‘It’s Crazy’: Federalist CEO Torches FBI Cover-Up Of First Trump Assassination Attempt
Federalist CEO Sean Davis blasted the FBI for stonewalling Congress’s investigation into the first assassination attempt against President-elect Donald Trump.
The moment came during a Friday interview, in which Davis was asked by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson what information is publicly available about Thomas Crooks, the would-be assassin who tried to kill Trump at a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The 20-year-old was killed by law enforcement shortly after the attempt on the incoming president’s life and information about his activities leading up to the shooting has remained scarce.
Davis noted despite the near assassination having occurred months ago, Americans “still don’t know” much about Crooks.
“It’s wild. This kid comes out of nowhere, manages to get on the roof, shoots President Trump, [and] fires eight shots before anyone even like remotely tries to bother him,” Davis said. “[He] was able to fly a drone there for like 10 or 20 minutes, did recon multiple times throughout the day, had … operable IEDs in his car, had a bomb in his house, and we still know basically nothing about him. It’s crazy.”
The Federalist CEO further referenced legal efforts by America First Legal (AFL) to acquire Crooks’ academic records, which indicated “he was a really good student” and a “smart kid.” The would-be assassin’s SAT scores and high school and college transcripts were among the documents unearthed by AFL.
Davis detailed how the lack of information about Crooks can be traced back to the FBI. The federal agency, The Federalist CEO noted, is in possession of Crooks’ “phone, his devices, [and] his computer,” but has declined to provide details of its findings.
The FBI “know[s] who he was talking to, they know where he went, they know where he bought stuff, [and] they know what he searched for. And we don’t know anything about that,” Davis said. Congressional committees “asked the FBI all these questions — because the FBI took the lead on it.” However, “at the time the Senate put out their initial report,” Davis said, the FBI had only “given them 27 pages total.”
“How? I mean, it’s Congress, they could shut the FBI down … I don’t understand. What is going on?” Carlson asked.
Davis subsequently noted how the FBI does not have “any legal basis” to withhold such information from duly elected members of Congress. He described how agency officials will often claim the matter is an “ongoing investigation” to justify their refusal to forfeit related records.
“There’s nothing in the Constitution that says this agency that Congress created and is funded by Congress can just not give them stuff because ‘reasons.’ It’s totally made up,” Davis said.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee released its bipartisan report in September examining the Secret Service’s conduct on the day of the July assassination attempt. The analysis alleged “key requests to FBI, [Department of Homeland Security] DHS, [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] ATF and [U.S. Secret Service] USSS remain outstanding,” and specifically highlighted how the “majority of documents provided by the USSS and DHS [were] heavily redacted.”
“This has unnecessarily hindered the Committee’s ability to carry out its constitutional authority to investigate and acquire information necessary to identify needed reforms,” the report reads.
Davis noted further efforts by the FBI to stonewall congressional inquiries into the Butler assassination attempt, specifically how the agency gave a House committee looking into the matter only 81 documents out of more than 1,000 related to interviews FBI agents conducted during their investigation.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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