BUTLER, PA - In the weeks following the attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump, Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins blasted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for releasing the gunman's body to his family for cremation just days after the shooting.
According to the New York Post, Higgins, a Republican congressman, said that he discovered that Thomas Matthew Crooks' body was handed over to his family when he submitted a request to examine it during his visit to the Butler rally site to investigate the shooting.
In a report to the July 13 (J13) Task Force, Chairman Mike Kelly, Higgins wrote, "My effort to examine Crooks' body on Monday, August 5, caused quite a stir and revealed a disturbing fact ... the FBI released the body for cremation 10 days after J13. On J23, Crooks was gone. Nobody knew this until Monday, August 5, including the County Coroner, law enforcement sheriff, etc."
J13 is a bipartisan committee that was organized to investigate the security failures surrounding the attempted assassination of former President Trump. Higgins described the FBI's actions as "an obstruction to any following investigative effort." Higgins claimed that while the body was under the Butler County Coroner's authority, the coroner would "have never released Crooks' body to the family for cremation or burial without specific permission from the FBI."
Higgins said that he wanted to examine the body to know 100 percent if the coroner's report and autopsy were accurate. He wrote, "We will actually never know. Yes, we'll get the reports and pictures, etc., but I will not ever be able to say with certainty that those reports and pictures are accurate according to my own examination of the body."
Higgins also blasted the FBI for its poor handling of the crime scene, stating that law enforcement released the area three days after the shooting. He wrote, "The FBI cleaned up biological evidence from the crime scene, which is unheard of. Cops don't do that ever. I interviewed several First Responders who expressed everything from surprise to dismay to suspicion regarding the fact that the FBI released the crime scene so early after J13."
He added, "It should be noted that the FBI was fully aware of the fact that Congress would be investigating J13. The FBI does not exist in a vacuum. They had to know that releasing the J13 crime scene would injure the immediate observations of any following investigation." During his time in Butler, Higgins found that Crooks had "perfectly positioned himself (on the roof) to minimize the threat of counter-fire from the ground or the U.S. Secret Service counter-sniper teams."
Higgins stated that the gunman fired eight shots before a Butler SWAT operative shot back, with the bullet believed to have damaged the buffer tube on Crooks' AR. He wrote, "The 10th (and, I believe final) shot was fired from the USSS southern counter-sniper team. Which, according to my investigation, entered somewhere around the left mouth area and exited the right ear area."
According to Fox News, the FBI has fired back at the claims made by Higgins. An FBI spokesperson said that any suggestion that the agency is interfering with congressional efforts to look into the attempted assassination is "inaccurate and unfounded." The agency further said that Crooks' body was released to his family after coordination with the coroner's office as well as state and local law enforcement partners, "in keeping with normal procedures."
The FBI also hit back on Higgins claiming that the crime scene was released after three days, saying that the crime scene was released to the property owners in phases and that "nothing was rushed and everything was documented as part of the investigation." The FBI said that it also arranged for the cleaning of the location where Crooks died, which is part of standard procedures.
The agency said in a statement, "The FBI has been working closely with our law enforcement partners to conduct a thorough investigation into the shooting, and we have followed normal procedures in the handling of the crime scene and evidence. The FBI continues its painstaking work on the investigation to develop as complete a picture as possible of what led to the shooting, and we remain committed to maximum transparency as we continue to brief Congress and publish information for the public regarding the ongoing investigation."
At the end of this report, Higgins wrote, "I have not investigated the life and actions of Thomas Matthew Crooks outside of his actions on J13. But I will. We will. We're just getting started, Mr. Chairman."
According to the New York Post, Higgins, a Republican congressman, said that he discovered that Thomas Matthew Crooks' body was handed over to his family when he submitted a request to examine it during his visit to the Butler rally site to investigate the shooting.
In a report to the July 13 (J13) Task Force, Chairman Mike Kelly, Higgins wrote, "My effort to examine Crooks' body on Monday, August 5, caused quite a stir and revealed a disturbing fact ... the FBI released the body for cremation 10 days after J13. On J23, Crooks was gone. Nobody knew this until Monday, August 5, including the County Coroner, law enforcement sheriff, etc."
J13 is a bipartisan committee that was organized to investigate the security failures surrounding the attempted assassination of former President Trump. Higgins described the FBI's actions as "an obstruction to any following investigative effort." Higgins claimed that while the body was under the Butler County Coroner's authority, the coroner would "have never released Crooks' body to the family for cremation or burial without specific permission from the FBI."
Higgins said that he wanted to examine the body to know 100 percent if the coroner's report and autopsy were accurate. He wrote, "We will actually never know. Yes, we'll get the reports and pictures, etc., but I will not ever be able to say with certainty that those reports and pictures are accurate according to my own examination of the body."
Higgins also blasted the FBI for its poor handling of the crime scene, stating that law enforcement released the area three days after the shooting. He wrote, "The FBI cleaned up biological evidence from the crime scene, which is unheard of. Cops don't do that ever. I interviewed several First Responders who expressed everything from surprise to dismay to suspicion regarding the fact that the FBI released the crime scene so early after J13."
He added, "It should be noted that the FBI was fully aware of the fact that Congress would be investigating J13. The FBI does not exist in a vacuum. They had to know that releasing the J13 crime scene would injure the immediate observations of any following investigation." During his time in Butler, Higgins found that Crooks had "perfectly positioned himself (on the roof) to minimize the threat of counter-fire from the ground or the U.S. Secret Service counter-sniper teams."
Higgins stated that the gunman fired eight shots before a Butler SWAT operative shot back, with the bullet believed to have damaged the buffer tube on Crooks' AR. He wrote, "The 10th (and, I believe final) shot was fired from the USSS southern counter-sniper team. Which, according to my investigation, entered somewhere around the left mouth area and exited the right ear area."
According to Fox News, the FBI has fired back at the claims made by Higgins. An FBI spokesperson said that any suggestion that the agency is interfering with congressional efforts to look into the attempted assassination is "inaccurate and unfounded." The agency further said that Crooks' body was released to his family after coordination with the coroner's office as well as state and local law enforcement partners, "in keeping with normal procedures."
The FBI also hit back on Higgins claiming that the crime scene was released after three days, saying that the crime scene was released to the property owners in phases and that "nothing was rushed and everything was documented as part of the investigation." The FBI said that it also arranged for the cleaning of the location where Crooks died, which is part of standard procedures.
The agency said in a statement, "The FBI has been working closely with our law enforcement partners to conduct a thorough investigation into the shooting, and we have followed normal procedures in the handling of the crime scene and evidence. The FBI continues its painstaking work on the investigation to develop as complete a picture as possible of what led to the shooting, and we remain committed to maximum transparency as we continue to brief Congress and publish information for the public regarding the ongoing investigation."
At the end of this report, Higgins wrote, "I have not investigated the life and actions of Thomas Matthew Crooks outside of his actions on J13. But I will. We will. We're just getting started, Mr. Chairman."
For corrections or revisions, click here.
The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments
2024-08-18T15:17-0500 | Comment by: Douglas
Seems like anytime the powers that be don't want something to come to light they conveniently have it disappear. Remember how quickly the World Trade Center buildings were cleaned up? Lee Harvey Oswald didn't last very long, either. Dead men (or buildings) tell no tales.
2024-08-18T15:19-0500 | Comment by: Douglas
Seems like anytime the powers that be don't want something to come to light they conveniently have it disappear. Remember how quickly the World Trade Center buildings were cleaned up? Lee Harvey Oswald didn't last very long, either. Dead men (or buildings) tell no tales.
2024-08-18T17:32-0500 | Comment by: Dawn
On the one hand, we've got individuals saying this case has NOT been handled per regular procedure in various ways. On the other hand, we've got the FBI saying all of it is being handled per regular procedure. So, which is it? What IS the standard procedure for cases like this?
2024-08-18T19:06-0500 | Comment by: CHRISTIE
The FBI is lying! #1 They said they followed "normal procedure". #1 This is NOT a "normal" crime scene! It is the attemoted assassinatiin of a former president who is also the presumptive next president. #2 They deliberately did not inform the Congressional investigative committee and this is still an open investigation. #3 HELLO-O-O! The FBI does NOT clean up the aftermath and gore of a crime scene nor does ANY law enforcement agency. The burden falls in the next of kin if it happens at home or on the landlird ir building or property owner, whichever is appropriate. There are companies which can be hired because they specialize in this type of cleanup. You can't expect regular maids and janitors to have to deal with this type of thing.
2024-08-19T05:46-0500 | Comment by: Larry
Come on conspiracy buffs. 10 days to release the body and this is suspicious? Should it be kept in a museum? Go ahead and do your congressional investigation. Do you need the body for that? Don't you think there has been documentation and thousands of digital photos taken? Do you think any member of congress is going to want to go even look at, much less examine a 10 day old corpse? I think not. Let the family bury their son...or daughter, or whatever it was.