WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump has agreed to participate in an FBI assassination attempt victim interview, a bureau official told reporters Monday.
An interview with Trump would be consistent with any interview the bureau would conduct with a crime victim under any circumstances, one official said.
An FBI investigation uncovered his attempted assassination Thomas Matthew Crooks In addition to being a “highly intelligent” person, he was a “loner” with few friends and acquaintances outside of his family, and developed an interest in weapons.
His motive is still unknown. The FBI conducted hundreds of interviews and asked dozens of companies for information about his online accounts, including gaming accounts, the official said. His search history included the attempted assassination of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico earlier this year, as well as searches for information on mass shootings and power plants. Last week, the FBI revealed Crooks asked “How far was Oswald Kennedy?” about the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald about a week before the attack.
The FBI determined that Crooks bought a ladder He was not taken to a Trump rally before the shooting, although authorities found a bloody receipt for it on his body. Crooks appeared to be using a drone The FBI, however, did not find any footage recorded on the drone prior to the attack.
Just 25 to 30 seconds after a local police officer attempted to confront him on the roof, Crooks fired eight rounds. As NBC News previously reported, citing FBI and law enforcement officials, the officer was lifted over the roof line by a colleague and Crooks pointed his gun at the officer before opening fire.
During a briefing for reporters more than two weeks after the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump, an official said Crooks carefully planned the attack before a campaign rally and tried to keep his plans quiet.
FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said Monday that the bureau is working around the clock on the investigation, and that while the bureau does not typically share regular updates on ongoing investigations, FBI officials believe it is important to the American public.
Kimberly Cheatle, director of the US Secret Service resigned last week Hearing at Home after the attack and after a controversial attempt. The Senate will hold its own hearings this week with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
Abbate said the bureau was collecting facts but not focusing on identifying failures by law enforcement that day, and that type of analysis is better left to others.
“All members of the FBI are committed to uncovering the real facts, the truth about the attack on former President Trump, the killing of Mr. Comperatore, and the injury of others,” Abbate said. Corey Comperatore, was a rally participant died in the attack. Two more people were injured.
FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress last week that there was “some question as to whether it was a bullet or shrapnel” that struck Trump in the ear during the assassination attempt, adding fuel to conspiracy theories about the shooting.
Kevin Rojek, the FBI agent in charge of the Pittsburgh office, said Monday that Trump had been shot, whole or fragmented, echoing a statement from the bureau Friday after Wray’s testimony to Congress.
Crooks “made significant efforts to conceal his activities,” Rojek said.
Rojek said Crooks appeared to be “a loner,” and another official said there was no indication that Crooks had been in any mental health treatment or institutionalization.
The FBI had difficulty accessing some of Crooks’ accounts because he used encrypted software, a bureau official said.
“Encryption has been a challenge for us in this investigation,” FBI official Bobby Wells said.
Ken Dilanian contributed.