A SWAT counter-sniper at the western Pennsylvania rally where a man attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump found it “odd” that the FBI cleaned the roof from which the shooter launched the attack so that evidence could have been lost, and also found it “odd” that the body of the would-be assassin was cremated before the coroner could examine it.
At a panel hosted by the Heritage Foundation, Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) asked Washington Regional SWAT counter-sniper Ben Shaffer, “’Do you find it odd that literally only days after the attempted assassination on President Donald J Trump, while the roof was too sloped to place individuals for counter-sniper operations, that it wasn’t too sloped of a roof for the FBI to go ahead and tamper, in my opinion, with evidence by washing the roof off that may have had significant evidence on it?” The Daily Mail reported.
“Yes, I do,” Shaffer replied.
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“Do you also find it odd… that the body of Matthew Crooks had not only been released and cremated, but the coroner who’s responsible for releasing the body had no knowledge of it?” Mills pressed.
“Yes, absolutely,” Shaffer answered.
The FBI issued a statement in which it said, “Any suggestion the FBI is interfering with congressional efforts to look into the attempted assassination which took place in Butler, Pennsylvania, is inaccurate and unfounded. The FBI has been working closely with our law enforcement partners to conduct a thorough investigation into the shooting, and we have followed normal procedures in the handling of the crime scene and evidence.”
“The FBI continues its painstaking work on the investigation to develop as complete a picture as possible of what led to the shooting, and we remain committed to maximum transparency as we continue to share information with Congress, which includes participating in open hearings and conducting multiple direct briefings and publish information for the public regarding the ongoing investigation,” the agency continued. “The crime scene was released to the property owners in phases as we completed our work at the AGR building, its surroundings, and at the Butler Farm Show grounds. Nothing was rushed and everything was documented as part of the investigation,” the statement added. “The FBI arranged for the cleaning of the location where the perpetrator died, which is in keeping with normal procedures. The shooter’s body was released to his family after coordination with the coroner’s office and our state and local law enforcement partners. This is also in keeping with normal procedures.”
In mid-August, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), who serves on the House task force investigating the July 13 assassination attempt, issued a report in which he stated:
The FBI released the crime scene after just 3 days, much to everyone’s surprise. I interviewed several First Responders who expressed everything from surprise to dismay to suspicion regarding the fact that the FBI released the crime scene so early after J13. It should be noted that the FBI was fully aware of the fact that Congress would be investigating J13. The FBI does not exist in a vacuum. They had to know that releasing the J13 crime scene would injure the immediate observations of any following investigation. The FBI cleaned up biological evidence from the crime scene, which is unheard of. Cops don’t do that, ever.
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He continued:
My effort to examine Crooks’ body on Monday, August 5, caused quite a stir and revealed a disturbing fact… the FBI released the body for cremation 10 days after J13. On J23, Crooks was gone. Nobody knew this until Monday, August 5, including the County Coroner, law enforcement, Sheriff, etc. Yes, Butler County Coroner technically had legal authority over the body, but I spoke with the Coroner, and he would have never released Crooks’ body to the family for cremation or burial without specific permission from the FBI.
The coroner’s report and autopsy report are both “late.” As of Monday, August 5, they were a week late. The problem with me not being able to examine the actual body is that I won’t know 100% if the coroner’s report and the autopsy report are accurate. We will actually never know. Yes, we’ll get the reports and pictures, etc, but I will not ever be able to say with certainty that those reports and pictures are accurate according to my own examination of the body. Again, similar to releasing the crime scene and scrubbing crime scene biological evidence… this action by the FBI can only be described by any reasonable man as an obstruction to any following investigative effort.
Please note, Mr. Chairman, that on J23, the day that Crooks was cremated, both the Homeland Security Committee and the Oversight Committee had begun House Committee jurisdictional investigation into J13, and Speaker Johnson had already stated that he was forming an Official Congressional investigative body. Why, then, by what measure, would the FBI release his body to the family for cremation? This pattern of investigative scorched earth by the FBI is quite troubling.
