FBI director provides new details on Trump gunman — but no clear picture of motive

FBI Director Christopher Wray provided sweeping new details about the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump — but said law enforcement is still largely in the dark about his motives.

Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday — his first public appearance before Congress since the July 13 shooting — Wray revealed that the shooter, Thomas Crooks, googled details about Lee Harvey Oswald’s assassination of John F. Kennedy, used a drone near the rally site roughly two hours before Trump spoke, and bought the gun that he used in the attack from his father in October 2023.

Though Wray said Crooks had shown interest in political figures from both parties — and seemed to zero in on Trump a week before his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania — the FBI was unable to establish a clear motive even as it has conducted more than 400 interviews as part of its ongoing investigation.

“I think it’s fair to say that we don’t yet have a clear picture of his motive,” Wray told the committee.

Wray told the panel that he was “leaning in” to what information the FBI currently has in order to answer as many of their questions as possible, given the high interest among Congress and the public about the attack. Wray’s testimony comes two days after then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle appeared before the House Oversight Committee, frustrating lawmakers who felt like she avoided answering their questions. Cheatle resigned a day later.

It was the level of detail, and new information, that defined what was an uncharacteristically cordial hourslong hearing between the FBI director and some of his loudest critics within the House GOP conference.

“I appreciate you coming in. I appreciate you telling us things. I appreciate you guys going against essentially your normal policy of waiting until an investigation is done,” Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) said.

Wray on Wednesday revealed that while Crooks appeared interested in leaders of both political parties, the date of his Google search about how far away Oswald was from Kennedy, July 6, is the same day that the gunman appeared to zero in on Trump. It’s also the same day he registered to attend Trump’s rally in Butler.

FBI officials previously told lawmakers during a briefing last week that the gunman scouted out the site of Trump’s rally in advance, three people familiar with the call told POLITICO at the time.

Wray confirmed those visits to lawmakers on Wednesday and said Crooks went to a gun range the day before the July 13 rally and bought 50 rounds of ammunition just hours before the shooting.

He added that the FBI retrieved a drone and explosive devices from the gunman’s vehicle, and Crooks used the drone around 4 p.m. on July 13 roughly 200 yards away from where Trump spoke.

The FBI is conducting one of several investigations in the wake of the shooting. The bureau is focusing on the shooter, his motivations and whether he had any co-conspirators. So far, Wray stressed, there is no evidence to suggest anyone else was involved.

As part of its investigation, Wray said that the FBI had spoken to Crooks’ parents, who were cooperative, and had searched his home. He also described Crooks as more isolated than an average individual.

But there were limits to what Wray was able to tell the committee.

Throughout the hearing, lawmakers asked why Trump was allowed onto the stage in the first place. Wray responded that the FBI’s investigation wasn’t focused on actions by the Secret Service — those are under review in a slew of other probes, including ones from the Department of Homeland Security inspector general, a bipartisan, independent review ordered by President Joe Biden and several congressional committees.

Lawmakers also pressed Wray for details about the timeline of events on July 13, from the communications between various law enforcement agencies to how Crooks was able to fire off eight shots. (The FBI found eight cartridges on the roof where Crooks was positioned.)

“That is something we’re still digging into,” Wray said.

He also told lawmakers that the FBI’s current theory was that he got on the roof using “mechanical equipment on the ground” and climbed piping that was on the side of the building.

The hearing wasn’t totally without partisan fireworks. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) quizzed Wray on gallows that were constructed near the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — sparking pushback from a Democratic colleague. And Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) tried to get Wray to weigh in on the political debate over Biden’s mental acuity, asking his take based on the FBI director’s prior briefings with Biden.

“My briefings with the president have all been completely fine,” Wray said.

Trump, for his part, homed in on that interaction as a reason for Wray to resign.

“Director Wray should resign immediately from the FBI, and stop ‘sweet talking’ Congress every time he goes up, which he loves to do, because anybody can see that Joe Biden is cognitively and physically challenged,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.

Kyle Cheney contributed reporting.