Senator Ron Johnson has accused federal law enforcement of mishandling the investigation into the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, stating that they are doing “everything wrong.”
The ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee said that the Justice Department’s actions are “jaw-dropping” and criticized the FBI, the agency’s law enforcement branch, for acting as though they are “above the law.”
The attack occurred during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, and resulted in the death of one supporter and critical injuries to two others.
Despite ongoing questions from lawmakers, Thomas Matthew Crooks’ body was released and cremated while the investigation into the events of that day is still ongoing.
“I think the FBI, Department of Justice, Secret Service are doing everything exactly wrong,” Johnson said.
“If you want people to have confidence in the investigation, it needs to be transparent,” he added.
“What we know about the events of July 13 is coming primarily from local law enforcement,” the furious senator explained.
Several congressional committees, including the one where Johnson serves as the top Republican, are questioning the details of the assassination attempt and exploring 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,” he continued.
“Personally, it’s jaw dropping to me that they would cremate the body before all the autopsy reports were presented to the public,” he added.
“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.
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 stated that his team has requested the agencies investigating the assassination attempt to provide copies of the interviews they conducted with witnesses and those responsible for security on the day of the incident.
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.”
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