Support truly
independent journalism
The phones of the gunman who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump held information about both the former president and his successor, President Joe Biden, FBI officials said in calls with members of Congress.
The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, used his phones to look for images of both Trump and Biden, as well as other public figures, according to The New York Times.
A person on conference calls with lawmakers told the paper the shooter also searched for the dates of Trump’s public events as well as for the Democratic National Convention.
The shooting on Saturday left two people, including the gunman, dead. Spectator Corey Comperatore, 50, a former fire chief, died after shielding his family from the gunfire. Two people were seriously injured.
The FBI held a private briefing with both House members and Senators, shedding light on a gunman with no criminal history. The agency has been searching his possessions, including two phones, looking for clues to a possible motive for the shooting. No signs have been found that Crooks had strong partisan views or that he had any collaborators or links to foreign entities.
An FBI official told lawmakers that it was “notable” that there was no “political or ideological information” at his house in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as most possible assassins tend to leave signs of their political beliefs.
FBI Director Christopher Wray was on the calls and noted on several occasions that the probe was still just beginning.
The gunman also searched for Wray, Attorney General Merrick Garland, as well as a member of the British royal family, two officials told the paper.
Officials also told lawmakers during the calls there were signs that the shooter had concerns about his mental health, noting that on the phone Crooks left at home, he searched for “major depressive disorder,” a person on the calls said.
Several Senators were irate following the call after learning that the gunman was identified as a suspicious person more than an hour before discharging his firearm toward Trump.
Senator John Barrasso told NBC News that it was a “cover-your-a** briefing by the Secret Service. The director of the Secret Service needs to go.”
He confirmed that the shooter was identified as suspicious “a full one hour before the shooting occurred.”
“He had a range finder, a backpack, and then they lost sight of him, and never really followed up on that – This was an hour before,” he said.
