Trump expresses skepticism over current findings in Butler shooting investigation
FBI Director Kash Patel promised transparency as remaining questions linger about the federal investigation into the July 2024 assassination attempt on then-candidate President Donald Trump.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, Patel touched on the growing public demand for answers as speculation swirls around the high-profile attack in Butler, Pa.
“I don’t know that there’s more to know, but you’re going to know everything we know,” Patel told Baier on “Special Report.”
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Patel, appointed amid calls for sweeping reform, pushed back on the growing conspiracy theories and insisted that the American people would learn the full truth.
“We take assassination attempts, especially of the president of the United States, extremely seriously,” he said. “And we don’t feel that the American people have been given the information they need on that. And we’re digging through the files, and we’re getting them a more robust picture of what happened and whether or not there were any connections.”
Pressed by Baier on theories circulating online, from an inside attempt to sabotage Trump’s campaign to foreign interference, Patel dismissed the speculation outright.
“That’s a great example of people looking for things where things don’t exist,” he said.
He acknowledged that the death of the would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, allowed for more transparency than ongoing cases, such as the Merchant investigation in New York, and claimed that relevant disclosures had already been made public.
Baier’s questions came after Trump expressed skepticism over the conclusions shared by federal agencies on the Butler assassination attempt.
“We have deep-seated craziness in this country,” Trump told Baier during a recent trip to the Middle East. “So far… they tell me it’s fine. But it’s a little hard to believe, to be honest with you.”
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The 47th president emphasized his reliance on key allies, naming United States Attorney General Pam Bondi and Patel, but suggested that he remained unconvinced by the current findings.
“I’m relying on my people, and they’re good,” he said. “But it’s a little hard to believe, to be honest with you, okay? It’s a little bit hard to believe as I get older.”
The Butler shooting sent shockwaves through the 2024 campaign trail. Trump was wounded but survived, and the assailant was killed by law enforcement at the scene.
The attempted assassination ignited scrutiny on the U.S. Secret Services’ protective measures on the presidential candidate.
Despite a months-long investigation, questions remain about Crooks’ motivation and any preventative measures that could have been implemented.
“We knew a lot more about a lot of different people than we know about that guy,” Baier told Patel, pressing on why the public remains largely in the dark nearly a year later.