Donald Trump agrees to an FBI interview in the course of the investigation into his assassination

Donald Trump has agreed to be questioned by the FBI as investigators look into the assassination attempt that injured the former president and sparked a political firestorm.

Trump will participate in a so-called victim interview, said FBI special agent Kevin Rojek, who is leading the investigation into the July 13 shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania.

“The interview with the former president will be consistent with all the other victim interviews we are conducting,” Rojek said in a briefing with reporters on Monday. “We want to get his perspective on what he observed, just like any other witness to the crime, and also his perspective on what happened to him during the event.”

U.S. authorities have said the gunman was 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by the Secret Service. Crooks had used encrypted email apps from abroad before the attack, mainly to make anonymous purchases, Rojek said.

“We believe the suspect made significant efforts to conceal his activities,” Rojek said.

The crooks also conducted online searches for several national officials, including President Joe Biden and other former presidents, said Rojek, the head of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, which is leading the investigation.

The FBI has begun releasing more details of its ongoing investigation. FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers last week that the crooks used encrypted messaging apps and flew a surveillance drone over the area where the shooting occurred.

In addition to the FBI investigation, lawmakers have launched their own probes. The fact that imposters had access to a rooftop with a clear view of Trump, the Republican nominee in this year’s presidential race, has drawn sharp criticism from both parties and become a political talking point in a heated election campaign.

The crooks were also looking for information on the operation of a power plant, mass shootings, improvised explosive devices and the attempted assassination of the Slovak prime minister earlier this year, Rojek said.

In addition, fraudsters purchased chemicals for building explosives online six times in the first half of 2024, he added.

Investigators have not yet found a motive for the shooting, nor evidence that Crooks had co-conspirators. Investigators are continuing to analyze his actions and his mental health.

According to the results of a behavioral analysis, Crooks is considered highly intelligent but socially isolated.

“We still believe he was a loner,” Rojek said.