Aiming to put an end to doubt, FBI officials sat for an interview about the investigation of the president’s would-be Butler rally assassin, which included answers on whether he acted alone.
Thanks in part to the behavior of the previous administration, American confidence in public institutions has fallen off a cliff, leaving many in doubt even where official reports are concerned. Seeking to claw back some trust while resolving questions about President Donald Trump’s would-be assassin, Thomas Crooks, FBI Director Kash Patel was featured in an interview where it was asserted that the shooter had acted alone.
Taking to X after the sit-down with Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman, that had included FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and an unnamed senior official, Patel posted, “Dan and I sat down with [Singman] to walk through every aspect of the Butler investigation. We fully briefed [Trump] on the entire case, and he was satisfied with the work and the results. These are the details the prior administration never released — and in some cases never even pursued. This [FBI] has redoubled its efforts to provide the American people with full, factual transparency about this tragic attack.”
Dan and I sat down with @BrookeSingman to walk through every aspect of the Butler investigation.
We fully briefed @POTUS on the entire case, and he was satisfied with the work and the results.
These are the details the prior administration never released — and in some cases… pic.twitter.com/OPufh41FUu
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) November 21, 2025
“Dan and I have been on this since we got here eight months ago,” said the director. “We not only had to maintain the chain of command to President Trump, but we had to remind the world that President Trump was the victim — one of the four victims — on that day.”
“There are victims’ rights rules that apply to him, and they don’t get erased because he is the president,” he reminded, while Bongino had assured, “We have reviewed this case over and over — looked into every nugget. We have spoken to the families, the president — there is no cover-up here. There is no motive for it, there is no reason for it.”
Included in the details provided to Singman, a week after Patel had responded to a report from Tucker Carlson about Crooks’ online activity, the anonymous official had reaffirmed details that led to the conclusion the would-be assassin operated alone when he managed to operate a drone over the protected rally location, take up a position on a roof with a line of sight on the president, and open fire at the event after leaving an undetonated explosive device in his vehicle.
“There were no phantom rounds. Every single round was accounted for,” he detailed and indicated the shooter fired eight rounds and left 22 unfired in the rifle.
“We’re not saying Crooks didn’t deal with anyone ever — we are just saying that the people he dealt with had no role in inspiring, motivating or directing this attack,” expressed Bongino.
As to the extent of the investigation that remained “pending, inactive,” the official had said, “If we get a credible lead, we’ll continue to investigate. The director has been very clear about leaving no stone left unturned, and that is what we are committed to.”
“Four hundred and eighty-five FBI employees have been involved in some way, shape or form in this investigation,” he went on, presenting figures Patel had previously shared. “The FBI around the world has conducted more than 1,000 interviews connected to this case. We’ve reviewed 2,000 tips that were submitted. We’ve served and executed more than 10 search warrants and 100 subpoenas. In that, we specifically analyzed 13 electronic devices that were associated with Crooks and his family members from his home in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.”
It was also explained that the FBI examined “35 accounts linked to Crooks, including social media, bank and other online accounts.”
“The FBI has been able to access all of the accounts. There has been reporting to inappropriately and incorrectly state that there was encryption that the FBI was not able to get into — that is not true,” stated the official. “We have been able to get into every single account.”
“We can say with confidence that there is no communication, there are no emails that Crooks had that we have not been able to access,” he said. “There is no information, no evidence anywhere in this investigation, that shows there was any foreign individual or foreign government or foreign organization tied to Thomas Crooks.”
Questions about Crooks’ online presence were attributed to poor messaging by “prior leadership,” said Bongino, who also asserted that there was no manifesto.
The officials also addressed recent reporting about the would-be assassin’s alleged interest in deviant content like “furries.” Patel said Crooks’ activity on a website that hosted such content was related to his “interest” in “images related to women who work out.”
Newly released info on would-be Trump assassin Crooks shows deviant behavior, furry links and other strange patterns https://t.co/bgJ0JaYfIC via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) November 18, 2025
Patel also said that there had been no lead prior to the assassination attempt, which resulted in the death of firefighter Corey Comperatore, that would have prompted an investigation and preemptive action to thwart the attack.
“People are asking why we didn’t act on his posts on certain sites. No one in law enforcement knew who he was,” expressed the director. “No one referred him to law enforcement, and we do not monitor every single American’s use of YouTube and Google and Twitter and Facebook.”
Where evidence was concerned, Bongino had stated, “The FBI did not make the decision to cremate the body,” as it was explained it was the family’s decision after an autopsy had been conducted and evidence collected. Similarly, proper procedure was said to have been taken at the site where the blood had been washed away from the roof where Crooks was neutralized after evidence was collected.
Patel struck down claims from lawmakers that there was “some trove of documents that we haven’t sent over there,” and Bongino sympathized with those “pissed off” and left in disbelief that Crooks acted alone, contending “There is no reason I would tell you otherwise” about the FBI’s findings.
Likewise, the director had argued, “As to why people keep coming back to this on social media, the reality is, many people make a lot of money on social media pushing conspiracy theories for clicks. That is a fact.”
Meanwhile, Trump had told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on Friday about his “confidence in Kash, a lot of confidence, and the DOJ, and they are giving me reports, and their reports are seeming to balance out, so I have confidence in these people,” as opposed to Patel’s predecessor, former FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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