(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A judge has allowed the Justice Department to release grand jury records related to its investigation into the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt against Donald Trump—but that doesn’t mean the public will see them anytime soon.
U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon’s order on Friday came in response to a DOJ application to release records about its grand jury investigation into the alleged would-be assassin, Thomas Crooks. The investigation was intended to find out Crooks’s motive and whether he had help.
“In connection with that investigation, the government obtained pre-existing business records pursuant to grand jury subpoenas from numerous entities, such as telephone and internet service providers, email services, financial institutions, and others,” the DOJ’s application to the judge said.
“No testimony was presented to the grand jury in connection with the Crooks investigation. The grand jury’s sole role in the investigation was to receive pre-existing records pursuant to subpoenas. The grand jury investigation has since been closed.”
Major caveats here: 1. The records here are only related to Thomas Crooks's internet history–no FBI reports, surveillance footage, photos or other evidence
2. The order allows disclosure to Congress, but not the public. Congress has withheld other records, such as the autopsy https://t.co/ERUgpoS1GW pic.twitter.com/0lcTxjIvq9— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) December 21, 2025
With the investigation closed, the DOJ asked Judge Bissoon for permission to release the records. However, the application sought to release them to “other United States investigative agencies and Congress”—not to the public.
“The government seeks an Order authorizing the records to be shared with these other investigative agencies and Congress, including any agents, analysts, and support staff who work on investigations related to the attempted assassination,” the DOJ’s application said.
The public may never see the grand jury records, as Congress has withheld other documents related to the assassination attempt.
For instance, the chairman of the House Task Force investigating the incident, Rep. Mike Kelly, declined to release Crooks’s autopsy report on the grounds that it’s too “gruesome.” In that instance, Headline USA independently obtained and published the full report (contrary of Kelly’s claims, it is not gruesome).
The House and Senate also have an untold number of FBI records about the attempt that they haven’t released.
Despite that, Attorney General Pam Bondi touted the judge’s order as a fulfillment of the Trump administration’s transparency promise.
“President Trump is leading the most transparent administration in American history,” she said. “By moving to unseal these documents, we hope to give the American people more answers about that fateful day in Butler, Pennsylvania.”
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
