FBI denies ‘obstruction’ accusation from GOP rep after Trump shooter’s body cremated days after Butler rally

On August 5, Higgins, who is also a former police captain, attempted to view Crooks’ body as part of a personal inspection. However, he discovered that the FBI had already released the body for cremation just 10 days after the shooting. Higgins said that Crooks was cremated on July 23 in his preliminary report.

“On J23, Crooks was gone. Nobody knew this until Monday, August 5, including the County Coroner, law enforcement, Sheriff, etc.,” Higgins wrote in the findings. The congressman alleged that the decisions was made without notifying the county coroner, who Higgins said still had “legal authority over the body.”

Higgins accused the FBI of obstruction, arguing that the alleged early release of the body did not have oversight, preventing a thorough investigation.

"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,” Higgins stated in the report.

He drew parallels between this decision and the FBI's previous actions. "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,” he wrote.

Higgins noted that the same day Crooks' body was cremated, the Homeland Security Committee and the Oversight Committee launched investigations into the assassination attempt. He questioned the timing of the body’s release, “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,” Higgins said.

The FBI refuted the allegations made by Higgins in his report. A spokesperson for the FBI told Fox News that any allegation of the FBI interfering with efforts by Congress to investigate the assassination attempt is "inaccurate and unfounded." The FBI further claimed that Crooks' body was released to his family in coordination with the coroner's office and local law enforcement "in keeping with normal procedures."

The accusations from Higgins come amid continued criticism of federal authorities, including the FBI and Secret Service, for their handling of the assassination attempt. Despite the controversy, Higgins assured the public that the investigation would be thorough.

After the release of the report, Higgins told reporters, “Every question will be answered, every theory explored, and every doubt erased. The American people deserve the full truth on the attempted assassination of President Trump."