July 16, 2024, coverage of the Trump assassination attempt

Our live coverage of the investigation into the Trump assassination attempt has ended for the day.

Fareed Zakaria sat down with Iran’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani at Hudson Yards in New York and pressed him on the CNN reporting on an alleged Iranian assassination plot against former President Donald Trump.

The reporting stemmed from US authorities obtaining intelligence on the alleged plot from a human source in recent weeks, a development that led to the Secret Service increasing security around the former president in recent weeks, multiple people briefed on the matter told CNN.

The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations denied the accusation.

During his interview, Zakaria asked Kani if the plot was in retaliation for the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the senior Iranian general who died in January 2020, which took place during the Trump administration.

“I told you explicitly that we would resort to legal and judicial procedures and frameworks at the domestic level and international level in order to bring the perpetrators and military advisers of General Soleimani’s assassination to justice,” Kani said.

Pressed further if that meant not using violent measures, Kani said, “We will only resort to Iranian and international legal and judicial procedures.”

Zakaria’s full interview with Kani will air Sunday at 10 a.m. ET on “Fareed Zakaria GPS.”

A House Oversight Committee spokesperson said the panel had scheduled a briefing with committee members and the Secret Service Tuesday, but the Department of Homeland Security intervened and “refused to confirm a briefing time.”

The spokesperson also said the committee will issue a subpoena for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear at the panel’s hearing on July 22 “to head off any attempt by DHS to backtrack on her appearance” even though the spokesperson said the Secret Service had confirmed Cheatle’s appearance.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told CNN in a statement: “DHS responds to congressional requests directly via official channels, and the Department will continue to respond appropriately to Congressional oversight.”

The shooter who opened fire at a Donald Trump rally on Saturday told his boss he needed that day off because he had “something to do,” according to multiple law enforcement officials.

Thomas Matthew Crooks told his coworkers he would be back to work on Sunday.

By 3 p.m. on Saturday, Thomas Matthew Crooks was at the security screening area for the Trump rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania. He first aroused suspicion when he passed through the magnetometers carrying a rangefinder, which looks similar to a small pair of binoculars and is used by hunters and target shooters to measure distances when setting up a long-range shot, according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

The rangefinder would not have prevented Crooks from getting through the security screening point, but it did attract the attention of security personnel who kept an eye on him until he left the secure area.

Investigators are unsure of where Crooks went after he left the screening area but the working theory is that he went to his car to retrieve the rifle.

Around the same time witnesses alerted police that Crooks was crawling on the roof, one of the four counter-sniper teams observed Crooks looking at their position through the rangefinder, according to the senior law enforcement official.

“They were looking at him while he was looking at them,” the official said.

Crooks gained access to that rooftop by climbing on top of the building’s air conditioning system and hoisting himself up, according to a senior federal law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

After the shooting, multiple law enforcement sources said investigators found a bulletproof vest, three fully-loaded magazines and two remote-controlled explosive devices in Crooks’ car. Investigators are uncertain as to whether Crooks had a plan to use the body armor, nearly 100 rounds of additional ammunition from those loaded magazines, and two remote-controlled bombs, had he escaped after the shooting.

Additionally, after a search of his residence, investigators discovered another bulletproof vest, another remote-controlled explosive device and a 3D printer, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

A police vehicle is seen at Butler Farm Show Inc. on Monday, July 15, in Butler, Pennsylvania.

After the shooting, multiple law enforcement sources say investigators found a bulletproof vest, three fully-loaded magazines, and two remote-controlled explosive devices in Thomas Matthew Crooks’ car.

Investigators are uncertain as to whether Crooks had a plan to use the body armor, nearly 100 rounds of additional ammunition from those loaded magazines, and two remote-controlled bombs, had he escaped after the shooting.

Additionally, after a search of his residence, investigators discovered another bulletproof vest, another remote-controlled explosive device, and a 3D printer, according to multiple law enforcement sources. 

By 3 p.m. on Saturday, Thomas Matthew Crooks was at the security screening area for the Donald Trump rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania.

He first aroused suspicion when he passed through the magnetometers carrying a rangefinder, which looks similar to a small pair of binoculars and is used by hunters and target shooters to measure distances when setting up a long-range shot, according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. The rangefinder would not have prevented Crooks from getting through the security screening point, but it did attract the attention of security personnel who kept an eye on him until he left the secure area.

Investigators are unsure of where Crooks went after he left the screening area but the working theory is that he went to his car to retrieve the rifle. 

Around the same time witnesses alerted police that Crooks was crawling on the roof, one of the four counter-sniper teams observed Crooks looking at their position through the rangefinder, according to the senior law enforcement official.

“They were looking at him while he was looking at them,” the official said.

There will be an all-senators phone briefing Wednesday to discuss the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office.

The unclassified phone briefing will include briefers from the Justice Department, Secret Service, and the FBI, Schumer’s office said.

It’s set for 3 p.m. ET Wednesday.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are concerned about the potential for violent “follow-on or retaliatory attacks” in response to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, the agencies said in a joint intelligence bulletin obtained by CNN.

National security and law enforcement officials have been on edge since Saturday, when a gunman identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks fired at Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, striking the former president in the ear and killing one spectator and critically injuring two others.

The new intelligence bulletin does not identify a specific or credible threat of an attack. However, the document says: “We cannot rule out the possibility” that some domestic violent extremists or other people may attempt follow-on or retaliatory acts of violence in response to the attempted assassination of Trump.

CNN has requested comment from the FBI and DHS on the bulletin. Such threat assessments are routine in the aftermath of major security incidents.

Politico first reported on the bulletin.

Read more on the FBI and DHS warning.

Former President Trump, left, looks at his running mate Sen. JD Vance at the 2024 Republican National Convention hosted at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15.

Former President Donald Trump and his new running mate, Sen. JD Vance, will hold a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET inside the Van Andel arena, according to a statement from the Trump-Vance campaign.

The event will be Trump and Vance’s first rally after officially becoming the presidential and vice presidential nominees for the 2024 election at the Republican National Convention.

Former President Donald Trump has spoken with the Comperatore family, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Corey Comperatore was shot and killed during the attempted assassination of Trump on Saturday.

In an interview with the New York Post on Monday, Helen Comperatore shared her husband’s last words, spoken as he shielded his family from bullets that ultimately took his life.

“He’s my hero,” Helen Comperatore said. “He just said, ‘Get down!’ That was the last thing he said.”

The Butler County District Attorney, who oversees the county emergency service unit (ESU), told CNN his team was not supposed to guard outside during the rally where Donald Trump was shot, adding to the finger-pointing between the Secret Service and local law enforcement since Saturday.

The Butler County ESU – which is made up of officers from 23 municipalities – was on site at the Trump rally.

“We didn’t have anyone assigned to be outside in that perimeter, as far as what I was told,” Butler County District Attorney Ronald Goldinger said. “Our team was not responsible for that.”

Police are seen around the home of Thomas Matthew Crooks as the FBI continues its investigation in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on July 14.

Investigators are not any closer to finding out the motive of the shooter who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump, according to a law enforcement official.

They’ve looked through Thomas Matthew Crooks cell phone and are still sifting through his laptop and so far have not found anything, the official said. Investigators are also combing through a USB drive that belonged to the shooter but have not yet found any clues, the official said.

The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations denied there is an Iranian plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump.  

Read more from CNN’s exclusive report here.

US President Joe Biden leaves the podium after speaking during the 115th National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 16, 2024.

President Joe Biden received an updated homeland security briefing Tuesday morning from National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall, the White House says.

Biden — who’s in the midst of a three-day swing in Las Vegas that’ll see him continue outreach to Black and Latino voters — was joined by Jeff Zients, White House chief of staff, Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, Bruce Reed, deputy chief of staff and Annie Tomasini, deputy chief of staff.

In an interview with NBC Monday, Biden said he feels safe under Secret Service protection and highlighted that the Secret Service “risked their lives” to protect fellow Secret Service protectee Donald Trump during Saturday’s assassination attempt.

“They were ready to give their lives to the president. The question is should they have anticipated what happened? Should they have done what they needed to do to prevent thisfrom happening? That’s a question – that’s an open question,” he added.

National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on Tuesday that there’s no known link between Donald Trump’s would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks and anyone else at the moment.

Investigators are still searching for a motive behind the attempted assassination. Their probe has included gaining access to Crooks’ cell phone and interviewing his family and friends.

US authorities obtained intelligence from a human source in recent weeks on a plot by Iran to try to assassinate Donald Trump, a development that led to the Secret Service increasing security around the former president in recent weeks, multiple people briefed on the matter told CNN.

There’s no indication that Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin who attempted to kill the former president on Saturday, was connected to the plot, the sources said.

But the existence of the intelligence threat from a hostile foreign intelligence agency — and the enhanced security for Trump — raises new questions about the security lapses at the Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and how a 20-year-old man managed to access a nearby rooftop to fire shots that injured the former president.

Iran has repeatedly vowed revenge for the US military’s killing of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian military’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in January 2020. And former senior Trump administration officials who worked on national security have had tight security since leaving the government.

Read more from CNN’s exclusive report here.

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Donald Trump is seen at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Monday.

Top Trump adviser Chris LaCivita said Tuesday that former President Donald Trump is “doing great” following the Saturday assassination attempt. The campaign is currently undergoing a security assessment and is planning on conducting a “training class” for staff in the coming weeks, he said.

“We’ll, you know, basically teach people and give them a better understanding of their surroundings and that kind of thing,” he continued.

“Definitely outside the realm of political strategy but nonetheless in terms of running a massive, you know, multi-million dollar operation which the Trump campaign is and the Republican National Committee is, these are those things that happen, at least in terms of looking out for employees.”

The House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday invited the heads of the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and Secret Service to appear for a hearing on July 23 on the Donald Trump assassination attempt.

Two FBI investigators scan the roof from which alleged the shooter fired at former President Donald Trump on July 14 in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Kimberly Cheatle, director of the Secret Service, said that the “bucks stops with me” in an interview with ABC News when pressed about who was most responsible for security failures that led to the assassination attempt of Donald Trump on Saturday.

Cheatle was also pressed on why the shooter was able to get onto a rooftop of a building in the sightline of the stage or why law enforcement wasn’t on that rooftop.

She went on to say that the shooter was actually identified as a potential person of suspicion and that “units started responding to seek that individual out. Unfortunately with the rapid succession of how things unfolded by the time that individual was located, they were on the rooftop and we able to fire off at the former president.”

Asked if the rooftop should have been secured, Cheatle said that the particular rooftop was sloped at its highest point and that there was a safety factor considered in terms of putting an agent there.

Attendees in the crowd noticed the gunman on the roof of a nearby building nearly two minutes before the shots were fired during the attempted assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, according to a CNN analysis of witness video and the official video feed of Trump’s speech.

CNN synced witness footage and the official video feed of Trump’s rally to give a minute-by-minute account of the attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In one video, Trump is speaking about President Joe Biden’s job performance, and then a person in the footage says, “look, they’re all pointing.”

One minute and 57 seconds later, gunfire is heard.