Federal law enforcement is doing “everything wrong” in its investigation into the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Senator Ron Johnson says.
The ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee told DailyMail.com that the Justice Department’s actions are “astonishing” and criticised the agency’s law enforcement arm, the FBI, for thinking they are “above the law”.
He also said it was suspicious that the body of killer Thomas Matthew Crooks was cremated almost immediately after he was shot and killed at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Crooks, 20, was shot dead by Secret Service officers just after one of their bullets grazed the former president’s right ear during the June 13 attack that left one supporter dead and two others seriously injured.
And amid an ongoing investigation into the events that occurred that day, Crooks’ body has since been released and cremated despite persistent questions from lawmakers.
“I think the FBI, the Justice Department and the Secret Service are doing everything wrong,” Johnson told DailyMail.com on Monday at Trump Tower in Chicago. “If we want people to trust the investigation, it has to be transparent.”
Senator Ron Johnson (R) told DailyMail.com that “the FBI, the Justice Department and the Secret Service are doing everything exactly wrong” in the investigation into the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
“What we know about the events of July 13 comes mainly from local security forces,” the furious senator explained.
Several congressional committees, including the one on which Johnson is the top Republican, have questions about the assassination attempt and what could have been done to prevent it.
But Johnson says the FBI, the Justice Department and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) are blocking them.
“From the federal law enforcement perspective, they are the law. They believe they are above the law and have never been held accountable,” the Wisconsin lawmaker said. “They don’t believe they are truly accountable to the American public. They can avoid scrutiny. That’s how they’re handling this investigation.”
“Personally, I am surprised that they cremated the body before all the autopsy reports were made public,” he continued.
“It’s incredible how they are going about this. They are doing everything exactly wrong if their goal was to instill confidence in an independent, fair and honest investigation.
“People are wary, and I think rightly so,” Johnson said after speaking at a news conference for Trump in Chicago on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention.
Trump was shot in the ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. With blood streaming down his face, the former president was escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, a Pennsylvania native, was shot and killed by the U.S. Secret Service after opening fire at Trump’s rally in Butler and shooting the former president in the ear, killing one rally-goer and seriously injuring two others.
Crooks was able to climb to the top of a rooftop just over a football field away from where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania, during a rally days before the Republican National Convention.
The 20-year-old carried an AR-style rifle legally purchased by his father to the top of a manufacturing building where he pointed it at the former president and Republican candidate for the 2024 election.
Crooks’ car was parked near the demonstration with explosives inside, and more bombs were found at his parents’ home, where he lived.
A bullet grazed Trump’s ear on July 13, missing his head by a potentially fatal blow.
Johnson says his team has asked agencies investigating the attempt to hand over interviews they conducted with witnesses and people involved in security on the day of the assassination attempt.
His advice to the FBI and USSS: “What they could do to provide greater confidence is to provide transcribed interviews.”
“We have requested it,” he said, adding: “We have not received anything.”
“Again, they are being completely opaque on this matter, and that makes people suspicious and reduces confidence in their final investigation.”
Johnson said that while his committee is investigating the attack on Trump, he fears the investigation is turning into an “investigation of the investigation.”
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