The Sconi

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has issued a subpoena to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel. The subpoena requests records related to the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Senator Johnson stated, “One year following the assassination attempt of President Trump, the American people still do not have answers to all of their questions about the breakdown of security at the Butler campaign rally and detailed information about the would-be assassin, Thomas Crooks. I had expected the FBI to be more forthcoming with the public and provide my office with the records we have been seeking for months. I am issuing the subpoena to help prompt transparency and I look forward to Director Patel’s full cooperation.”

The subpoena asks for several types of records from the FBI. These include security camera footage that may show Thomas Crooks’ movements before the shooting; forensic reports such as ballistics, trajectory, explosive, and drone analysis; and documents about Crooks including his social media activity, email accounts, search history, call logs, and other communications.

After the assassination attempt on July 13, 2024, Senator Johnson began investigating security failures at the event. On July 14, 2024 he wrote to federal agencies requesting records related to Crooks and event security. He released preliminary findings on July 21 and July 23 and provided updated timelines on July 30 and August 29 regarding law enforcement’s awareness of Crooks.

On September 25, Senators Johnson, Rand Paul, Gary Peters, and Richard Blumenthal released an interim report outlining security failures at the rally as well as outstanding information requests connected to the incident.

The deadline for compliance with Senator Johnson’s subpoena is August 1, 2025.

Senator Johnson has served multiple terms in office after winning elections in Wisconsin against Mandela Barnes in 2022 (50.4% to 49.4%), Russ Feingold in both 2016 (50.2% to 46.8%) and in 2010 (51.9% to 47%).