Guest post by Joe Hoft at JoeHoft.com – republished with permission
Bipartisan Task Force Sidesteps Crucial Evidence: Shooter’s Identity and Motive Ignored
The following is republished with permission from AbleChild.
The House Bipartisan Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump held its first hearing last week. Grossly incompetent are the words that come to mind.
Unfortunately, the House members of the Task Force don’t understand what information is important in a criminal investigation and, therefore, are unable to ask important, pertinent questions that may provide the American people with accurate information about the attempted assassination.
While no one doubts the Task Force’s desire to get to the bottom of the assassination attempt, what the American people must understand is that the goal of the Task Force is to “identify solutions that will prevent security failures from recurring in the future,” NOT to get to the bottom of who committed the crime and why. Knowing the role of the Task force helps the American people to understand why the members seemed so inept during the “preliminary” hearing.
The best way to understand the Task Force’s missed opportunities comes pretty much from the beginning of the hearing when the Allegheny County Medical Examiner, (ME) Dr. Ariel Goldschmidt, testified via Zoom. According to Goldschmidt his staff made arrangements “later that night” (July 13th) “to transport the bodies of Thomas Crooks and victim Corey Comperatore to our office.”
Did any of the Task Force members ask the ME if he knew the identity of the alleged deceased shooter that evening when arrangements were being made? No. Did anyone on the Task Force inquire as to when the ME became aware of the identity of the alleged shooter? No.
Of interest is that in his testimony the ME made a point of explaining that the “required chain of custody” paperwork began after the body arrived at the ME’s office. Of course, it’s difficult to dismiss the unnatural and suspicious situation that occurred at the AGR building with the chain of custody of the body prior to the Butler County Coroner’s identification of the deceased.
Remember that William F. Young III, the Butler County Coroner, went to the AGR building around midnight on July 14th and was rebuffed and told to come back the next morning. Young and “another deputy” returned to the AGR building around 6:00a.m. on the 14th to identify the alleged shooter.
Did the Task Force ask the ME why the body of the alleged shooter laid on the AGR roof all night? No. Did the Task Force ask the ME what method was used by the Butler County Coroner to identify the alleged shooter? No. Did the Task Force ask the ME what law enforcement agencies had control of the AGR building throughout the evening of July 13-14? No. Lost opportunities.
The ME then explained in his testimony that “prior to the autopsy, the body was X-rayed, major handprints were obtained by the FBI Major Incident Program Manager, Brian Johnson.” Did the Task Force members ask the ME when and where the FBI conducted the X-rays? No. How about what was found in the X-rays? No. Did the Task Force members ask the ME where the handprints were taken by the FBI? No. Did the Task Force ask the ME if the FBI’s handling of the alleged shooter’s body prior to autopsy compromised the chain of custody? No.
Goldschmidt then testified that he “had no reports from or involvement in the investigation into Mr. Crooks’ motives and actions, crime scene evidence or other outside evidence…” Really? What did the Task Force members have to say about that? Nothing.
Did the Task Force members ask why the Butler County Coroner had not provided the ME with investigative notes and photographs that must have been taken by the coroner while making identification on the roof of the AGR Building at 6:00a.m. July 14th. No. Did the Task Force members ask the ME why he wasn’t provided any investigative information that may help him in his autopsy? No. Did the Task Force members question the ME as to why standard procedure of receiving investigative information from the coroner wasn’t followed? No.
While all the above unexplored issues are irresponsible, the following is just insulting. According to the ME, “items of evidentiary value collected during the autopsy were transferred to the custody of the FBI.” Did the Task Force members ask the ME exactly what items (plural) of evidentiary value were forwarded to the FBI? Unbelievably no. Couldn’t just be the bullet. The ME said ITEMS. Apparently, the Task Force doesn’t care what ITEMS were recovered from the alleged shooters body.
And the final insult came when Task Force members failed to follow up with the ME about the Toxicology tests that were conducted. Did the Task Force members ask one question about what drugs were tested for? No. It’s hard to imagine a more useless hearing.
So, the question becomes, what information did the American people not receive during the preliminary hearing? First and foremost, Americans still have no idea where, when and by what method was the alleged shooter identified.
According to early reports, Kevin Rojek, the special agent-in-charge (SAIC) for the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, told reporters just hours after the shooting on Saturday, “we’re trying to run his DNA and get biometric confirmation.” SAIC Rojek also said the bureau was also “looking at photographs” to help ID the shooter. “Trying to run…” Did Rojek or didn’t Rojek run Crooks’ DNA? The Task Force members didn’t ask. The Task Force also apparently wasn’t interested in knowing what photos the FBI has that they would use for identification immediately after the shooting. The public had access to only childhood photos.
Nevertheless, it’s anyone’s guess why the Task Force never bothered to ask the ME how the shooter was identified. Doesn’t the Task Force want to know? How hard can this be? Don’t the Task Force members have similar questions as their fellow Americans? It’s inexplicable that the Task Force would not establish just that one piece of physical evidence.
The American people did not learn whether the bullet(s) pulled from Crooks’ body match which sniper’s gun barrel. The ME stated that Crooks died “as a result of a high velocity gunshot wound to the head, with an entrance wound of the left upper lip.” Great. Did the Task Force members ask what was the caliber of the bullet? No. Further, the Task Force didn’t bother to question the ME as to whether there was an exit wound and, if not, was the entry and trajectory through the body consistent with the which sniper’s position?
This kind of amateur investigating is not what the American people deserve. If the Task Force members are unfamiliar with criminal investigations, there’s little doubt that hiring a competent investigator would wholeheartedly be approved by the taxpayers.
By virtue of the fact that a Presidential candidate and former President was shot at a campaign rally is sufficient evidence that the Secret Service was inept and failed to do the job for which they are paid. The American people, however, would like to know, based on physical evidence, who the shooter was and why he attempted the assassination.
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