‘Disturbing’: Donald Trump shooter’s body ‘gone’ as FBI accused of obstruction

Investigators in the attempted assassination of Donald Trump accused the FBI of obstruction after key evidence went up in flames.

The FBI has been accused of “scorching the earth” to obstruct an investigation into the attempted assassination of Donald Trump after it was revealed the body of Thomas Matthew Crooks was destroyed.

The House task force probing Secret Service security failures revealed the “disturbing fact” that the 20-year-old’s body was cremated without notice to investigators of the shooting.

In a preliminary investigation report, House representative Clay Higgins said his request to examine Mr Crooks’s body “caused quite a stir”.

“The FBI released the body for cremation 10 days after [the assassination attempt],” he said.

“Nobody knew this until Monday, August 5, including the County Coroner, law enforcement, Sheriff, etc.”

An undated school yearbook image shows a photograph of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected shooter of former US President Donald Trump in an assassination attempt. Picture: Supplied

Last photo of Thomas Crooks taken by a Beaver County police officer who spotted Crooks. Picture: Supplied

Mr Higgins said the “pattern of investigative scorched earth” by the FBI was troubling.

“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,” he said.

“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.

“Why, then, by what measure, would the FBI release his body to the family for cremation?”

Crooks was killed by a sniper after getting off eight shots at Mr Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

Remarkable new footage filmed by a victim of Thomas Matthew Crooks shows the would-be assassin perched on a rooftop moments before opening fire on Donald Trump. Picture: Supplied

Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump was grazed in the ear, one person was killed, and two others were injured.

The bombshell revelation of Crook’s destroyed body comes as the Secret Service approved the use of bulletproof so Mr Trump can return to outdoor campaign rallies.

The former president has stuck to in-door events and press conferences since the shooting but has been eager to return to the large outdoor events amid comparisons with the growing crowd sizes of Kamala Harris.

Moment Donald Trump is shot

Moment Donald Trump signals he is ok

While ballistic glass is available to sitting presidents and vice presidents, Mr Trump did not have access to the military transportation required for the security measure.

NBC News reported the glass is one of several new security measures being added to Trump’s protection detail, including increased staffing and technology.

That includes moving Secret Service agents from the protective team of President Joe Biden to Donald Trump, according to The New York Times.

The reassignment is highly unusual, according to sources quoted by the Times.

The Secret Service is also providing its former director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned last month, a security detail in another unprecedented move after the agency’s massive security failures.

The Service Service is providing the protection detail out of the Dignitary Protective Division, which protects lower-profile cabinet officials, according to Real Clear Politics.

Mr Biden ordered the protection for Ms Cheatle over “numerous threats” from people angered by the Secret Services failures and her lack of transparency during House testimony, sources told the outlet.

Originally published as ‘Disturbing’: Donald Trump shooter’s body ‘gone’ as FBI accused of obstruction