The Western District of Pennsylvania has empaneled a grand jury to investigate the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13 in Butler, PA. A letter obtained by Human Events from America First Legal reveals that a records request for information on would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was denied because those records are "within the scope of a grand jury subpoena."
The letter, from the Community College of Allegheny County in response to attorney Wally Zimolong, denies the request for records on Crooks pertaining to his student files, records, documents, communication, disciplinary records, or other data containing his name.
"Please be advised that your request is denied on the basis that it requests records that relate to an ongoing criminal investigation, which are exempt from disclosure," the letter reads.
"Specifically," the letter continues, "the records that you have requested are within the scope of a grand jury subpoena issued to CCAC by the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and which the U.S. Attorney's Office has confirmed relate to an ongoing criminal investigation."
The purpose of a federal grand jury is consider criminal charges against a target or range of targets. This is the first indication that a grand jury has been empaneled in the district to investigate the attempted assassination.
The attempt was made at a Trump rally by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, local to the area. He was positioned on a rooftop with a clear sight of the stage and fired off several rounds, killing retired firefighter Corey Comperatore, and injuring two other men, as well as the former president.
Local officers and Secret Service personnel responded to the rooftop, and Crooks was first shot by local law enforcement before being killed by Secret Service agents. Secret Service agents also rushed Trump off the stage and to protection, but not before he could rise, raise his fist, and tell the crowd "Fight! Fight! Fight!"
It is not clear as yet who is being investigated by the grand jury. However, the Crooks family has retained lawyers and several Secret Service agents from the Pittsburgh field office, which covers Butler, were placed on leave.
Information on the investigation into Crooks has been something of a slow leak. His internet search history was revealed, along with the fact that he purchased the gun he used in the mass shooting from his father. Among his searches was the name Ethan Crumbley, the Michigan teen who shot up his school. Crumbley's parents were convicted in association with their son's crimes.
The Crooks family has shied away from speaking with press and it was reported by The Daily Mail that Crooks' father, Matthew Crooks, has hired "a team of powerhouse attorneys" from the Pittsburgh firm Quinn Logue amid the increasing FBI investigation into the incident in which he lost his son, a family lost their father, and America almost lost their leading presidential candidate.
A family member spoke to The Daily Mail on condition of anonymity, saying that "The FBI still very much has questions about how much they knew and how he slipped through the net." Florida Congressman Mike Waltz indicated that he did not believe that Crooks acted alone.
"You can't tell us his motive, but you could tell us he operated alone?" Waltz asked. "You can't get into these encrypted overseas accounts, but you can tell us he acted alone?"
Secret Service agents from the USSS Pittsburgh Field Office were placed on leave after the assassination attempt, which was seen as a security failure. The head of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned following the failure and she was replaced by Acting USSS Director Ronald Rowe. He spoke to Congress, saying "I went to the roof of the AGR building where the assailant fired shots and laid in a prone position to evaluate his line of sight. What I saw made me ashamed. As a career law enforcement officer, and a 25-year veteran with the Secret Service, I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured."
RTK Response - Zimolong by The Post Millennial on Scribd
