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Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the July 13 assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, yet significant questions about the gunman and his motivations remain unanswered. The FBI has never determined why Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to kill Mr. Trump, who was then a former president campaigning for a second term.
The shooting occurred when Mr. Crooks fired eight rounds at Mr. Trump during a rally. The assassination attempt failed only because Mr. Trump suddenly turned his head as the shooter fired, causing the bullet to graze his ear instead of hitting him directly. However, other bullets struck Trump supporters in the crowd. Firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed, while David Dutch and James Copenhaver were seriously injured. A Secret Service countersniper ultimately killed Mr. Crooks.
Sen. Ron Johnson, chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has expressed frustration with the lack of transparency surrounding the case. “It’s a year now, and the American people don’t have answers,” Sen. Johnson told The Washington Times. He recently issued subpoenas to Pennsylvania State Police for witness interviews and body camera footage, and has approved subpoenas for the FBI and Department of Justice seeking ballistics reports and witness transcripts.
The FBI has remained largely silent about its investigation, with no public information released since August 28, when officials said they had gathered “valuable insight into Crooks’ mindset, but not a definitive motive.” Sen. Rand Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee, supports Sen. Johnson’s efforts but doubts anything definitive will be found regarding Mr. Crooks’ motivation.
Sen. Paul plans to issue a final report on the Secret Service’s failures, building on an interim report from September that found Secret Service planning and execution failures “directly contributed” to the assassination attempt. The Secret Service announced disciplinary action Wednesday, suspending six employees without pay for 10 to 42 days, though their names and positions weren’t disclosed.
The agency has implemented 21 of 46 congressional recommendations for preventing future incidents, including updating protective operations policies, modifying security asset deployment processes, and improving information-sharing with local law enforcement. A new division focused on aerial monitoring capabilities was also created, addressing the failed counterdrone system that wasn’t operational when Crooks flew a drone over the rally site hours before the event.
Despite these reforms, lawmakers and the public continue seeking answers about Mr. Crooks’ identity and motivations, with Johnson calling the lack of clarity “bizarre” after an entire year of investigation.
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