In a private meeting last week, the FBI shared a detailed picture of the 20-year-old who shot former President Donald Trump, despite the slow trickle of information on Thomas Matthew Crooks from law enforcement to the public.
Per ABC News, in a more than 90-minute conversation, federal investigators described Crooks’ behavior pattern, educational record, and other details that hadn’t yet been revealed.
A motive for Crooks, a Pennsylvania resident who community members described as conservative, has not yet been identified, which the FBI also reportedly told Trump.
The meeting was initially scheduled as a “standard victim interview,” but crossed the threshold into a de-facto briefing on still-protected investigation details, with sources telling ABC News that Trump was allowed to ask Pittsburgh field office agents more questions than they had for him.
Trump reportedly also asked whether Crooks and the attack were connected to any foreign government, two weeks after he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of being involved in an assassination attempt.
The FBI, who told Trump that they’d gained access to three foreign email accounts that Crooks used to purchase weapons and ammunition, said there was no indication of foreign ties.
Trump, who regained classified intelligence briefings as a presidential candidate despite a history of improperly handling sensitive national security information, also reportedly pressed the FBI on false reports that Crooks had been spotted long before he shot at Trump.
