Renewed Questions Over FBI Transparency in the Thomas Crooks Investigation

New scrutiny is falling on how much federal investigators actually knew about Thomas Crooks, the gunman who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.

While the FBI initially stated that little background information was available on Crooks, Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) has since questioned that claim, saying key details were withheld from the congressional task force he chaired to review the event.

“We definitely got stonewalled,” Fallon told The National News Desk. “When we finally got answers that we thought were fully forthright, now it seems like they weren’t.”

The task force ultimately concluded that the shooting — in which a bullet grazed Trump’s ear — was preventable.

Digital Findings and Oversight Concerns

The FBI told us Thomas Crooks tried to kill Donald Trump last summer but somehow had no online footprint. The FBI lied, and we can prove it because we have his posts. The question is why? Story tomorrow.

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) November 13, 2025

Fallon now intends to consult with House Oversight Chairman James Comer about recalling former FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate for additional testimony. During a 2024 briefing, Abbate revealed that investigators had traced over 700 online comments attributed to Crooks between 2019 and 2020, many of which reportedly contained antisemitic and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Fallon says the task force never received that information.

“They didn’t share any of the data with us,” he told CBS Austin. “It was either deliberate or incompetence.”

He added that the Oversight Committee would be an appropriate venue for further examination.

Diverging Narratives

Commentator Tucker Carlson has also alleged that officials withheld details of Crooks’ digital footprint, claiming he can demonstrate discrepancies between public statements and known online activity. In response, FBI Director Kash Patel defended the bureau’s investigation, citing extensive efforts: more than 1,000 interviews, 2,000 public tips, 13 seized devices, and analysis of nearly 500,000 digital files across 25 online profiles.

Former FBI Special Agent Jody Weis expressed concern that the bureau’s tools should have flagged Crooks earlier.

“For them to say they didn’t see much there, that they couldn’t identify a motive — I can’t understand why,” Weis said. “Had he been flagged, they could have intervened.”

Lives Lost, Lessons Pending

While debate over what the FBI knew continues, the human toll remains clear.
Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter, was killed shielding his family. Two others — David Dutch and James Copenhaver — were seriously wounded.

As Congress and the Justice Department weigh next steps, the questions extend beyond one case: how to ensure transparency without eroding security protocols, and how to rebuild confidence in institutions charged with protecting both public safety and truth.

Reflection

In moments like this, accountability is not about blame alone — it’s about learning in full light.
Trust cannot be restored by statements or statistics, but by consistent honesty in how mistakes are examined and corrected.
When institutions confront their own blind spots with courage, justice becomes not only possible, but believable.