FBI gains access to Trump shooter’s phone

FBI specialists gained access to Thomas Matthew Crooks’s phone and were analyzing it as part of an investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, the bureau announced Monday.

The FBI said its investigation into the shooting at Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was still in an early stage as agents continue to search for answers about Crooks, the 20-year-old who authorities say opened fire on rallygoers, killing one and critically injuring two.

Investigators have conducted nearly 100 interviews of law enforcement officers and witnesses and have completed searches of Crooks’s home and vehicle, the FBI said.

The bureau also said it has received hundreds of tips that include videos and photos from the rally.

Crooks had accessed a rooftop outside the event on Saturday and fired multiple shots toward Trump. Photos and videos show a bullet appearing to nick the former president in the ear as his head was turned away from the crowd looking at a screen.

A Secret Service countersniper on another roof killed Crooks after he opened fire.

There are still many unknowns about Crooks and the massive security failure that led to the gunman’s ability to take a clear shot at Trump.

Crooks’s motive remains unclear. The FBI’s search of Crooks’s phone has turned up no information to indicate what drove him to carry out the attack, and his parents were unaware of any political leanings he may have had, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office is leading the investigation, but congressional lawmakers from various committees in both the Senate and House have launched inquiries of their own as they also seek answers from the Secret Service about how the assassination attempt could have happened.

On Monday night, the House Oversight Committee sent an expansive request to the Secret Service in anticipation of a hearing it is conducting in one week with Director Kimberly Cheatle. The request included names of law enforcement officials at the rally, audio and video recordings the Secret Service had in connection with the event, and any internal documents and communications related to the incident.

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The Senate and House Homeland Security committees are both investigating the matter, and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate gave briefings to various committees Monday Morning.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced that he asked the FBI, Secret Service, and the Department of Homeland Security to provide his whole committee a closed-door in-person briefing next week.