Photo by Seth Wenig-Pool/Getty Images
Donald Trump Jr. and a Texas lawmaker have floated a new conspiracy theory, alleging that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will corrupt its own investigation into Thomas Crooks’ assassination attempt against the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump.
Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) voiced these concerns on Monday, stating that the FBI could not be trusted to conduct the investigation. His message, posted on X (formerly Twitter), garnered nearly 350,000 views in under two hours.
“My constituents are deeply concerned with the FBI conducting the sole investigation into the attempted assassination of President Trump,” Gooden wrote. “They don’t have faith in the current FBI leadership to get to the truth given how they have targeted President Trump with political witch hunt after witch hunt at the behest of Joe Biden.”
Gooden advocated for a select committee to investigate the attack, a sentiment quickly echoed by Donald Trump Jr. “Given how biased & weaponized the FBI has become in their actions over the past decade,” Trump Jr. responded, “I think this committee would be critical in making sure that Americans have some actual faith in the results of this much-needed investigation.”
These messages prompted a wave of responses from followers, who alleged without evidence that the FBI could not be trusted, a cover-up was already in progress, and the federal government was implicated in the attempt.
This new theory has raised serious concerns among experts about the “dangerous” tone being set by Republican critics. They fear this rhetoric could lead to more, rather than less, political violence. The motivations of Thomas Crooks, a 20-year-old community college graduate and registered Republican, remain unclear. Crooks aimed an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle at former President Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Secret Service agents killed Crooks after he wounded Trump and fatally shot firefighter Corey Comperatore.
In the aftermath, Republicans such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have condemned Democrats as “evil,” while Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) suggested, without evidence, that President Joe Biden played a role. President Biden has called on Americans to reject political violence, emphasizing the need for unity and peaceful discourse. However, the current narrative pushed by Trump Jr. and Rep. Gooden continues to stoke divisions and raise doubts about the integrity of federal investigations.
As the investigation progresses, the claims made by Trump Jr. and Gooden underscore the ongoing tensions and mistrust in the political landscape, with significant implications for public perception and national security.
