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Butler-area mayor recounts how Trump assassination attempt transformed presidential race
Slippery Rock, Pa., Mayor Jondavid Longo says Trump told him ‘don’t let me down’ moments before being shot.
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The congressional task force investigating the July and September assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump says the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has “failed to produce” certain materials the task force requested as part of its ongoing probe into both incidents.
On Oct. 3, the task force sent a letter to the ATF about 17 “requests for production as well as three categories of requests for select transcribed interviews with relevant ATF agents who provided support or response functions in connection with the” assassination attempts against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, and in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The ATF responded with a correspondence on Oct. 22 that “is less than four and half pages in length, two and a half of which consist of summary narratives,” the task force said in its letter published Wednesday.
“To date, the ATF has failed to produce a single document responsive to the Task Force’s requests. This failure is underscored by the fact that the ATF failed to meet the Task Force’s October 10, 2024, deadline to begin rolling production of documents,” the letter states.
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Drone footage shows lawmakers climbing on top of the AGR building Thomas Crooks fired from on July 13. (Fox News Digital)
The task force also described the ATF’s response as “woefully insufficient in view of the Task Force’s requests for physical documents and materials.”
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“Both the Task Force and the American people expect answers about how 20-year-old Thomas Crooks planned and executed a nearly successful assassination, including significant evidence found at the home of Thomas Crooks – a suspected improvised explosive device (IED), materials to make IEDs as well as additional explosives discovered in Crooks’ vehicle,” the letter reads.
“While ATF played no role in coordinating the event itself, ATF provided meaningful assistance retrieving and investigating evidence connected to Crooks’ firearm and residence.”
Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump raises his fist in the air defiantly after an attempted assassination left him with a wounded ear in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
The task force is asking the ATF to respond no later than Nov. 13. The agency told Fox News Digital in a statement that it received the task force’s letter and, “in close coordination with the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security, is fully committed to working with the Task Force to accommodate their requests.”
“As part of this collaboration, ATF has already provided the Task Force with a thorough factual briefing clarifying that ATF had no formal role in the planning or security of the July 13th campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania,” ATF chief spokesperson Kristina Mastropasqua said. “We look forward to continuing this engagement to address the Task Force’s information request while upholding the Department of Justice’s obligations to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations by our federal and state law enforcement partners.”
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Among the 17 requests for production, the task force is asking the ATF for “[a]ll documents and materials related to ATF’s critical incident response on July 13, 2024 … including but not limited to … ATF’s discovery and investigation of the improvised explosive device found at the home of Matthew Crooks; and (ii) efforts to locate, the ultimate location of, and investigation of Thomas Matthew Crooks’s vehicle.”
READ THE LETTER:
Members of Congress and U.S. government agencies are still working to determine Crooks’ motive in trying to assassinate Trump with an AR-15 at his Butler campaign rally.
Crooks ultimately succeeded in striking Trump’s ear. He also fatally shot rally attendee Corey Comperatore and critically wounded two other attendees, David Dutch and James Copenhaver.
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Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Green Beret appointed to the 13-member House bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassination of Trump, previously told reporters in August that Crooks had multiple encrypted accounts on multiple platforms based in Belgium, New Zealand and Germany. It remains unclear why Crooks had those accounts or what he used them for.
Investigators are also working to determine why Ryan Routh, the suspect charged in the second assassination attempt in September, allegedly pointed a rifle toward Trump just outside the perimeter of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to [email protected] or on Twitter at @audpants.