The Federal Bureau of Investigation "will leave no stone unturned " in the investigation of the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the US Congress today, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
Wray's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee was his most detailed yet about the July 13 shooting in Pennsylvania, which has once again plunged the FBI into a political maelstrom. His agents are investigating 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, who carried out the most serious assassination attempt on a president or presidential candidate since the 1981 shooting of then-US President Ronald Reagan outside a Washington, D.C., hotel.
"I have been saying for some time that we live in a heightened threat environment, and tragically the attempted murder in Butler County is another example – especially nasty and ostentatious, about what I was talking about,", Ray said.
His House hearing was scheduled long before the shooting as part of the Judiciary Committee's regular oversight of the FBI and Justice Department.
Despite being appointed by Trump, Wray has generally faced antagonistic questions from members of the Republican-led panel, reflecting continued unease over the FBI's investigation into potential ties between Russia and the 2016 election campaign.
Until now, the FBI had been able to avoid the same level of attention that was directed at the Secret Service because of the security lapses that preceded the shooting. The director of the service, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned yesterday.
Congressmen questioning Wray were skeptical of the FBI's assessment that Crooks left behind no clear ideological motive to explain his actions.
The FBI said it was investigating the shooting, which killed one rally participant and seriously injured two others, as an act of domestic terrorism and attempted murder. Trump's campaign said the Republican presidential nominee is feeling "fine" after the shooting, which Trump said hit the top of his right ear.
Last week, Wray and other senior security officials briefed members of Congress in a closed-door session, telling them that Crooks had pictures of Trump, Democratic President Joe Biden and other US officials on his phone. He also looked up the dates for the Democratic National Convention, as well as the dates for Trump's appearances.
A law enforcement official told the AP last week that Crooks also flew a drone over the rally site before the event, apparently trying to survey the site beforehand.