(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Last week, FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News that the bureau’s investigation into the July 13 Trump assassination attempt was closed.
“Two of the investigations are obviously closed because the individuals are dead,” Patel said, answering Maria Bartiromo’s question about the Butler, Pennsylvania, and Palm Beach, Florida, incidents. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino further told Bartiromo that there’s no “there there” when it comes to conspiracies surrounding the attempts—meaning that the bureau thinks would-be assassins Thomas Crooks and Ryan Routh both acted alone.
Upon hearing Patel’s announcement, Headline USA filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all of the 1,000-plus interview reports the FBI created while investigating the Butler case. But on Thursday, this publication was denied that request on the grounds that the Butler case is still open—an assertion that directly contradicts what Patel told Fox News.
🚨NEW: FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News last week that its investigation into the July 13 Trump assassination attempt was CLOSED.
When he said that, I immediately filed a FOIA for all FBI interview reports from its investigation. Today, I was denied that request on the… https://t.co/BaHqVq5usN pic.twitter.com/YveQAfsyGo— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) May 29, 2025
“The material you requested is located in an investigative file which is exempt from disclosure,” the FBI said, citing a FOIA provision that allows the bureau to withhold investigatory records.
“The records responsive to your request are law enforcement records; there is a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding relevant to these responsive records, and release of the information could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,” the FBI added. “Therefore, your request is being administratively closed.”
The FBI’s denial comes nearly a year after a federal grand jury was empaneled to investigate Butler. At the time, it was thought by many that Crooks’s parents might be facing charges. Explosives components were found in the gunman’s bedroom, and investigators questioned whether the parents knew that the son was making bombs.
It’s unknown whether the grand jury investigation is still open. But Patel further downplayed the notion that there’s more to know about the Butler case in yet another Fox News appearance with Bret Baier.
“I don’t know that there’s more to know, but you’re going to know everything we know,” Patel told Baier on “Special Report.”
According to last December’s House Task Force report, the FBI generated over 1,000, witness interview reports—known as 302s. Along with denying Headline USA’s FOIA for these reports, the bureau has also reportedly provided only 81 of them to Congress.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
