As Senate dives into Trump attack, anger simmers over slow response to shooter and FBI testimony

As the Senate holds its first hearing into Donald Trump's shooting, some lawmakers are simmering over both the FBI director’s suggestion the former president may not have been wounded by a bullet and the Secret Service's failure to get him off stage despite nearly 100 minutes of red flags about the would-be assassin.

Last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray’s testimony to the House Judiciary Committee raised confusion around whether or not the bureau believed Trump was struck by a bullet. Wray told the committee that “with respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that … hit his ear.”

That statement drew a rebuke from Trump himself, and eventually the FBI clarified the former president had indeed been wounded by a bullet.

The reversal did little, however, to assuage critics, including one of the senators participating in Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate and Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr.

“We expected the Mainstream Media and the Far Left to try to rewrite history of what happened on July 13, but the American people got to see how far the rot within the Biden-Harris administration goes when the FBI Director lied under oath trying to downplay whether a bullet actually struck Donald Trump,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Just the News in a statement.

“The fact that our own FBI director doesn’t know what a bullet is- or refuses to tell the truth under oath- further highlights why we need to clean house at these politically charged agencies," he added.

The FBI did not respond to a request for comment from Just the News.

Another senator on the committee, Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, also raised dramatic questions about why Trump wasn't taken off stage early, producing an extensive timeline showing authorities knew about concerns about the would-be assassin Thomas Crook for nearly 100 minutes before bullets were fired.

Nearly an hour and a half before Trump took the stage, texts show that local law enforcement noticed Crooks “snuck in” and “parked by our cars.” This identification came more than a hour before a local officer photographed Crooks and sent the pictures in a group message with other officers on the sniper teams. The other snipers recommended that the officer notify the Secret Service about the suspicious individual.

Despite these early warnings, Trump still took the stage and began speaking when Crooks fired on him and the crowd, narrowly missing the former president and killing one rally attendee, Grassley said. The senator said he released the information to counter a lack of transparency from the Secret Service

"The overwhelming response Ive heard since launching my investigation of Trump rally security failures is 'THANK U' 4being transparent," Grassley wrote on the X social media platform. "I've released ALL the records+footage Iv'e received so far. Fed govt needs 2 catch up. The American ppl deserve HONESTY & openness from their govt."

Grassley's timeline on the day of the shooting included:

• 9:00 a.m.: Butler County Emergency Services United hosted a briefing for local law enforcement ahead of the Trump event. The Secret Service was absent from the briefing.
• 1:03 p.m.: Beaver, Butler and Washington County snipers connected via group chat. You can read their texts here.
• 4:26 p.m.: A Beaver County sniper finished his shift and departs the AGR building. While exiting, he spots Crooks at a picnic table outside and alerts the remaining Beaver and Butler snipers in the AGR building to Crooks’ presence.
• 5:38 p.m.: A Beaver County sniper sends photos of Crooks to the Beaver, Butler and Washington snipers group chat. The Beaver sniper notes Crooks was using “a range finder looking towards the stage” and recommends that they notify Secret Service snipers to “look out."
• 5:45 p.m.: A Beaver County sniper sends photos of Crooks to the Beaver County ESU group chat. Beaver law enforcement recommends they alert “command." You can read those texts here.