Multiple agencies, committees, and task forces are investigating the shooting of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. The Republican nominee’s ear was injured, but one civilian was killed and two others were gravely wounded. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber breaks down everything we know about the shooter, the Secret Service’s response, and the push for answers.
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00:00Take a look at what happened.
00:05The weapon had a collapsible stock,
00:08which could explain why it might have been less easy for people to observe.
00:14So if you go to that window that's open and yell for Greg,
00:17that's the sniper that sent the original pictures
00:19and seen him come from the bike and set the book back down
00:22and then lost sight of him.
00:23Wasn't that building within the perimeter that should be secured?
00:28Do we agree with that?
00:30The building was outside of the perimeter on the day of the visit,
00:34but again that is one of the things that during the investigation we want to take a look at.
00:38From revealing new details about the suspected shooter's actions
00:42to a local law enforcement official's comments regarding security failures
00:46to new video showing an interaction with Secret Service,
00:50this week has been chock full of updates
00:52in the story of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
00:56We are going to break down what you need to know right now.
01:00Welcome to Sidebar presented by Law & Crime.
01:03I'm Jesse Weber.
01:07It's been quite a week.
01:08The attempted Donald Trump assassination story.
01:11What did we learn?
01:12What did we not learn?
01:14What answers do we have?
01:15What do we not know at this point?
01:17We wanted to give you a full overview on some of the updates in this story
01:22from this week and what you need to know.
01:24So what do we know?
01:25Well, we know that authorities have ID'd the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
01:29They say he fired approximately eight shots,
01:32wounding former President Donald Trump in the ear,
01:35critically injuring two others, David Dutch, who has been released from the hospital,
01:39and James Copenhaver, who at the time of this recording is in stable but serious condition.
01:44And of course, we also have the killing of Corey Comparatore,
01:48who is reportedly shielding his family from the gunfire.
01:51These gunshots that erupted at a pro-Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
01:56And we know that the shooter was immediately neutralized by a counter-sniper team
02:01as soon as those shots rang out.
02:03Now, the FBI is investigating the actual shooting,
02:06the shooter, his plans, his motivations,
02:09and we're going to get into that because there are some very,
02:12very interesting updates that we learned this week.
02:15But what about the main question?
02:17How did this guy take advantage of the vulnerabilities of the Secret Service security measures?
02:23How did he get on top of the roof of a nearby building, it's called the AGR building,
02:27set up an AR-15 style rifle and open fire?
02:31And what complicates this is that there is reporting
02:34that both spectators and law enforcement saw Crooks beforehand,
02:38that he was labeled a suspicious person,
02:41with even some reporting saying that he was classified as a threat,
02:44that they saw him with a rangefinder,
02:46that he was seen scaling the building,
02:48that Donald Trump's campaign was denied security resources before.
02:52So there's a lot of issues here.
02:54And right now, the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general has opened up several probes,
02:59while Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
03:02appointed an independent review panel to look into this as well.
03:05And then, of course, we have the FBI, who, as I mentioned,
03:07is looking into the shooter and the shooting.
03:09But if we were looking for answers from former,
03:14former director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheadle,
03:17emphasis on former, you will not be in luck.
03:21Why?
03:22Because look at what happened at the start of this week
03:26when she testified in front of the House Oversight Committee.
03:29She was subpoenaed to testify,
03:31maybe give some explanations about how there was a lapse in security protocol,
03:35what happened, right?
03:37Answers we all want to know.
03:39Look at what happened.
03:41The Secret Service's solemn mission is to protect our nation's leaders.
03:46On July 13th, we failed.
03:49As a director of the United States Secret Service,
03:52I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency.
03:56Let's start with the building that the shooter used to shoot President Trump from.
04:01At any point Saturday, did the Secret Service have an agent on top of that roof?
04:08Sir, I'm sure, as you can imagine, that we are just nine days out from this incident,
04:13and there's still an ongoing investigation.
04:15And so I want to make sure that any information that we are providing to you is factual.
04:20Okay.
04:21Why did the Secret Service not – can you answer why the Secret Service didn't place a single agent on the roof?
04:27We are still looking into the advanced process and the decisions that were made.
04:31Okay, okay.
04:33Wasn't that building within the perimeter that should be secured?
04:38Do we agree with that?
04:40The building was outside of the perimeter on the day of the visit.
04:44But again, that is one of the things that during the investigation we want to take a look at.
04:48That building was, I believe, 500 – how far away was that building from the President?
04:56It was approximately 200 yards.
04:58200 yards.
04:59Now, the individual used an AR-15 in order to act out his assassination attempt.
05:12An AR-15 has a range of about 400 to 600 yards.
05:17My question is why does the Secret Service perimeter –
05:23why is the Secret Service protective perimeter shorter than one of the most popular semi-automatic weapons in the United States?
05:34There are a number of weapons out there with a number of ranges.
05:38Again, an advance was completed.
05:41The determination of the perimeter – I'm not going to speak to specifics,
05:44but there are a number of factors that are taken into account when we determine our perimeter.
05:50What went wrong?
05:51What would you say?
05:54Again, knowing that we're nine days out, I would say, as I have said from the very outset,
05:58I accept responsibility for this tragedy.
06:02We are going to look into how this happened,
06:05and we are going to take corrective action to ensure that it never happens again.
06:09Director Chito, have you read the intelligence of the generalized threat to Donald Trump by Iran
06:16as a result of their desire to retaliate for the killing of Soleimani?
06:23I have.
06:24Director Chito, was it sufficient for the Iranian threat that you said you have read the intelligence briefings for?
06:30Yes, I do believe it was.
06:32Director Chito, is an Iranian assassin more capable than a 20-year-old?
06:39Sir, I think we've acknowledged that there was gaps and a failure that day.
06:44Have you visited the site?
06:45No, I have not.
06:46Nine days and you have not visited the site.
06:48So you said – do you remember in an ABC interview you did that you didn't have people on the roof of the AGR building
06:53because you were worried about safety because of the slope?
06:57I recall that statement.
07:00Does the Secret Service have written policy you can share with us about slope roofs?
07:06No.
07:07Okay.
07:08So why did you act like there was one?
07:09Because isn't your practice to comment on enormous – events of enormous national implications when you're ignorant of the facts?
07:18That's rhetorical.
07:20She's on the roof.
07:22Right here, right on the roof.
07:26She's gearing up now.
07:28She went right on the roof again.
07:31Ma'am, that doesn't look like suspicious behavior.
07:34That looks like threatening behavior to me.
07:36And the rally wasn't paused at that point either, correct?
07:40I can tell you, as I stated earlier, sir, that the moment that the shift surrounding the president were aware of an actual threat.
07:49That's a threat.
07:50Right there.
07:51The guy's on the roof and everybody's yelling at him.
07:53Yes.
07:54And directing the officer's attention to him.
07:57The rally was not paused at that point, correct?
07:59We are currently still combing through communications.
08:03Have any employees been disciplined for their role in Butler, PA incident?
08:10No, sir.
08:11Not at this time.
08:12I am asking those questions.
08:13So no employee has been disciplined and no employee has been placed in any position that would place their job in jeopardy, nor their standing in the agency.
08:27We are still in the process of interviewing people.
08:29That's not what I asked.
08:30You're the person that runs the place.
08:33You're the person that knows right from wrong, good from bad.
08:36You've had a number of days and now you come before this committee knowing you're going to be before us and you've got to slough it off to someone else.
08:45I think that's a pretty good sampling of what went down.
08:49Look, we're talking incredibly insufficient answers for these lawmakers and arguably too for the American people.
08:55And yes, there are ongoing investigations that she doesn't want to jeopardize or say something that could be contradicted.
09:01And yes, she may not have the information.
09:03And yes, she doesn't want to reveal information that could pose a security risk.
09:07But really, no explanation as to what went down?
09:11Now, she takes responsibility, but we can't tell you why this happened.
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10:00It got worse, especially because Cheadle and her spokesperson had made prior comments to the media
10:07and arguably seemed more forthcoming about details to the media than this committee.
10:13But those comments, as you heard, were problematic because they were either contradicted or backtracked,
10:19including about whether Donald Trump's campaign had requested more security assets.
10:24Director, were you guessing or lying?
10:27The day after President Trump is shot, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said,
10:32quote,
10:33The assertion that a member of the former president's security team requested additional security resources,
10:38that the U.S. Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security rebuffed, is absolutely false.
10:43The next day, Secretary Mayorkas said,
10:53But five days later, the Washington Post said this,
11:03The next day, the New York Times said this,
11:14So which is it? Because both statements can't be true.
11:17Were you guessing or lying when you said you didn't turn down requests from President Trump's detail?
11:24Neither, sir. And I appreciate the question.
11:27What were you doing? Because those statements don't jive.
11:31So what I can tell you is that for the event in Butler, there were no requests that were denied.
11:37As far as requests...
11:39Well, maybe they got tired of asking.
11:41Maybe you turned them down so darn much, they said, not worth asking.
11:45How many times did you turn them down ahead of that?
11:47I think that it is important to distinguish between what some people may view as a denial of an asset or a request.
11:56Was Mr. Guglielmi your spokesperson?
11:59He said he acknowledged the Secret Service had turned down some requests. I'm asking how many?
12:05A denial of a request does not equal a vulnerability.
12:09Well, tell me what it is.
12:10There are a number of ways that threats and risks can be mitigated with a number of different assets,
12:18whether that be through personnel, whether that be through technology or other resources.
12:24Well, tell the committee which it was.
12:26They asked for additional help in some form or another. You told them no.
12:31How many times did you tell them no, and what did you tell them no to?
12:35Again, I cannot speak to specific incidents, but I can tell you in general terms,
12:41the Secret Service is judicious with their resources based on...
12:46What does some requests mean? How many times?
12:48Some requests is plural.
12:50So more than once they asked for additional help, and you turned them down.
12:54What did they ask for and how many times did you turn them down? Pretty basic questions.
12:57So again, without having all of the details in front of me, sir, what I can tell you is that there are times...
13:02You didn't get briefed on how many times you turned down the Trump detail when they asked for additional help?
13:06I'm sorry?
13:07You didn't get briefed on that before you came to this hearing, knowing you were going to get asked that question?
13:11What I can tell you is that in generic terms, when details make a request,
13:17there are times that there are alternate ways to cover off on that threat or that risk.
13:23But that's not what he said.
13:24And you know what? It got really bad from there.
13:28Both sides of the aisle today have asked for your resignation.
13:31Would you like to use my five minutes to draft your resignation letter, yes or no?
13:35No, thank you.
13:37I have no idea how my statement got out.
13:39Well, that's bulls**t. You're full of s**t today.
13:43You're just being completely dishonest.
13:46Mr. Chairman, I want to...
13:50We have to maintain decorum in this committee, no matter how upset we get.
13:55Have you provided any and all memos to this committee that we've asked you on July 15th?
13:58Have you provided all memorandums within the Secret Service?
14:01I would have to get back to you on that.
14:03That is a no. You are being dishonest or lying.
14:06You're being dishonest here with this committee.
14:08These are important questions that the American people want answers to,
14:11and you're just dodging and talking around it in generalities.
14:16Your obfuscating today is shameful, and you should be fired immediately and go back to Garden Doritos.
14:22Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
14:23Well, she didn't get fired. No, she resigned.
14:26Yes, she resigned the very next day after this testimony.
14:30In a letter to Secret Service staff, she writes, quote,
14:34As I've stated, the Secret Service will move forward with our investigatory and protective mission in a steadfast manner.
14:40We do not retreat from challenge.
14:42However, I do not want my calls for resignation to be a distraction from the great work each and every one of you do towards our vital mission.
14:49In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.
14:55Now, Secret Service Deputy Director Ronald Rhoads Jr. has been appointed as temporary director
15:00as the Biden administration looks for a permanent replacement.
15:03So while we didn't get much answers from Director Cheadle during her testimony,
15:07this week, we learned that the lack of consensus amongst different agencies and authorities continues.
15:14No one seems to be on the same page about what happened that day.
15:18For example, this week, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris testified during a House Homeland Security hearing
15:24and explained how two local police officers with the Butler County Emergency Services Unit,
15:30it's a sniper team, left posts in a building that was overlooking the roof where the shooter ended up setting up.
15:38Why would they leave these posts?
15:40Well, they were apparently looking for crooks because he had been ID'd as a suspicious person.
15:46Remember, they saw him with a rangefinder.
15:48And Paris said a text thread was even going on about this.
15:51And Paris also said that this information about a suspicious person was relayed to the Secret Service.
15:57But going back to that comment about the abandoning of these posts,
16:01Butler County DA Richard Goldinger said Paris's account about the officers leaving that area is not accurate.
16:09He said only one officer left that staging position.
16:13Goldinger said in a statement, quote,
16:15both ESU officers moved within the building attempting to keep eyes on crooks.
16:19One of the officers observed crooks sitting on a picnic table at the front of the building from his location on the second floor of the building.
16:26Crooks then ran off carrying a backpack.
16:28At this point, that officer ran out of the building attempting to keep eyes on crooks until other law enforcement arrived.
16:35The other officer remained in the building on the second floor.
16:40The officer who ran out of the building could not locate crooks, and he returned to the building.
16:44Both officers then heard shots fired.
16:47And Goldinger also said that neither officer could see crooks on the other building
16:51due to the visual angle they had from their location to crooks' location.
16:55And despite the DA refuting the commissioner's account,
16:59Lieutenant Adam Reed, who is the Pennsylvania State Police Director of Communication,
17:03said that they are standing by Commissioner Paris's testimony.
17:07Paris, by the way, also testified, as we have seen from reporting,
17:11that a municipal officer did, in fact, scale the roof and confront Mr. Crooks before the shooting.
17:17But crooks had pointed his weapon at that officer,
17:20who was actually dangling from the roof, and the officer ended up dropping to the ground.
17:25Paris indicated that crooks was on the roof approximately three minutes,
17:29but only a few seconds passed between when the officer came face to face with the suspected shooter
17:34and when he opened fire at Trump and others.
17:37And you know what complicates this even further?
17:40Senator Josh Howley informed Homeland Security about a whistleblower
17:44who reportedly came forward saying there was supposed to be at least one officer on the roof where crooks was located,
17:51but the officer abandoned that post because of the heat that day.
17:56And therefore, that's why you had security position inside the building and not outside.
18:02And while Director Cheadle has said that overall security that day was the responsibility of the Secret Service,
18:08there is reporting that they assigned local law enforcement to sweep and secure the buildings on the outer perimeters.
18:14But Butler County Sheriff Mike Sloop came out and told local media that building and grounds were not the sheriff's office responsibility.
18:22And I do not have firsthand knowledge of who was supposed to be where.
18:26So still hard to get a sense of what is going on and what happened that day.
18:30No wonder we have multiple investigations happening.
18:33And I mean, in that vein, by the way, new body cam footage came out this week.
18:38It's been released by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley,
18:41and it shows an interaction between local law enforcement and Secret Service as they hover over the dead body of the shooter.
18:48This is, again, after the shooting when he was killed.
18:51And you can hear them trying to make sense of what's going on.
18:54So we don't know.
18:56So this is the guy that are.
18:59Yes.
19:00Yes.
19:01Beaver County.
19:02This is him.
19:03OK.
19:04All right.
19:05Right there.
19:06Got it.
19:07So the bike in the back.
19:09Is he on that bike?
19:11We don't know.
19:12We don't know.
19:13I don't know.
19:14Treating that as suspicious device.
19:15One second.
19:16I believe the sniper that seen these and send the pictures is right inside this building.
19:19Michelle is Greg in there.
19:21All right.
19:22So if you go to that window that's open and yell for Greg, that's the sniper that sent the original pictures
19:26and seen him come from the bike and set the book back down and then lost sight of him.
19:30OK.
19:31He's the one that sent the pictures.
19:32I don't know if you got the same ones I did.
19:33I think I did.
19:34Yeah.
19:35He's like got his glasses on and he's.
19:38And we have somebody detained, correct?
19:41That I don't know.
19:44Our guy that was just up here told me that there's a guy detained.
19:47He's the owner of the bike.
19:48And I said, no, no, that's the owner of the bike.
19:51Yeah.
19:52Basically, we've been up here.
19:53So we wouldn't know that.
19:55We just hold our ass.
19:56We got it right.
19:57We got it.
19:58Yeah.
19:59I'm trying to get clear information to relay that to DC.
20:03We have one shooter deceased.
20:07I think we have three victims in the crowd.
20:10Did you guys hear that too?
20:11That I'm not sure.
20:12So I heard one deceased, two life flight.
20:15I know two helicopters just take off.
20:17Yeah.
20:18So that seems to support the reporting that a sniper from a local team had taken a picture
20:23of Crooks and sent it to Secret Service command before the shooting.
20:27And you also hear about a bike because it's been reported that Crooks may have used a
20:30bike to scope out this rally area.
20:33And as we talk about what could come from this shooting, the New York Post reported
20:38this week that the Secret Service is advising the Trump campaign to no longer hold outdoor
20:43events due to security concerns.
20:45And apparently they may now actually be looking for indoor venues moving forward.
20:50But I would say the biggest highlight this week in terms of actual information, actual
20:56answers regarding the shooting, was when FBI Director Christopher Wray testified in front
21:01of the House Judiciary Committee.
21:03And this is important because his agency, as I said, is looking into the shooter, the
21:08planning, the motivations, whether anyone helped him, how he conducted the shooting.
21:14Now, to be clear about this, the FBI is not looking into the security lapses, the security
21:19issues, or the failures.
21:20That's not the responsibility of the FBI.
21:23Sure, they're going to interview law enforcement that day and I'm sure they'll get an understanding
21:27of what happened, but that is not the focus of their probe.
21:30And he also said, look, there's information that he can share and there's other information
21:34he can't share because the investigation is ongoing.
21:36Facts change.
21:37The context of certain things change.
21:39He doesn't want to say one thing and it turns out to not be true.
21:42And also, you don't want to taint an ongoing investigation.
21:45Having said that, we learned a lot.
21:49For example, we heard more about Crooks using a drone.
21:54We have recovered a drone that the shooter appears to have used.
21:59It's being exploited and analyzed by the FBI lab.
22:03The drone was recovered in his vehicle.
22:06So at the time of the shooting, the drone was in his vehicle with the controller.
22:12In addition, our investigation has uncovered...
22:15Do you know what time of day he flew it and if he flew it on the day of the shot?
22:18I'm sorry, go ahead.
22:19Go ahead.
22:20So in addition, it appears that around 3.50 p.m., 4 o'clock in that window on the day
22:29of the shooting, that the shooter was flying the drone around the area for about 11 minutes.
22:38I want to be clear, but when I say the area, not over the stage and that part of the area itself,
22:44but I would say about 200 yards, give or take, away from that.
22:48We think, but we do not know.
22:50So again, this is one of these things that's qualified because of our ongoing review,
22:54that he was live streaming, viewing the footage from that, again, about 11 minutes
22:59in around the 3.50, 4 o'clock p.m. range.
23:02Two hours before he's flying a drone in the vicinity of the route.
23:05About 200 yards away, yes.
23:06Okay, that's important information.
23:08What about the bombs that we've heard about in the shooter's car?
23:12So again, the FBI lab is exploiting those explosive devices.
23:19We've recovered three devices, two in his vehicle and one back in his residence.
23:26Are these what you would call, your experts would call, sophisticated operations?
23:31I mean, I don't know.
23:33That's what I've been told by people who have some understanding of this area.
23:36Yeah, I think it's, we've seen more sophisticated and less.
23:41I would say these are relatively, again, keyword relatively crude devices themselves,
23:46but they did have the ability to be detonated remotely.
23:50And so to that point, in addition to the two devices that we recovered out of his vehicle,
23:56there were receivers for those two explosive devices with the devices.
24:03And then on the shooter himself, when he was killed by law enforcement,
24:09he had a transmitter with him.
24:11Now, I do want to add one important point here, is that the moment it looks to us,
24:16again, ongoing review, and I can't say that too many times.
24:19At a moment, it looks like because of the on-off position on the receivers,
24:27that if he had tried to detonate those devices from the roof, it would not have worked.
24:34And that wasn't all.
24:36One of the reasons why Crooks may have been able to move around freely
24:40and no one knew he was carrying a weapon was because of this.
24:44The weapon had a collapsible stock,
24:47which could explain why it might have been less easy for people to observe.
24:54Because one of the things that we're finding is people have observed him.
24:57The first people to observe him with the weapon were when he was already on the roof.
25:02And we haven't yet found anybody with firsthand observation of him with the weapon
25:08walking around beforehand.
25:09So that doesn't mean he wasn't, obviously,
25:11but the collapsible stock is potentially a very significant feature that might be relevant to that.
25:18Did he have a scope?
25:21I believe so, but as I sit here right now, I don't remember.
25:24And we also learned about how the shooter got onto the roof.
25:28You see, Director Wray says that the ladder that Crooks supposedly bought at a Home Depot
25:34was not found at the scene, which, of course, is strange.
25:38So you might be asking, how did he get onto the roof?
25:40Where's the ladder?
25:41Well, listen to what Wray had to say about that.
25:45We now believe that the subject climbed onto the roof using some mechanical equipment
25:52on the ground and vertical piping on the side of the AGR building.
25:58In other words, we do not believe he used a ladder to get up there.
26:02Another big question?
26:04Motive.
26:05Why would Crooks, who seemingly had no criminal history,
26:09no reportedly outward political or religious ideologies,
26:14why would he do this?
26:16Well, what did Wray have to say about that?
26:18The press has reported that he had pictures not only of Mr. Trump,
26:23but of Mr. Biden and various other members, political figures.
26:27Can you discern, was there an element of mainly Republicans, mainly Democrats?
26:34Was it all over the board?
26:35Can you enlighten us about that?
26:37Well, this is a place where it's particularly important for me to reiterate the caveat
26:42that I've included before, because in this instance in particular,
26:46we have a lot of legal process out for additional accounts and things like that
26:52that the shooter is associated with, so we're hoping to learn more,
26:56and we're still exploiting a number of the digital devices.
27:01I think it's fair to say that we do not yet have a clear picture of his motive,
27:07and I think it's important for me to explain because I understand, of course,
27:10why everybody wants to know the answers to those questions.
27:14Often in an investigation, from interviewing people that the subject was in close contact with,
27:21looking at the individual's social media accounts, messages,
27:26often things, physical evidence in the person's residence,
27:29you might see a manifesto, things like that.
27:32We're not seeing that yet, but we are digging in hard
27:36because this is one of the central questions for us.
27:39What I can say is that the shooter appears to have done a lot of searches of public figures in general,
27:48but so far we're seeing kind of news articles and things like that,
27:51and so the images that have been reported about really what we're talking about there
27:55are when you do a news search of an article, the image appears in the cache,
28:01as opposed to like a search for that specific individual.
28:05And that's important because there had been a conversation about whether or not he was just targeting Donald Trump
28:10and his followers or other people in politics and law enforcement.
28:14And we also got information about Mr. Crook's laptop,
28:18and more specifically, a very eerie and illuminating purported search.
28:24So one of the things that I can share here today that has not been shared yet
28:28is that we've just in the last couple of days found that from our review,
28:34to your point about devices, analysis of a laptop that the investigation ties to the shooter
28:42reveals that on July 6th, he did a Google search for, quote,
28:49how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?
28:56And so that's a search that obviously is significant in terms of his state of mind.
29:03That is the same day that it appears that he registered for the Butler rally.
29:11Here's another question. Did anyone help Crooks?
29:15Did anyone have knowledge about what he was planning to do?
29:18Do you have any reason to, do you have any other target of your criminal investigation other than Crooks, who's dead?
29:25We are investigating the shooter both to determine his motive
29:30and his preparations and activities before the shooting,
29:33but also to make sure whether or not there are any co-conspirators, accomplices.
29:38At this point, have you developed any evidence to so suggest that there are any accomplices or cooperators or assisters?
29:44Not at this time, but again, the investigation is ongoing.
29:47And Director Wray would also say that, quote, a lot of people describe Crooks as a loner.
29:52He doesn't kind of fit with what we're seeing in his devices.
29:55You know, his list of contacts, for example, is very short compared to what you would normally see for most people.
30:00Doesn't appear to be a whole lot of interaction between him, you know, face to face or digital with a lot of people.
30:06The FBI, by the way, has conducted over 400 interviews, and apparently they're going to be conducting more.
30:12But what we also know, according to Director Wray, was that Crooks was an avid shooting hobbyist,
30:18that he belonged to a shooting club, that he went to certain shooting ranges,
30:21that he went to a range before this shooting and shot an AR-15 style rifle.
30:27Not entirely clear whether it was the weapon that he actually used, but it very well could be.
30:32And the FBI did interview Crooks' parents.
30:36And, of course, the question becomes, were they aware of what he was about to do in any way?
30:42Well, Director Wray said they are cooperative,
30:45but he doubled down on the fact that they have not ID'd any accomplices with Mr. Crooks.
30:51Okay.
30:53Now, speaking of the parents, by the way, Wray confirmed that the FBI did recover 14 weapons from the house.
31:01Apparently the shooter had been living with his parents.
31:03And that he used an AR-15 style rifle, that the gun was purchased legally by Crooks' father in 2013.
31:11And, according to Wray, he sold it to his son in October of 2023.
31:16Also, we got clarification about the suspected shooter's movements.
31:21How many separate times was the shooter on the premises?
31:26So, again, with the caveat that we're continuing to do work on it,
31:29we believe that the first time he traveled to the grounds was, I think, a week before.
31:39He spent roughly 20 minutes there.
31:42Then he went to the grounds again on the morning of the event, it appears, for about 70 minutes, I think.
31:53But, again, I've qualified that.
31:55I'd have to go back and look to be sure of that part.
31:58And then he came back in the afternoon.
32:01So that would be, I guess, a third time for good.
32:05But that included things like this drone activity we just talked about.
32:09Now, Wray also took the time to address a theory that has been circulating,
32:13that former President Donald Trump wasn't hit by a bullet, but rather glass from the teleprompter,
32:21which has fed some alternative views on what happened that day.
32:25And, personally, I don't know. I don't know how significant that difference is.
32:29Was he shot at or not?
32:32Whether it was the bullet or shrapnel, this was clearly an assassination attempt.
32:36But Christopher Wray said this, quote,
32:57So, not a ton of clarity there.
32:59Wray did indicate, though, that as more information comes out,
33:02they will try to be transparent with that information with the public and the media.
33:06Now, another big event happened this week.
33:10The House officially voted in a resolution to create a bipartisan task force
33:16to investigate this shooting.
33:18416 members voted in favor of this.
33:21So it will look into federal, state, and local law enforcement protocols
33:25and actions leading up to and including that day.
33:28Now, remember, the purpose or outcome is a little bit different than what we talked about before.
33:33The plan is to issue a final report by December 13th
33:36with any recommendations for legislative reforms
33:40to prevent something like this happening again.
33:42Congress, after all, they are the ones that craft our laws and regulations.
33:47So that investigation has a little bit of a different purpose.
33:50And even though it will overlap with the other ones,
33:52it has a different purpose than the other investigations.
33:55So, a lot happened this week.
33:59Hopefully, that was a good summation of things that happened.
34:03We will see what happens next week.
34:05And hopefully, we will get more answers.
34:08Because you know what?
34:10We need them.
34:12That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody.
34:14Thank you so much for joining us.
34:16And as always, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube,
34:19wherever you get your podcasts.
34:21I'm Jesse Weber.
34:22Speak to you next time.
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