Thomas According to three US authorities who spoke to CNN, Matthew Crooks made two trips to the site of the Donald Trump rally, his phone held pictures of the president and Vice President Joe Biden, and the would-be assassin's search history included dates of the DNC and upcoming Trump events.
The fresh information provided more insight into Crooks' activities in the last days and hours before his attempted assassination of the former president. However, the crucial element that would clarify why the 20-year-old used an AR-style weapon to scale the Butler, Pennsylvania, roof is still missing from the investigation team's examination of Crooks' digital and physical footprint: a motivation.
During briefings on Wednesday, administration officials informed Congress that Crooks also looked up major depressive illness online.
The House and Senate were informed by phone on Wednesday by FBI Director Chris Wray, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on the information that law enforcement has obtained thus far on the shooting assault at the Trump rally.
Legislators were informed by the government that the assassination attempt's motivation remains unclear. During the briefings, Abbate stated that no political or ideological information about the suspect was discovered at the gunman's residence by the department.
Though several lawmakers voiced unhappiness with what they were told to explain how Crooks was able to fire multiple bullets at Trump, lawmakers on the conversations told CNN that the Secret Service and FBI officials revealed additional data on Crooks' mental condition and behavior prior to him shooting at Trump on Saturday.
Briefers informed legislators that the gunman had visited the Butler rally site twice after it was publicized, including on the day of the attack, according to two people who were present on the call. The gunman's estimated stay of 70 minutes was based on data from cell phones.
Along with images of Trump and Biden, law enforcement officials informed on the inquiry told CNN that the gunman's phone also had images of prominent members of Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
There were also images of officials from other political parties, such as Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County who is prosecuting both Trump and Giuliani, and Rudy Giuliani, the former Trump lawyer engaged in the attempt to void the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The majority of the images seemed to have been taken from the internet and came without any ominous words or warnings. According to people informed on the inquiry, the phone also displayed queries from earlier this spring, asking for information on the two major conventions as well as the dates and locations of Trump rallies.
According to US officials, it's unclear what the pictures and the searches for the conventions and Trump events mean.
During the briefings, Wray declared that the FBI had interviewed more than 200 people so far and promised to investigate "every possible detail," according to a lawmaker.
When and where was Crooks seen?
Republican senator from Utah, Mike Lee, stated on social media that the gunman had been "identified as suspicious' a full 19 minutes before the shooting."
Law police was searching for the gunman around 19 minutes before to the shooting, but they were unable to find him until he was on the roof, a source said CNN.
Butler Township Manager Tom Knights said that police responded to a report of a "suspicious male" at around the same time Donald Trump arrived for his Pennsylvania event on Saturday.
Knights said in a statement on Wednesday that the suspicious individual was reported to have been close to the AGR building, which is where Trump's potential assassin finally started his attack.
Crooks fired multiple rounds at Trump from the building's roof, which was about 150 yards north of the event stage. One of the shots killed a rally attendee, while the other ones only slightly hurt Trump in the ear. After Crooks opened fire, Secret Service agents shot and killed him.
According to Knights' testimony, officers did not find the individual near the premises at first. Then, he claimed, one cop attempted to climb onto the roof with assistance from a colleague who attempted to lift him up. According to Knights, the cop who was climbing the building's side noticed a person pointing a gun at him from the roof.
The police was unable to confront the actor while clinging to the edge of the roof, leaving him in a helpless situation. Knights stated, "The cop lost his grip and collapsed to the ground.
The person possessed a gun, and Butler Township Police "immediately" conveyed that information with him. However, the statement states that "moments later, the individual commenced firing."
Demands resignation of the Secret Service director
Republicans, notably Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, were calling for Cheatle to step down as head of the Secret Service, and this was evident at the Wednesday briefings.
At the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, a remarkable scene unfolded when a number of Republican senators pursued Cheatle around the Fiserv Forum, yelling that she had declined to respond to inquiries about the attempted assassination of Trump.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee uploaded a video of the senators questioning Cheatle about why Trump was still permitted to be on stage in Butler despite the fact that law police had been notified of a potential threat.
Cheatle shot back, "I don't think this is the forum to have this discussion."
Later, the director of the Secret Service sought to depart after offering to respond to the senators' queries at a later time. The senators then started to pursue her.
The third-ranking Republican senator from Wyoming, John Barrasso, charged Cheatle of having "no shame, no concern." You have an obligation to defend the president of the United States.
"There was an attempt at murder here. The people deserve your answers. Blackburn added, "You owe President Trump answers," as the director of the Secret Service kept moving.
McConnell referred to the attempt on Trump's life as “a grave attack on American democracy” earlier on Wednesday.
The Kentucky Republican stated in a statement, "The country deserves answers and accountability." "A significant step in that direction would be new leadership at the Secret Service."
During a briefing call with legislators on Wednesday, Cheatle admitted that her department had failed and made mistakes.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, she stated that the organization was "solely responsible" for the planning, implementation, and maintenance of security at the rally site and that it would adapt as necessary in light of the upcoming internal and external inspections.
On Monday during an Oversight Committee hearing, House members will probably get the opportunity to ask Cheatle direct questions.
