On the second day of congressional hearings into the near-assassination of former President Donald Trump, FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed a significant development in the investigation, just hours after the Secret Service head’s resignation.
Wray’s testimony before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee followed that of former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned after overseeing one of the worst security failures in decades. Lawmakers, led by Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH), grilled Wray about a drone recovered from the gunman’s car. The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, used the drone to assess the perimeter of the Trump rally on July 13. Explosive devices were also found in Crooks’ car, which authorities believe were meant to distract from his firing position on a nearby roof.
“We have recovered a drone that the shooter appears to have used,” Wray stated. “It’s being exploited and analyzed by the FBI lab. The drone was recovered in his vehicle, so at the time of his shooting, the drone was in his vehicle with the controller.” When asked by Jordan about the drone’s last flight, Wray revealed a shocking detail indicating another security lapse by the Secret Service. “It appears that around 3:50 p.m., 4 o’clock in that window on the day of the shooting, the shooter was flying the drone around the area… Not over the stage and that part of the area itself, but I would say about 200 yards, give or take, away. We think, but we do not know, that he was live streaming the view, the footage for around 11 minutes.”
“Two hours before, he’s flying a drone,” Jordan reiterated.
Rep. Jordan’s line of questioning was straightforward with Wray, who has faced criticism from conservatives for the FBI’s handling of the January 6, 2021, riots. Congressman Dan Bishop (R-NC) was more aggressive, asking Wray, “why the FBI doesn’t disclose all of the investigative detail that you are gathering as it is gathered.”
“We have tried to be transparent with Congress and with the American people as we are going along in the investigation, frankly unusually so given the sheer nature of it. We have provided a lot of information… in response to your questions and your colleagues’,” Wray retorted, explaining how “facts change” over the course of investigations. “Part of our goal is not just to respect the ongoing investigation process but also to make sure that we don’t prematurely provide information that then two days later turns out to be different from what we told people.”
Bishop expressed frustration, wishing Wray would provide more detailed thoughts on how Crooks managed to fire multiple shots at President Trump before being taken down. He contrasted Wray’s testimony with that of Pennsylvania State Police Colonel Christopher Paris, who candidly explained how his team relayed images of Crooks to Secret Service agents just minutes before Trump took the stage. “What we don’t know is why they didn’t keep Trump off the stand,” Bishop said.
The North Carolina lawmaker also criticized Wray for the FBI’s handling of Hunter Biden’s laptop, stating, “The country went for years with the understanding that the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation… and the whole time the FBI had the laptop.”
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