Revealed: The FBI Classified the 2017 Baseball Park Attempted Assassination of Republican Congressman Not a Case of Politically-Motived Extremism, but a Mere... Suicide Attempt by James Hodgkinson

DEFUND.

A congressman who was on the baseball field during the 2017 shooting that nearly killed GOP Whip Steve Scalise says the FBI privately informed lawmakers it ruled the attack a "suicide by cop," a designation he said downplayed the shooter's apparently political motivation.

Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) revealed the previously undisclosed determination during a hearing of the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday, upbraiding FBI Director Christopher Wray and prompting several colleagues of both parties to pile on. He said FBI agents privately briefed the baseball team on Nov. 16, 2017 to deliver the controversial determination.

"Much to our shock that day, the FBI concluded that this was a case of the attacker seeking suicide by cop," Wenstrup said. "Director, you want suicide by cop, you just pull a gun on a cop. It doesn't take 136 rounds. It takes one bullet. Both the DHS and the (Office of the Director of National Intelligence) published products labeling this attack as a domestic violent extremism event, specifically targeting Republican members of Congress. The FBI did not."

Wray did not directly address Wenstrup's criticism, other than to confirm he was not the FBI director at the time -- a role held in June 2017 by Andrew McCabe -- but said he was grateful to Capitol Police and to Wenstrup, a doctor, who used his skills that day to triage injured lawmakers and others who joined them.

Quick I need Andy McCarthy to vouch for every warm body at the FBI again.

Via Kyle Shideler, who calls this, with heroic understatement, "completely unacceptable."

posted by Ace at 01:07 PM

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