(Ken Silva, Headline USA) On the one-year anniversary of the Butler Trump assassination attempt, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., issued what he deemed a “final report”—one that detailed the failures made by Secret Service agents in planning for the July 13, 2024, event.
Paul released the report, even though Congress has received barely any information from the FBI or the ATF. And according to The Washington Times, Paul closed the Trump shooting investigation over the objections of his colleagues, including Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., and even ranking member Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.
“We had a true bipartisan product last year. It came out very quickly, and everybody on the committee signed off on it. It’s interesting in this report; it was only Rand Paul, and not even another Republican signed onto it,” Peters reportedly told the Times.
“Basically, the report he put out is just rehashing the report we did last year,” he said. “So there was really little or no extra work that was put into his report, except that he came up with some conclusions. And the conclusions, they weren’t necessarily supported by any new facts that he put forward.”
According to the Times, Paul said that the investigation “has gone on too long.”
“We’ve essentially got the conclusions,” Paul reportedly said. “Big mistakes were made. It shouldn’t have happened. The president almost died. And reforms had to take place. We think most of those have taken place.”
Luckily for those who want more information about the case, Sen. Johnson hasn’t fallen in line with Paul. Johnson subpoenaed the FBI last week for a trove of records it holds on the shooting and alleged would-be assassin Thomas Crooks—including surveillance footage that might show Crooks being chased by police before his attack.
Indeed, Johnson’s subpoena asks for footage taken from a security camera at an ice cream shop that has a clear vantage of the AGR building—where the gunman used as a rooftop perch.
Additionally, the subpoena demands footage from the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, where Crooks frequented in the last year of his life. Finally, the subpoena demands Crooks’ internet history, which likely includes terabytes of data from his social media accounts and other online activity—crucial evidence that presumably reveals his motivation, and whether others were involved.
Johnson demands the evidence by Aug. 1. His subpoena comes as the new administration continues to backtrack on transparency promises.
“I had expected the FBI to be more forthcoming with the public and provide my office with the records we have been seeking for months. I am issuing the subpoena to help prompt transparency and I look forward to Director [Kashyap] Patel’s full cooperation,” Johnson said in a press release.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
