FBI Director Kash Patel proffered a seemingly Tucker Carlson-prompted rundown regarding investigative efforts about a would-be assassin of President Donald Trump that left many wanting.

Thanks in part to the considerable reputational damage of the Justice Department under President Joe Biden’s administration, Trump’s return to the White House brought with it the need for attempts at restoration. Friday, one such measure was taken to address what the bureau had uncovered about the deceased would-be assassin from the July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, after Carlson alleged a history of violent rhetoric online.

Taking to X hours after the Tucker Carlson Network had released a video titled, “Who Is Thomas Crooks?” Patel sought to assure the public that the employees who now report to him had turned over every stone to determine Thomas Crooks “had limited online and in person interactions …”

“Over 480 FBI employees were involved in the Thomas Crooks investigation,” the director began. “Employees conducted over 1,000 interviews, addressed over 2,000 public tips, analyzed data extracted from 13 seized digital devices, reviewed nearly 500,000 digital files, collected, processed, and synchronized hundreds of hours of video footage, analyzed financial activity from 10 different accounts, and examined data associated with 25 social media or online forum accounts.”

Crooks Case Overview:

Over 480 FBI employees were involved in the Thomas Crooks investigation. Employees conducted over 1,000 interviews, addressed over 2,000 public tips, analyzed data extracted from 13 seized digital devices, reviewed nearly 500,000 digital files, collected,…

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) November 14, 2025

“The FBI’s investigation into Thomas Crooks identified and examined over 20 online accounts, data extracted from over a dozen electronic devices, examination of numerous financial accounts, and over 1,000 interviews and 2000 public tips,” continued Patel. “The investigation, conducted by over 480 FBI employees, revealed Crooks had limited online and in person interactions, planned and conducted the attack alone, and did not leak or share his intent to engage in the attack with anyone.”

Such details ran contrary to the claims from Carlson’s report, which had allegedly been based on access to the decedent’s Google Drive account by which violent comments on YouTube from between 2019 and 2020 were said to have been uncovered.

As had been reported, Crooks had gone from presenting as a supporter of Trump, described as the “literal definition of Patriotism,” while calling for death for political opponents, until the president’s response to COVID sparked “an amazing transformation.”

Carlson described a “detailed digital trail of violent threats, including calls for assassination and political violence,” and expressed, “Thomas Crooks came within a quarter inch of destroying this country, and yet, a year and a half later, we still know almost nothing about him or why he did it. That’s because, for some reason, the FBI, even the current FBI, doesn’t want us to know.”

Prior to the video drop, which had garnered over 4 million views on X in less than a day, the recently created FBI Rapid Response account had countered Carlson’s tease about the story by posting, “This FBI has never said Thomas Crooks had no online footprint. Ever.”

However, just as reactions had called out the careful language used by the response account, social media’s response to Patel proved the bureau had a long road back to trust, as many questioned a seeming lack of transparency and why it took a prominent commentator’s video to be forthright about the extent of the investigation.

How long have you had this information, Kash? Why did it take @TuckerCarlson posting a video discussing the case for you to release this information? Doesn’t feel very transparent.

— Jeff Dornik (@jeffdornik) November 14, 2025

Precision in wording is not a substitute for transparency. Clinging to language to avoid the truth does not change the fact that your posture created the clear impression that he left no trail. People understand the distinction between technical language and honest disclosure.…

— Joseph D. McBride, Esq. (@McBrideLawNYC) November 13, 2025

Incredibly telling that you released this only after Tucker released his investigative video on Thomas Crooks

— Kangmin Lee | 이강민 (@kangminjlee) November 15, 2025

I don’t think this is the flex you think it is…

Hundreds of agents, thousands of hours of work, unlimited resources, yet one small production team did a better and more credible job.

— Eva Chipiuk, BSc, LLB, LLM (@echipiuk) November 15, 2025

Can you define “limited online and in person interactions”? Because it doesn’t sound limited to me.

— Still Boneless (@still_boneless) November 14, 2025

Your office will need to address the specific claims made by Tucker, as he brought receipts.

— Contrarian Owl (@ContrarianOwl) November 15, 2025

So you’ll be releasing all of those files and reports shortly, yes?

— Robert Hahn (@robhahn) November 14, 2025

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Kevin Haggerty

Staff Writer

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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