Flawed Report Ignores Key Facts, Leaving America Vulnerable to Future Assassination Attempts

December 16, 2024

The Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump Final Report. Sounds impressive. A Task Force. Like Storming a beachhead or cracking down on organized crime. Unfortunately, in the case of this Congressional committee, the American People did not get its money’s worth. In fact, after months of “investigating” the result of those efforts consists of what the People already knew…the Secret Service did an extremely lousy job of protecting the then former President.

Do the People know why the alleged shooter attacked the then former President? No. Do the People know what physical evidence was collected to determine who was the alleged shooter? You know like DNA, fingerprints, photographs? Nope. Did the Congressional Task Force interview the parents of the alleged shooter to determine what the family may have known about the shooting event, or did it bother to have a conversation with the alleged shooter’s employer? You know an employer who had a recent photo of the alleged shooter and not some insulting High School photo. No. Neither of those interviews happened.

But the Task Force did provide the American People one hell of a photo op when its members took a day trip to Butler Pennsylvania to get a firsthand look at the rally venue and stand on the roof of the AGR building. How impressive. But was it worth the expense when the Task Force only came away with the Secret Service didn’t do its job?

AbleChild has been following the investigations associated with the attempted assassination in Butler, PA, and held some hope that that Task Force might provide some much-needed answers. Unfortunately, the Task Force Final Report leaves much to be desired so AbleChild must continue to ask the obvious questions.

For example, on Page 24 of the Final Report it is acknowledged that “at approximately 1:30p.m. Crooks’ father gave him the rifle that would later be used in the assassination attempt. The firearm was legally transferred to Crooks by his father the year prior. Crooks told his father that he was going to the local gun range…” It seems obvious to ask if the father legally transferred the weapon to his son the prior year, why would the father have to give him the weapon?  Seriously, why would the son have to ask for the gun if he owned it for a year and, according to Senator Grassley’s report, the alleged shooter used it all the time at the local gun range?

But it gets weirder, on Page 16 it is explained that “at 10:56p.m. Crooks’ father placed a 911 call regarding his son, stating that he had left earlier that afternoon with his rifle…and uncharacteristically had not returned home. The 911 dispatcher escalated this information, which was then relayed to the AFT.”

According to several news accounts, including Fox, BBC, CNN and CBS, the alleged shooter’s father made a call to law enforcement about his son being missing with a weapon. What’s really bizarre is that all news accounts report that the call was made prior to the shooting incident. Then the Task Force explains that “Crooks’ father exited the residence, stepped onto the front porch, and asked something to the effect of “Is it true? CNN called me and told me that (redacted) shot Trump.”  What? This is just stupid. Now the Task Force is asking the American People to believe the father waited until 10:56 p.m. to call 911 about his missing son and gun and only after CNN called Dad to advise that his son tried to kill the former President? C’mon. That is just unbelievable.

Clearly these Members of the Task Force are not investigators, or they surely would have asked to see the father’s cell phone records to establish a factual time that the 911 call was made. More importantly, maybe the Task Force could have asked the father if he phoned his son at any time during the day about his whereabouts. Maybe the son and father had a conversation that day. We won’t know unless some smart person asks for the phone records of Dad and the alleged shooter.

Moving along to the autopsy one cannot help but wonder why the Task Force did not release the autopsy to the public. The public is waiting with bated breath to find out how the alleged shooter was identified. But, yeah, no, the Task Force did not provide that data. So, was it fingerprints, DNA, photographs? What’s the big secret? Just let the public see the autopsy so it can put that question to bed. And the Task Force does not provide any data that show fingerprint or DNA results for the alleged weapon used in the shooting. Why?

It also is disingenuous how the Task Force explained the removal of the alleged shooter’s body from the roof of the AGR building. “The coroner subsequently removed Crooks’ body from the scene during the early hours of July 14.” Truth be told, the body of the alleged shooter lay on the AGR building roof all night until 6:30 a.m. the following morning, leaving most to wonder why the Butler County Coroner was turned away at midnight when he first went to the crime scene as was reported by the Butler Eagle Newspaper. The Task Force didn’t bother to ask those questions.

And the autopsy explains that the toxicology findings “show negative results for alcohol and drugs of abuse, including controlled substances.” Yes. Tests were done of “controlled substances,” but how about a host of psychotropic drugs? Nope. The autopsy explains that “Crooks’ father denies that Crooks ever used illegal drugs and said Crooks was not known to be prescribed to any medication.” This is the same father who also did not know his son was building bombs in the basement.

It also is the same father and mother who allegedly are mental health experts and had no problem handing over a high-power rifle to a child who clearly was having some mental health issues. Why didn’t the Task Force subpoena the parents to get some much-needed answers? Why does it seem that these parents are being protected? Why does the public know more about the alleged CEO shooter, Luigi Mangione, than alleged shooter Crooks and his parents? Not acceptable.

At the very least the Task Force owed to the American People proof, physical evidence, that Crooks was the shooter. And, to suggest that this report is a comprehensive review of what occurred at Butler Pennsylvania on July 13^th is insulting. Let’s be honest, the American people already knew that the Secret Service was incompetent by virtue of the former President being shot, one dead and two others seriously wounded. Beyond that, this Final Report by the Congressional Task Force is useless and appropriating more money to the Secret Service won’t get the answers the public needs about what occurred at Butler.

Be the Voice for the Voiceless

Every dollar you give is a powerful statement, a resounding declaration that the struggles of these families will no longer be ignored. Your generosity today will echo through generations, ensuring that the rights and well-being of children are fiercely guarded. Don’t let another family navigate this journey alone. Donate now and join us in creating a world where every child’s mind is nurtured, respected, and given the opportunity to thrive.  As a 501(c)3 organization, your donation to AbleChild is not only an investment in the well-being of vulnerable children but also a tax-deductible contribution to a cause that transcends individual lives.