killed or injured in the crossfire of the shooting.
Meanwhile, some Democrats believe that the former president agreed to risk his life and be shot in the ear in order to win over more votes. Additionally, other left-wing conspiracies have claimed that Trump’s Secret Service members rubbed fake blood on his face after ducking from the podium.
There is no proof or evidence that backs up any of these far-fetched claims.
Kevin Rojek, a special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, spoke with reporters, maintaining that Trump was in fact struck with a bullet, echoing a statement from the bureau issued on Friday after Wray’s congressional testimony.
“What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the bureau said in a statement.
“We want to get his perspective on what he observed,” Rojek said. “The interview of the former president will be consistent with any other victim interview that we do.”
“While the FBI investigation may not yet have determined a motive, we believe the subject made significant efforts to conceal his activities,” he added. “Additionally, we believe his actions also show careful planning ahead of the campaign rally.”
Rojek explained that Crooks had researched mass shootings as well as other attempted assassinations prior to the event, and that his main social circle appeared to be limited to his own immediate family.
FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate stated on Monday that although the agency normally does not provide regular updates regarding ongoing investigations, FBI officials felt that providing this information for the American public was crucial.
“The entirety of the FBI is committed to uncovering the real facts, the truth about this attack on former President Trump and the murder of Mr. Comperatore and the injury to others as well,” Abbate said, referring to Corey Comperatore, a rally goer who was killed in the attack.
On July 13th, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania, killing 50-year-old ex-fire chief Corey Comperatore and injuring two other men, including the former president, who was struck in the ear.
Last week, the director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, also announced her resignation following congressional condemnation by members on the left and right. However, she initially did not wish to resign and attempted to dodge questions from House politicians.
“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” Cheatle later wrote in her resignation letter to staff. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”
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