New details have trickled out: Thomas Matthew Crooks visited the rally location twice, his cell phone had images of both Trump and President Joe Biden, and his search history included dates of the DNC as well as future Trump events, three US officials told CNN.
The Secret Service is facing mounting criticism over its handling of security at the rally. Last night, a group of GOP senators chased US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle across the floor of the Republican National Convention, shouting that she has refused to answer questions regarding the attack. Cheatle met with Trump on Tuesday in Milwaukee, a source says.
Our live coverage of the investigation into the Trump assassination attempt has ended for the day.
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Secret Service calls attacks on female agents "baseless" and "disgusting"
From CNN's Hadas Gold
The US Secret Service is pushing back against criticism from right-wing media personalities and lawmakers blaming female agents for security failures during the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
In the wake of the Saturday shooting, some in the right-wing media sphere focused their attention on the female agents on stage with Trump, claiming they couldn’t properly protect someone bigger and taller than themselves, or that they didn’t act in a professional manner.
Law enforcement professionals, including a former Secret Service deputy director, have strenuously pushed back on the narrative.
The agency blasted misogynist claims that the female agents were incapable of protecting Trump, in a statement released on Thursday to CNN.
Figures on the right, including some members of Congress, have also baselessly claimed that Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was only appointed to the role because of diversity initiatives. She is the second female Secret Service director in the agency’s history.
“We stand united against any attempt to discredit our personnel and their invaluable contributions to our mission and are appalled by the disparaging and disgusting comments against any of our personnel,” Guglielmi said.
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Top Trump campaign adviser says head of Secret Service should resign
From CNN's Kate Sullivan
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle speaks during a Republican National Convention security press conference on June 6 in Milwaukee.
Morry Gash/AP/File
Top Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita said on Thursday that Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle should resign.
“Clearly, the director has no intention of saying sh*t to anybody” because she hurried away from a group of GOP senators at the Republican National Convention, LaCivita said Thursday during a Politico interview in the CNN-Politico Grill at the RNC in Milwaukee.
The senators chased down Cheatle through the convention venue on Wednesday night as they shouted that she had refused to answer questions regarding the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
The day prior, Trump received a private, in-person briefing with Cheatle in Milwaukee regarding the failed assassination attempt at his Butler, Pennsylvania, rally, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN.
Cheatle told CNN in an interview Tuesday evening that the US Secret Service was “solely responsible” for the implementation and execution of security at the site of Saturday’s rally.
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GOP senator says Secret Service director didn't explain why agency allowed Trump to take the stage at rally
Cramer told CNN’s Manu Raju that the lawmakers followed Cheatle because she refused to answer their questions about why Trump was allowed to go on stage at the event on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Several Senate Republicans have publicly criticized a briefing they received from Cheatle and FBI officials, saying it was “uninformative.”
Several Senate Republicans have publicly criticized a briefing they received from Cheatle and FBI officials, saying it was “uninformative.”
“There was a little built-up frustration going into that moment, because they she didn’t want to talk to us on the phone either when they did a quick briefing, where they told us very little that was new. And then, again, avoided that very same question that several of us tried to ask,” Cramer said.
White House still monitoring threat posed by Iran to Trump, official says
From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg
The White House says it is continuing to monitor the threat posed by Iran to former President Donald Trump and members of his administration in the wake of last weekend’s assassination attempt.
CNN reported exclusively earlier this week that US authorities obtained intelligence from a human source in recent weeks on a plot by Iran to try to assassinate Trump, a development that led to the Secret Service increasing security around the former president.
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.
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Trump met with Secret Service head on Tuesday in Milwaukee about shooting, source says
From CNN's Alayna Treene
Former President Donald Trump is seen at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Rebecca Wright/CNN
Former President Donald Trump received a private, in-person briefing with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Tuesday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, regarding the failed assassination attempt, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN.
Members of Trump’s campaign have also been given “bits and pieces” of information throughout the week by various members of the Secret Service, the source said.
Trump campaign officials anticipate the investigation into the security failures of last Saturday will reach a new phase beginning next week.
CNN has reached out to the Secret Service for comment.
CNN’s Whitney Wild contributed reporting to this post.
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Investigators now believe account on gaming site in would-be assassin’s name is fake
Earlier Thursday, CNN, citing a source familiar with the matter, reported that Thomas Matthews Crooks posted, “July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds.” The source did not elaborate on timing or whether there were other posts.
The FBI told senators on Wednesday that they believed the account did indeed belong to Crooks, the source familiar with the briefing said. But now the bureau has revised that assessment, the US official said.
Officials continue to urge caution that the investigation is still in its early stages and has yet to turn up any potential motive.
This story has been updated with additional developments and details.
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Meanwhile at the RNC, Trump is poised to accept GOP nomination for president tonight
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
Donald Trump is seen at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Former President Donald Trump will address the Republican National Convention tonight, in his first remarks since Saturday’s assassination attempt, when he formally accepts the GOP nomination for president.
The final night of the RNC boasts a busy lineup. Here’s what to expect:
Trump’s speech: The highlight of the final night of the RNC will be Trump’s speech. “Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now,” Trump told the Washington Examiner about it following the assassination attempt. “This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together. The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago,” he said.
High-profile Republican remarks: In addition to Trump, there are a number of other notable speakers, including Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White, Tucker Carlson, Hulk Hogan, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Eric Trump.
A performance from Kid Rock: The musician and Trump ally is expected to perform tonight before Trump takes the stage, a source familiar with the schedule tells CNN.
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What we know about the assassination attempt on Trump 5 days after the shooting
From CNN staff
Police are seen outside of the home of Matthew Crooks in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday.
Kyle Mazza/Anadolu/Getty Images
It has been five days since a 20-year-old man attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Investigators are still trying to uncover a motive behind the rally shooting, which left Trump and two other people injured and one person dead.
Meanwhile, the Secret Service is under intense scrutiny as the gunman was able to scale a rooftop and gain access to a clear sightline to Trump during the rally. A group of GOP senators chased US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle across the floor of the Republican National Convention Wednesday night, shouting that she has refused to answer questions regarding the attempted assassination.
Here’s more on what we know about the shooting now:
About the gunman: Thomas Matthew Crooks lived in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, about 35 miles south of the Trump rally. The gun Crooks used in the shooting was an AR-style weapon, according to the FBI. Pictures of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on the would-be assassin’s phone, according to three US officials.The search history of Crooks’ devices included the date of the Democratic National Convention and Trump events, the sources said. The officials said that investigators aren’t sure what significance the searches hold.
Gaming account fake: Investigators now believe that the Steam account in the name of the man who shot at Trump over the weekend is fake, a US official briefed on the matter told CNN. The FBI told senators on Wednesday that they believed the account did indeed belong to Crooks, a source familiar with the briefing said. But now the bureau has revised that assessment, the US official said.
The latest on the investigation: The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has opened a probe into the Secret Service’s decision-making. The House will establish a “task force,” Speaker Mike Johnson said. In her first public statement since the assassination attempt Secret Service director said on Monday that the agency will “participate fully” in an independent review ordered by President Joe Biden and also said the agency will work with Congress on “any oversight action.”
This post has been updated with additional developments and details.
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Donald Trump, Jr. remembers man killed during attempted assassination
From CNN's Jack Forrest
Donald Trump Jr speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Will Lanzoni/CNN
Donald Trump, Jr. used the start of his speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night to remember the life of the man who died during the assassination attempt on the former president.
“We came millimeters away from one of our darkest moments in American history,” Donald Trump’s son said, referring to the shooting.
He also cast a split screen to his father raising his fist and chanting “fight, fight, fight,” after the assassination attempt:
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Secret Service director subpoenaed to appear before House Oversight Committee
From CNN's Annie Grayer
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer yesterday subpoenaed Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear at the committee’s hearing on July 22 on the failed assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump.
Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said in the subpoena letter that the Secret Service had initially committed Cheatle would attend, but Department of Homeland Security officials “appear to have intervened and your attendance is now in question.”
Photos of politicians, including Biden and Trump, found on shooter's phone, officials say
From CNN's Evan Perez and John Miller
Authorities discovered pictures of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on the would-be assassin’s phone, according to three US officials.
The search history of Thomas Matthew Crooks’ devices included the date of the Democratic National Convention and Trump events, the sources said.
The officials said that investigators aren’t sure what significance the searches hold.
In addition to the photos of Trump and Biden, law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation told CNN the shooter’s phone also contained pictures of congressional leaders, such as the Democrats’ House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.
There were also pictures of others across the political spectrum including Rudy Giuliani, who is under indictment in Georgia, and Fani Willis, the district attorney who was prosecuting him.
Almost all of the pictures appeared to have been downloaded from the Internet and were not accompanied by any threatening language or messages regarding those in the pictures.
Sources briefed on the investigation tell CNN the phone also showed searches dating back to spring, looking for the dates and locations of Donald Trump rallies and for information on the two conventions.
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Senators confront Secret Service director on Republican convention floor
From CNN's Alayna Treene
A group of GOP senators chased US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle across the floor of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night, shouting that she has refused to answer questions regarding the attack on former President Donald Trump.
“It’s stonewalling!” said Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 3 Senate Republican.
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General announced earlier Wednesday that it was investigating the circumstances surrounding Saturday’s attempted assassination, and congressional Republicans have also vowed to launch their own investigation.
Cheatle told CNN in an interview Tuesday that the US Secret Service was “solely responsible” for the implementation and execution of security at the site of Saturday’s rally.
CNN’s Whitney Wild and Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.
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House Republican joins calls for Secret Service director to resign
From CNN's Liz Brown-Kaiser
South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace joined calls for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign from her post amid questions about security failures that led to Saturday’s assassination attempt against Donald Trump.
“Absolutely,” she told Kasie Hunt on “CNN This Morning.”
Mace – a member of the House Oversight Committee – said Cheatle “should resign” and argued that the issues at the Secret Service should be a “nonpartisan thing” that lawmakers get to the bottom of, particularly at the committee’s hearing on Monday.
Mace noted that she expects questions related to the Secret Service’s “hiring practices,” for example, as some lawmakers on the right have questioned whether DEI initiatives have impacted the agency’s operations negatively.
Asked about Trump’s convention speech tonight, Mace said that her party’s nominee “literally took a bullet for our country on Saturday” and that that “changes a man.”
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19 lost minutes: Law enforcement failed to keep sight of Trump shooter
From CNN staff
Thomas Matthew Crooks visited the Donald Trump rally location twice, his cell phone contained images of both Trump and President Joe Biden, and the would-be assassin’s search history included dates of the Democratic National Convention as well as future Trump events, three US officials told CNN.
The new details revealed more about what Crooks was doing in the days and hours leading up to his attempt to assassinate the former president. But investigators combing through Crooks’ physical and digital trail still lack the key detail that would explain why the 20-year-old climbed the roof in Butler, Pennsylvania, with an AR-style weapon: a motive.
A source told CNN that about 19 minutes before the shooting occurred, law enforcement was trying to locate the shooter, but they could not find him until he was on the roof.
Police responded to a call of a “suspicious male” around the same time that Trump arrived for his Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, according to Butler Township Manager Tom Knights.
Knights said Wednesday that the report placed him near the AGR building, where Trump’s would-be assassin ultimately launched his attack.
Knights said an officer tried to access the roof with the help of a colleague who tried to hoist him up. The officer scaling the side of the building saw someone on the roof who pointed a rifle at him, Knights said.
Butler Township Police “immediately” communicated the shooter’s location but, “Moments later, the individual commenced firing,” according to the statement.
From the roof of the building, which was roughly 150 yards north of the rally stage, Crooks fired several shots at Trump, grazing him in the ear and hitting several rally attendees, including one who was killed.
Video appears to show would-be Trump assassin at rally before shooting
Video from local news station WTAE appears to show the attempted assassin of Former President Donald Trump at the rally in Pennsylvania an hour before shots rang out.
