Tipsheet

Here Is New Information FBI Director Disclosed on the Attempted Assassination of Trump

Jamie Parsons
Jamie Parsons  |  July 25, 2024 12:30 PM

FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed new information about the attempt to assassinate Donald Trump during his testimony to Congress on July 24. 

Wray was called to testify in front of the House Committee on the Judiciary to discuss the oversight of the FBI, focusing on the organization's ongoing investigation of the attempt to assassinate former president Donald Trump. So far, the FBI has not been able to determine what happened; however, during the hearing, Wray provided Congress with some information the FBI recently discovered.

When speaking to Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ.), Wray said one thing the FBI had not reported yet was that the weapon had a “collapsible stock.” Wray explained that this information is helpful in furthering the investigation because it could contribute to why it was “less easy” for people at the rally to “observe” Crooks. 

“The first people to observe him with the weapon were when he was already on the roof,” Wray said. “We haven't yet found anybody with first-hand observation of him with a weapon walking around beforehand. That doesn't mean he wasn’t, but the collapsible stock is potentially a very significant feature that might be relevant to that.”

Another piece of information Wray disclosed from the investigation is Crooks appeared to have registered for the Butler rally in Pennsylvania on the same day he made a Google search for “How far was Oswald from Kennedy?” Wray claimed the FBI found this information by analyzing a laptop that the investigation ties to the shooter. 

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Wray also said the Google search was significant to the investigation because it revealed the shooter's “state of mind.”

During the hearing, Wray also gave Congress an "update" on Crook's method of getting on the building's roof. 

When Crook was shot, a "bloody receipt" for a five-foot ladder was found in his pocket. The receipt gave Americans the assumption that Crook used a ladder to get onto the roof. 

At the hearing, Wray claimed the FBI did not find a ladder on site or in his vehicle; therefore, the FBI "does not believe he used a ladder" to get onto the roof. Instead, the FBI believes he used "mechanical equipment" and "piping."

"[Given] our evidence response teams and their forensic collection, we now believe that the subject climbed onto the roof using some mechanical equipment on the ground and vertical piping on the side of the HER building."