An FBI forensic analysis of Thomas Matthew Crooks’ phone and electronic devices revealed the would-be assassin had researched former President Trump, President Biden and the Democratic National Convention, set to be held next month in Chicago, NBC News confirmed.
Crooks had also apparently scoped out the site of Trump’s political rally days of ahead of the assassination attempt against Trump.
The gunman was killed by a Secret Service counter sniper team, but the apparent security failure has led to increased calls from Congress for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to step down.
In an interview with NBC Chicago News Thursday in Milwaukee, Republican Congressman Darin LaHood of Illinois said: “It is unacceptable to have this person in charge of this agency.”
LaHood was among several lawmakers who have been briefed by Secret Service and the FBI about the assassination attempt of former President Trump.
He declined to discuss specifics but said:
“It’s a classified hearing so I can’t tell you much but what we learned is – it’s completely unacceptable what the Secret Service has given to Congress thus far. What happened on Saturday should’ve never happened. It was an embarrassment. So we want to get to the facts and evidence that occurred.”
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LaHood said lawmakers heard directly from the Secret Service director, which he characterized this way:
“It seemed to me to be cover your butt - that’s what we heard from the Secret Service director. That’s not what she should be giving to members that Congress that want answers on this,” he said.
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While House lawmakers are looking to form a task force, Senator John Coryn of Texas posted to X – formerly known as Twitter - calling on Illinois Senator Dick Durbin to hold a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In an e-mail sent to NBC 5 Investigates, a spokesperson for the committee wrote “Sen. Durbin has requested a closed-door briefing with USSS, DHS and the FBI for all Senate Judiciary Committee members next week…” adding that they are still considering a hearing.
The full statement was as follows:
“On Monday morning, Sen. Durbin was briefed on the investigation by FBI Deputy Director Abbate. Sen. Durbin has requested a closed-door, in-person briefing with USSS, DHS, and FBI for all Senate Judiciary Committee members for next week when the Senate is back in session."
Over the weekend, Sen. Durbin’s staff initiated discussions with Ranking Member Graham’s staff about the briefing and other possible next steps, including a hearing. Those discussions will continue as Sen. Durbin is hopeful that the Committee can move forward on a bipartisan basis at this critical moment in our nation’s history.”
In a separate statement, a Secret Service spokesperson said that: “Continuity of operations is paramount during a critical incident and U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has no intentions to step down. She deeply respects members of Congress and is fiercely committed to transparency in leading the Secret Service through the internal investigation and strengthening the agency through lessons learned in these important internal and external reviews.”
In light of this news, we reached out to few members of the Illinois Congressional delegation from Chicago – including those whose districts include DNC events.
One Congressman was unavailable for comment and NBC Chicago has yet to hear back from the other.
