Washington DC - President Donald Trump is now pushing unfounded claims that the assassination attempt on his life at a Pennsylvania rally in 2024 was part of a dark "Democrat plot" to take him out.
In a Truth Social post shared on Tuesday, Trump accused the FBI under his predecessor Joe Biden of failing to do "what they should have" with investigating Thomas Crooks, the gunman who opened fire at the rally on July 13, 2024.
Trump went on to claim that when he returned to office, files on the shooting were "missing, altered, corrupted, or gone," and someone should face consequences.
"This was all a Democrat Plot, to get me out of the Election, that failed." Trump wrote, adding that former FBI Director Christopher Wray "should pay a price for the way he handled this assassination attempt."
The Butler shooting has remained shrouded in mystery, as Crooks was fatally shot by officers after firing eight rounds at Trump, wounding the politician's right ear and killing one attendee.
Since the incident, very little information has been released to the public, which has sparked rumors on social media pushed by both sides of the political aisle that believe it was staged.
Trump, until now, has also remained silent about the shooting, though it is seen by many as a moment that helped him secure his 2024 presidential race victory.
President Trump promises "new info" on the Butler shooting
While Trump claimed in his post that his administration recently found "new info" on the case, an FBI web page dedicated to the investigation hasn't provided an update since July 2024.
During a Senate Oversight Committee hearing on Tuesday, FBI Director Kash Patel was pressed about what his agency has learned about Crooks since the shooting.
The director claimed his department looked into "connections" Crooks may have had with others in planning the shooting, but they found "no evidence" that he was speaking to anyone about it besides his parents.
In one confusing moment, when asked to commit to releasing files to the public on Crooks, Patel responded: "As soon as the trial is over."
When Attorney General Todd Blanche was pressed about Patel's comments during a press conference later that day, he claimed there was "new information" on Crooks "that we didn't know before." He said it was produced by the FBI in response to a Senate inquiry.
When asked if he plans to heed Trump's calls to go after Director Wray, Blanche said the Department of Justice does not "punish" people. He did promise, however, that Patel has "undertaken a Herculean effort to go through all the documents and understand what was missed, if anything," which will later be provided to the public.
On Tuesday, The New York Post reportedly reviewed FBI documents recent provided to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley. The files revealed a number of new revelations about Crooks, including his obsession with guns, how he practiced ahead of the shooting, his familial struggles and troubling childhood, and his conflicting political views.
The NYP also claimed that Crooks was cremated after the shooting, which was mysteriously funded by an anonymous donor.