Federal law enforcement is doing ‘everything wrong’ in their investigation of the attempted assassination against Donald Trump, claims Sen. Ron Johnson.
The ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee told DailyMail.com that the actions of the Justice Department are ‘jaw dropping’ and slammed the agency’s law enforcement arm – the FBI – for thinking they are ‘above the law.’
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year would-be assassin of Trump, was shot dead by Secret Service right after one of his bullets grazed the former president’s right ear during an attack at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on June 13 that left one supporter dead and two others critically injured.
And amid a still ongoing investigation into the events that transpired that day, Crooks’ body was already released and cremated despite lingering questions from lawmakers.
‘I think the FBI, Department of Justice, Secret Service are doing everything exactly wrong,’ Johnson told DailyMail.com at Trump Tower in Chicago on Monday. ‘If you want people to have confidence in the investigation, it needs to be transparent.’
Sen. Ron Johnson (right) told DailyMail.com that ‘the FBI, Department of Justice, Secret Service are doing everything exactly wrong’ in the investigation of the assassination attempt against Donald Trump
‘What we know about the events of July 13 is coming primarily from local law enforcement,’ the furious senator explained.
Multiple congressional committees, including the one Johnson serves on as the top Republican, have questions about the assassination attempt and what could have been done to prevent it.
But Johnson says that they are being stonewalled by the FBI, DOJ and United States Secret Service (USSS).
‘From standpoint of federal law enforcement, they are the law. They believe they’re pretty much above the law, and they’ve never been held accountable,’ the Wisconsin lawmaker said. ‘They don’t believe they really need to be held accountable to the American public. They can avoid scrutiny. So that’s how they’re handling this investigation.’
‘Personally, it’s jaw dropping to me that they would cremate the body before all the autopsy reports were presented to the public,’ he continued.
‘It just boggles your mind how they’re approaching this. They’re doing everything exactly wrong if their goal was to instill confidence in an independent and fair and honest investigation.
‘People are suspicious, and I think justifiably so,’ Johnson lamented after speaking at a press conference for Trump in Chicago on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention.
Trump took a bullet to his ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. With blood streaked across his face, Secret Service agents corralled the former president off the stage
Pennsylvania native Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot dead by U.S. Secret Service after he opened fire at Trump’s Butler rally and shot the former president in the ear, killing one rally goer and critically injuring two others
Crooks was able to get atop a roof little more than a football field’s distance away from where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania for a rally days before the Republican National Convention.
The 20-year-old brought an AR-style rifle purchased legally by his father atop a manufacturing building where he took aim at the former president and Republican 2024 nominee.
Crooks’ car was parked nearby the rally with explosives inside, and more bombs were found at his parent’s home, where he lived.
One bullet grazed Trump’s ear on July 13 and was only millimeters from striking his head and potentially resulting in a fatal hit.
Johnson says that his team has requested the agencies probing the attempt turn over interviews they conducted with witnesses and those involved in security the day of the assassination attempt.
His advice for the FBI and USSS: ‘What they could do to provide greater confidence is turn over their transcribed interviews.’
‘We requested them,’ he noted, adding: ‘We haven’t gotten squat.’
‘So again, they’re being almost completely opaque in this thing. And that’s making people suspicious, that’s reducing confidence in their ultimate investigation.’
Johnson said while his committee is investigating the attack against Trump, he fears that the probe is instead turning into an ‘investigation of the investigation.’
