Fox News: Bret Baier Tears Into Kash Patel Over Trump Assassination Attempt Details
What To Know
- Fox News anchor Bret Baier questioned FBI Director Kash Patel about the lack of detailed public information regarding Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who attempted to assassinate President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024.
- Patel defended the FBI’s handling of the case, stating that all legally permissible information has been released while protecting ongoing investigations.
- Despite these assurances, Baier expressed frustration that the public still lacks a comprehensive understanding of Crooks’ motives and actions, pressing for more transparency from the FBI.
Fox News anchor Bret Baier pressed FBI Director Kash Patel over the lack of information regarding Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old man who attempted to assassinate President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024.
On Tuesday’s (February 3) episode of Special Report, Patel joined Baier to discuss various ongoing FBI investigations. Baier specifically wanted to know more about the Trump assassination attempt, details of which he said are still lacking.
The host even played a clip of Patel on the show last May, where the FBI Director said, “We don’t feel that the American people have been given the information they need on that, and we’re digging through the files and getting a more robust picture of what happened.”
“So that was May 2025. I mean, I don’t think we, the public, have a more robust picture of that shooter,” Baier stated after airing the clip.
Patel told Baier that that’s “an unfair supposition,” noting the FBI has “put out all the information that we possibly and legally can, while protecting any ongoing matters that are unrelated to [Crooks].”
“But he’s dead,” Baier retorted.
“Well, yes. He’s very much dead, but at the same time, Bret, we at the FBI have to follow the parameters of our investigation and what the law allows us to release,” Patel argued.
Baier continued to press, asking, “Where were the cell phones? Why don’t we know who he was talking to? You know, what exactly happened? I feel like we haven’t gotten the whole picture about Butler even now.”
Patel noted that the FBI has provided “40,000 pages of documents” to congress and “will continue to provide this information with our partners on Capitol Hill when we’re legally able.”
“It’s never going to be enough for everyone,” he continued. “But what we’re saying is, we’re not saying trust us, we’re saying we did an exhaustive search of that, we presented that information to the Department of Justice, and the decision was made on what to release.”
When Baier asked if everything had been put out about Crooks, Patel replied, “Everything. Whether it’s [Jeffrey] Epstein or Charlie Kirk or it’s this shooter in Butler, we always put out what the law permits us to put out.”
Special Report With Bret Baier, Weekdays, 6/5 c, Fox News
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