White House Questions FBI: Report Uncovers Years of Violent Rhetoric Missed in Trump Assassination Probe

The White House is openly demanding answers from the FBI following a stunning investigative report that revealed the would-be assassin of President Trump, Thomas Crooks, had a massive, violent, and erratic online history that federal authorities failed to disclose or fully investigate.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the New York Post that the American public is justified in seeking an explanation for what motivated Crooks to open fire at a campaign rally in July 2024, and why federal investigators seemingly missed glaring red flags ahead of the attack.

“Those questions are definitely deserving of answers,” Leavitt said. “It’s a good question, and it’s one I’d like to see the answer to, and I think all Americans would.”

The Contradictory Digital Footprint

For over a year, the FBI maintained a narrative that the 20-year-old Crooks was largely an "online ghost" with no significant digital footprint to illuminate his motives. Former FBI Director Christopher Wray even testified to Congress that Crooks was never on the bureau's radar and that no ideological trail was uncovered.

However, the Post's investigation completely overturns that claim. Using basic internet-scraping tools and Crooks' own phone number, reporters uncovered years of inflammatory posts dating back to when he was 15, spanning 17 separate accounts across platforms like YouTube, Discord, and DeviantArt.

Among the most disturbing was an August 2020 post where Crooks openly encouraged political violence: "The only way to fight the gov is with terrorism style attacks… track down any important people/politicians/military leaders etc and try to assassinate them."

Four years later, Crooks acted on this rhetoric, opening fire from a rooftop in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing firefighter Corey Comperatore and critically wounding two Trump supporters before being neutralized by Secret Service counter-snipers.

Shifting Ideology and Alarming Omissions

The report also detailed Crooks’ drastic ideological shifts, including posts in 2019 where he expressed staunch support for Trump, writing, "I hope a quick painful death to all the deplorable immigrants and anti-Trump congresswoman," and later, "MURDER THE DEMOCRATS." By 2020, his focus had reversed, turning his rage toward Trump.

The FBI never mentioned the 2020 assassination threat, the dozens of other similar posts, his use of they/them pronouns, or his violent artwork in any official briefings or testimony. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) stated that he was previously "stonewalled" when attempting to obtain the FBI's full file on Crooks, and even the subpoenaed material lacked many of the now-uncovered online posts.

Leavitt indicated that the President himself remains unsatisfied with the official explanation, having inquired with the Secret Service and FBI for an updated briefing since the shooting.

“The American people deserve answers about what really drove Thomas Crooks to pull that trigger,” Leavitt stressed. The public White House critique suggests that the administration believes fundamental questions about the investigation remain unresolved, particularly why blatant threats of political violence were not flagged. The FBI declined to comment on the new findings.