GOP lawmakers blindsided by new revelations about Trump Butler shooter: 'Awfully strange'

Republican lawmakers were apparently blindsided this week by new documents about Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump and was subsequently shot dead.

Crooks opened fire on Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., in July 2024. A bullet grazed the then-candidate’s ear, while a rally attendee was killed as he attempted to shield his family.

"During our piece that we were working on, none of the federal agencies were working with us at all. They were going to work on their own, and they told us, ‘We're going to do ours, and then we'll get back to you.’ So this is two years later. Nobody's gotten back to us," Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., who chaired a bipartisan House task force aimed at investigating the shooting, told Fox News. 

"That's under the former administration. So everything that's under the executive branch at that time, under the Biden administration, we had no access to information at that time," he said.

Kelly also said the House task force's Dec. 10, 2024, report was written largely with input from local authorities and little from the federal level.

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"It's awfully strange that all the questions we asked, 'We'll have to get back to you on that.' And we have very limited time, as you know, to actually get to what we wanted to. So when we finished our report, it was basically based on everything that we could gather from local law enforcement, hardly anything from the feds at that time," Kelly said.

Fox News Digital reviewed the documents in question and found that Crooks’ father, Matthew Crooks, had searched for ways to prevent his son from accessing firearms in May 2024, roughly two months before he clambered up a rooftop in his attempt to assassinate Trump.

A source familiar with the task force’s work told Fox News Digital that the May 2024 search by Matthew Crooks was not known to House lawmakers during their investigation.

TWO YEARS AFTER BUTLER, THREATS AGAINST TRUMP KEEP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN SHARP FOCUS

"The Task Force report corroborates that Matthew Crooks handed Thomas Crooks the rifle used in the assassination attempt on July 13, 2024," the source said.

Kelly’s spokesman told Fox News Digital that his office was not aware of federal authorities interviewing Crooks’ family.

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The records were obtained by Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, as part of his ongoing inquiry into the Butler assassination attempt. So far, the records turned over to the Senate show Thomas’ actions were a surprise to his family, and his motive is still a mystery.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee told Fox News Digital that they had yet to see the FBI documents, but argued that it was reason enough that the full details of that day in July 2024 needed to be brought to light.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a member of the panel, told Fox News Digital that the documents dump is "something that should have happened," but there was still "so much that we don't know about what happened."

"I think we have got to, I've been saying forever now, we have got to have a full accounting of everything that happened on that day, all of the failures, law enforcement failures that occurred," Hawley said.

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When asked about Crooks’ father trying to stop him from getting access to guns, Hawley said, "This gets back to if this guy was out there, if he was, if he was displaying erratic behavior, was that reported?"

He recalled being on the ground days after the attempt. Hawley described how easily he could’ve gotten onto the rooftop from where Crooks fired off rounds toward the stage and charged that there was "no coordination" among the several local and federal law enforcement agencies present that day.

"I mean, this is just wild. And I still don't think we've gotten a full accounting," Hawley said. "Pretty much everything we know about this is from whistleblowers. You know, we need a full accounting of what really happened on that day."

"Listen, otherwise, we run the risk of things like this happening again. And we run the risk of it turning into a, you know, JFK situation where, all of these years later, we still don't really know what happened," he continued. "We owe it to the American people to figure out what exactly happened and what we need to fix. Clearly, there were massive failures."

source https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-lawmakers-blindsided-new-revelations-about-trump-butler-shooter-awfully-strange

Fellow vet remembers late Army paratrooper who helped Fox News reporter, Afghans and Helene victims: 'Send me'

Sean Michael Lee dedicated his life to serving others.

The Army veteran with more than 20 years of military experience spanning multiple deployments and companies — including as a paratrooper for the vaunted 82nd Airborne Division — did not retire his commitment to help others when he finished his military career.

"His entire life was in service to others. Up until the very end, Sean was always thinking of others," Steven Rozina told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.

Rozina, now the deputy chief operating officer for the nonprofit Independence Fund, which helps provide services and support to wounded veterans, met Lee when he too joined the nonprofit to continue his career of service.

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"He immediately took me under his wing as somebody to teach you how to help others," Rozina told Fox News Digital.

Rozina outlined Lee’s impressive post-military resume, which spanned three continents, in his efforts to continue helping people.

"I think it was 2021, the fall of Afghanistan. Sean answered that call again. He helped evacuate thousands of our Afghan allies, people that worked with us, people that are our friends, that are still our friends today," Rozina explained.

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"He got done with that mission and Sean answered the call again. When Russia invaded Ukraine, he went to Poland," Rozina said. "He helped set up aid stations, helped set supply lines. And even when a Fox News reporter, Benjamin Hall, was injured and was essentially lost, Sean was that guy that helped organize the efforts to bring Benjamin home. Sean was never the guy on the front page of the paper, but he was always there."

Coordinating a rescue operation from Poland via another nonprofit group, Save Our Allies, Lee was instrumental in the efforts to bring Hall home after a Russian attack badly wounded him while he was reporting on the war near Kyiv.

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In 2024, Lee again jumped into action when Hurricane Helene devastated parts of the Southeast, including his home state of North Carolina — particularly its western mountains.

"Within a few hours, Sean was in the car, and he was headed up to the mountains," Rozina told Fox News Digital.

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"I spent a lot of time with Sean up in the mountains. I got the call, and he needed me to come with him, and we slept in our cars and helped set up aid for different communities," Rozina continued.

However, Rozina explained, "when many of us went home, Sean stayed."

"Sean stayed in the mountains, he lived in tents, stayed with communities that didn't have a lot, helped rebuild family homes, helped rebuild… there was a family store that, it was the only thing that these people had, and he was there, he was always there for somebody else," Rozina explained.

AMERICA'S WOUNDED COPS FIND HOPE, HEALING AND SECOND CHANCE THROUGH OFFICERS WHO REFUSE TO LEAVE THEM BEHIND

Lee died Tuesday as a result of cancer he developed from exposure to toxic burn pits during his time deployed in the Middle East. He was still working out how to keep helping people until the very end of his life, Rozina said.

"I have a text message from last week where he's making plans for the next mission. The next thing that he wanted to do to make sure if another hurricane hits North Carolina, how are we going to respond? If an earthquake happens, where are we gonna go and how can we be more efficient? How can we help more people?" Rozina told Fox News Digital.

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"Sean, in his own words, was a good 'idea fairy.' Sean came up with great ideas and really it was... Sean's plans were to be prepared, always be prepared. And it was ideas on how can we be prepared for the next emergency; the next time a veteran needs us, how can [we] incorporate our veteran community into helping others? And that was his goal was really to spread who he was, that 'send me' ethos," Rozina said.

Lee's work, through the Independence Fund and through Save Our Allies, was about helping people and using his own gifts and talents to do so, Rozina explained.

When asked what he thought Sean's final message to the world would be, he said, "Any help is still help."

"You might feel like you're not doing much, but doing something means a lot. So, do what you can," Rozina said of his late friend. "Do the best you can when you're doing it. And do it with a grateful heart. What Sean did: He did the best he could at everything. And those little things add up in the end. He's touched so many lives. He has blessed a lot of deserving people and I know that his memory is not going to fade."

source https://www.foxnews.com/us/fellow-vet-remembers-late-army-paratrooper-helped-fox-news-reporter-afghans-helene-victims-send-me

Steel Across America ends its cross-country 9/11 memorial at NY Giants game

The Tunnel to Towers Steel Across America tour concluded its more than 38 stops with a final appearance at MetLife Stadium for a New York Giants game this week.

The tour featured a 21-foot steel beam from the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Starting in May, the tour traveled from the East Coast across the U.S. and then went to the New York City area to mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11 before Sunday's last stop.

The 16,900-pound piece of steel – recovered from Ground Zero in the days after the attacks by first responders who rushed to the site – has since become a symbol of the nearly 3,000 civilians, firefighters, police officers, emergency workers and military personnel who died that day.

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"For the past four months, communities across the country have welcomed this sacred piece of American history with incredible emotion," Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller said in a press release. "Watching people stand in front of that steel, hugging it, praying over it, weeping, reminds me every single day of why we do this work."

‘THEIR SOULS ARE IN THAT STEEL’: 9/11 BEAM MAKES EMOTIONAL STOP IN INDIANAPOLIS BEFORE RETURN TO NYC

An August ceremony in Indianapolis included a color guard, a pipes and drums procession, the national anthem performed by the Voices of the Indianapolis Fire Department and an invocation from Indianapolis Fire Department Chaplain Mike Gatliff.

Indianapolis Fire Division Chief Tom Neal and Timothy Winslow, a retired major general and executive director of the Indiana War Memorial and Museum, also addressed the crowd about the connection between the city’s first responders, veterans and the legacy of 9/11.

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"Bringing this steel to Indianapolis, and to a museum that has stood for over a century as a tribute to American sacrifice, is deeply moving," FDNY Lt. Jack Kielty, a Tunnel to Towers board member, said. "Indiana veterans and first responders understand what it means to serve."

The event also highlighted Indiana’s own connection to the attacks. Nine Hoosiers died on Sept. 11, while Indianapolis Task Force One sent rescuers to Ground Zero. Six members of the team later died from illnesses linked to their work in the toxic environment, according to the Indiana War Memorial.

Scott Nokes, a Marine Corps veteran and Tunnel to Towers recipient, spoke to attendees about the significance of allowing people to see the steel in person.

"Out of the 2,977 lives that were lost, there’s over 1,000 bodies that were never recovered specifically from Ground Zero in New York," Nokes said. "Their souls are in that steel, and if you touch it, you feel it."

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Frank Siller and his family honored his late brother Stephen Siller — a heroic 34-year-old husband, father and firefighter who, after hearing about the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack, loaded himself down with gear, and traversed through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel on foot heading to the Twin Towers, and ultimately giving his life — by retracing the man's steps.

"This morning’s walk through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel was part of the conclusion of Steel Across America, a journey that began four-and-a-half months ago and carried a 21-foot, 16,900-pound World Trade Center steel beam more than 10,500 miles through nearly 40 stops across the country and back, stopping in more than 21 states," a statement from Tunnel to Towers said. "For over four months, the steel has been a gathering place for communities to remember the events of September 11th, to honor first responders and veterans, and to ensure that a new generation understands the significance of what happened 25 years ago."

source https://www.foxnews.com/us/steel-across-america-ends-cross-country-911-memorial-ny-giants-game

SEE IT: El-Sayed can't shake one question before meeting with Dem power brokers

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed broke bread with the Democratic establishment in Washington, D.C., but there’s one thing he can’t escape: his connection to a controversial figure who helped elevate his campaign.

And his connection to the controversial Twitch streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker is something he didn’t want to talk about.

When asked by Fox News Digital if he would continue to campaign with Piker, who has been almost universally condemned by Democrats in Washington and on the campaign trail, El-Sayed dodged.

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Piker’s shadow has dwarfed El-Sayed’s insurgent progressive campaign recently, particularly for his past comments in which he said, "America deserved 9/11," and for a recent stream in which he argued that being against Israel isn't antisemitic.

"If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel mind you, but against American Jews," he said.

EL-SAYED DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM HASAN PIKER AFTER DISTURBING REMARKS ABOUT JEWISH AMERICANS

That remark earned him swift condemnation from Democrats far and wide, including El-Sayed, who put some distance between the two in a statement.

He said that "all Americans deserve the right to advocate for what they believe without fear of violence," and acknowledged that "antisemitism is a scourge, and we need to address it in all its forms," and added that "nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople."

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"And while politicians and pundits try to make this race about a Twitch streamer, we’re going to be talking about gas, groceries, good schools and healthcare," he said.

El-Sayed’s meeting with top Democratic brass at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is a notable moment in his campaign against former Rep. Mike Rogers, particularly because he spent so much time running against the Democratic establishment in his bloody primary fight with Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., acknowledged that primaries get "really hot. The Michigan primary got hot."

"But this is what you do after a primary, is you gotta unite the party, and then you do the work to reach out and cross over to independent voters and Republican voters," Murphy told Fox News Digital.

source https://www.foxnews.com/politics/see-it-el-sayed-cant-shake-one-question-before-meeting-dem-power-brokers

Man with an unbelievably swollen face arrested after Wichita golf course brawl involving club used as weapon

A Kansas man spent the weekend in jail after he got into a nasty brawl with three other men on a golf course on Friday evening. His trip to the county jail came after a visit to a local hospital.

He might have been the one that ended up in handcuffs, but he wasn't the only one dishing out the damage. The entire side of his face ended up being a swollen mess in a picture taken by the jail.

Scott Denning, 52, of Winfield, Kansas was booked early Saturday morning into the Sedgwick County Jail for aggravated assault, aggravated battery, assault, battery, and criminal damage to property, reports Kake News.

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According to the Wichita Police Department, officers responded to the Arthur B. Sim Golf Course around 6:20 pm on Friday for a disturbance. Denning and three Wichita men had been involved in a brawl.

The preliminary investigation found that Denning had approached the three men to apologize for an errant shot. An argument took place followed by a physical altercation.

As you can see, Denning was on the receiving end of some of that physical altercation. His face is unbelievably swollen. But he wasn’t the only one hurt in the exchange, according to police.

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A 38-year-old Wichita man was knocked unconscious at some point. Police say the other two Wichita men, 28 and 52, were chased with a golf club and one of them was hit in the head with it.

"Investigators were told the 52-year-old Winfield man then chased the 28-year-old and 52-year-old Wichita men while armed with a golf club, striking the 52-year-old Wichita man in the head," Wichita Police Department's release said.

Does that mean the apology for the errant shot wasn't accepted? It certainly seems that's the case. Denning was treated at the hospital before being booked into jail on a $50,000 bond.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Denning remained in the Sedgwick County Jail. There were no other arrests and the investigation, reports Kake News, is ongoing.

source https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/man-unbelievably-swollen-face-arrested-wichita-golf-course-brawl-club-weapon

Charles Manson cult follower Bruce Davis, convicted in two 1969 killings, dies behind bars at 83

Bruce Davis, a follower of cult leader Charles Manson who was convicted in two 1969 killings, has died at 83, officials said.

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A spokeswoman for the Solano County Coroner's Office confirmed to Fox News Digital that Davis had died, but didn't give additional details. According to TMZ, Davis was pronounced dead at 11:03 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, California, where he was serving his sentence.

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Davis was sentenced to life in prison in 1972, following his role in the murders of Donald "Shorty" Shea, a 35-year-old Hollywood stuntman, and Gary Hinman, a 34-year-old musician and a friend of several Manson family members.

Davis was not the direct killer of either victim and faced no accusations of involvement in the home-invasion slayings that claimed the lives of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and four other people.

This is a developing story.

source https://www.foxnews.com/us/charles-manson-cult-follower-bruce-davis-convicted-two-1969-killings-dies-behind-bars-83

Judge Adam Levy previews his ‘nitty-gritty’ new show – and how his style compares to his mom Judge Judy

STAMFORD, CT — Judge Adam Levy’s new courtroom show "Adam’s Law" premieres this month, and he feels prepared because he "learned from the best," his mom Judge Judy Sheindlin.

Sheindlin’s popular show "Judge Judy" ran for over 25 years. She's now passing the baton to her son, who has also starred in courtroom shows like "Justice on Trial" and "Tribunal Justice." 

Before bringing his talents to television, Levy served two terms as Putnam County district attorney in New York. He was one of three adjudicating judges on "Tribunal," but he’ll be the lone judge at the helm for CBS Media Ventures' "Adam’s Law," premiering Monday.

"Well, we dive into the nitty-gritty," Judge Adam Levy told Fox News Digital at Stamford Studios following a taping of the show this summer. 

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"We get into the details. The devil’s always in those details. And so we make sure that the information that we have isn’t just limited to what the litigants tell us in a complaint or an answer. When appropriate, we will look into backgrounds to ensure what they tell us is corroborated or if we can contradict it, we will. So the right person wins, the right person loses," he added.

Two women became visibly emotional during the two cases Levy presided over that morning, sharing their testimonies through tears. While Levy said he understands that these are real people with feelings, he aims to focus on the facts and not the emotions.

"The law is about facts," Levy said. "The law doesn’t have much to do with feelings. I tell that to my family all the time – my facts don’t care about your feelings. Listen, these are real cases, they’re real people. And many of them come here, and they’re committed to their cause. They feel strongly. The ones we had today were high-dollar values, but it could be a $50 case, it could be a $100 case, it doesn’t make a difference.

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"The plaintiffs feel wronged, and they want justice. And when they really start getting emotional, you see that. You see that whatever happened to them really bothered them. I take their cases seriously. They come to us and waive their right to be heard in small claims court, and allow me to adjudicate the cases for them. Why would I give them anything less than my full attention and true justice?"

Levy said he knew he was ready for his own show "when Judge Judy told me I was ready for my own show."

"I was very happy to go back to Wyoming, going skiing, but it was time," he shared. "She wanted to reassess what she was doing, and thinking about maybe hanging up her gavel, and she felt as though it was time. It was time for me that I had developed whatever skills she thought were necessary…"

"I don’t want to disappoint her," he joked. "I don’t want the word ‘bupkis’ next to my name in the will."

Levy described his courtroom style as "similar" to his mom’s.

"We both can’t stand nonsense," he said. "If you’re going to come in, and you’re going to lie, neither of us really have much tolerance for that, patience for it… Come to the court, tell the truth. A trial is supposed to be a search for the truth and not about who can tell a better lie. That’s what we’re all about."

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Growing up, he admitted he didn’t always appreciate his mom's work schedule and his life as a latchkey kid as Judge Judy juggled her responsibilities.

Now he admires her work ethic, saying she passed it down to him, and he hopes to do the same for his kids.

Levy quipped that his kids think he's "crazy" because of the hours of prep he does each week for the show, but he wants to be prepared for the litigants who called him for help.

"It’s much easier when you love what you do," he said.

"Adam’s Law" was created by Judge Judy Sheindlin. It is produced by her Queen Bee Productions and premiered Monday in national syndication.

source https://www.foxnews.com/media/judge-adam-levy-previews-his-nitty-gritty-new-show-how-his-style-compares-his-mom-judge-judy