The FBI is fighting back after a Republican’s shocking discovery that the body of Donald Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks had been quietly cremated.
Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., a member of the bipartisan congressional task force reviewing the tragic July 13 assassination attempt, revealed that Crooks’ body “disappeared” in an independent report released this week.
Higgins, a former police captain, wrote that he “caused quite a stir” when he attempted to search Crooks’ body, which “revealed a disturbing fact.”
It was then that he learned the FBI had “released the body for cremation 10 days” after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
But the FBI denies the Republican’s suggestion that they are obstructing the investigation.
“Any suggestion that the FBI is interfering in Congress’s efforts to investigate the attempted assassination that took place in Butler, Pennsylvania, is inaccurate and unsubstantiated,” an FBI spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., a former police officer, conducted his own investigation into the near-assassination of Donald Trump and revealed that the body of shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was cremated before he or other lawmakers could review it.
‘The FBI has been working closely with our law enforcement partners to conduct a thorough investigation into the shooting, and we have followed normal procedures in handling the crime scene and evidence.’
“The FBI continues its hard work in the investigation to develop as complete a picture as possible of what led to the shooting, and we remain committed to maximum transparency as we continue to brief Congress and release information to the public about the ongoing investigation,” their statement continued.
But the Republican’s sudden disclosure has caused a stir, with some saying “all roads” lead to a “cover-up.”
“All roads lead to alphabet agencies being involved and/or covering up what really happened in Butler, PA when President Trump was shot,” Kylie Jane Kremer, executive director of Women for America First, wrote on X in response to Higgins’ findings.
“It’s terribly strange that in a case of such importance there is such a rush to cremate the body,” said presenter Dan Bongino after the report emerged.
Podcaster Chris Martenson posted: “Disturbing” is not an adequate description of this. It is now “misappropriation” until proven otherwise.
Bo Snerdley, Rush Limbaugh’s longtime associate and radio host, wrote on X: “Why was the decision made to quickly dispose of the body? What purpose did it serve?”
“The body of alleged Trump assassin Crooks has been cremated. The FBI released his body to the family just 10 days after the attack. As of today, the coroner’s report has yet to be released. Cover-up,” wrote libertarian podcaster Clint Russell in response to the Republicans’ report.
Body camera footage released by Butler Township from the day a shooter attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump shows the moment police encountered the shooter before he opened fire on the crowd.
Body camera video released by Sen. Chuck Grassely, R-Iowa, shows the moments when authorities discovered Crooks’ body
Higgins’ report says “no one was aware” the body had been returned to the family, including the county coroner and local police.
He wrote that the coroner still had “legal authority over the body” when the FBI made its decision and accuses the agency of “obstruction.”
The report comes amid grave concerns about how the shooting was allowed to unfold, in which Trump barely escaped with his life and a rally-goer was killed in one of the biggest security failures in US history.
His “preliminary investigative report” was submitted to task force Chairman Mike Kelly (R-PA) on August 12 and posted on Higgins’ website on August 15.
It questions why the FBI released Crooks’ body to the family without any oversight.
“The problem with not being able to examine the actual body is that I won’t know 100% whether the coroner’s report and the autopsy report are accurate. We’ll never really know,” Higgins writes.
The body of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate former President Trump, was returned to his family for cremation just ten days after the shooting.
By July 23, “Crooks was gone,” Higgins wrote. “No one knew until Monday, August 5th, including the county coroner, law enforcement, sheriff, etc.”
“Yes, we will get the reports and photographs, but I can never say for sure if those reports and photographs are accurate based on my own examination of the body.”
The report continues: “Once again, similar to clearing a crime scene and erasing biological evidence from the crime scene… this action by the FBI can only be described by any reasonable man as an obstruction to any further investigative efforts.”
The Louisianan newspaper claims that on July 23, the day Crooks was cremated, both the Homeland Security Committee and the Oversight Committee had opened investigations into the assassination attempt, while House Speaker Mike Johnson had declared he was forming a congressional investigative body.
“Why, then, under what circumstances would the FBI release his body to the family for cremation? This pattern of scatterbrained investigation by the FBI is quite disturbing.”
DailyMail.com has contacted the FBI for comment.