Trump agrees to FBI interview after assassination attempt

Donald Trump has agreed to be interviewed as part of the FBI's investigation into the July 13 assassination attempt on his life. Trump agreed to the interview after the agency's request.

The expected interview with Trump is part of the FBI's standard measures in investigation, even though the relationship between Trump and the agency may be strained over his legal battle with the classified documents case and the Biden DOJ as a whole.  

FBI Director Christoper Wray floated the theory that Trump may have been hit with "shrapnel" at the rally in a hearing last week, bringing that tension to the forefront. The agency later confirmed that Trump had been shot.  

“We want to get his perspective on what he observed,” said Kevin Rojek, an agent managing the FBI’s Pittsburgh office. The agency said it was a standard interview they would do for “any other victim of crime, under any other circumstances.” The agency also shared new details surrounding Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin from the Butler, Pennsylvania rally. The agency described him as "highly intelligent" but had a small social circle throughout his life.  

Crooks' parents have been "extremely cooperative" with the agency. “Additionally, we believe his actions also show careful planning ahead of the campaign rally," Rojek told reporters. The FBI said that Crooks used aliases to purchase different gun-related items and made efforts to "conceal his activities."  

Crooks had researched different assassinations leading up to the rally such as on John F. Kennedy and other political leaders. Crooks was identified by counter snipers 90 minutes prior to the assassination attempt, and multiple security failures from the Secret Service led to the shooting.