Summary

  • FBI Director Christopher Wray is being questioned by US lawmakers over the investigation into the attempted assassination of Donald Trump

  • Wray is appearing before the House Judiciary Committee - click watch live at the top of this page to follow along

  • He confirms a drone and three explosive devices have been recovered from the gunman's home and car and are being analysed

  • Wray also reveals the gunman researched the JFK assassination on the same day he registered for the Trump rally

  • The Republican presidential candidate was shot in the ear in an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, earlier this month

  • Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday, a day after she gave evidence at a different committee hearing

  • This is a stream-only page with occasional text updates

  1. Key lines from FBI director's evidence on Trump shootingpublished at 18:34 British Summer Time 24 July

    Christopher WrayImage source, epa

    The first part of FBI Director Christopher Wray's evidence has now finished while lawmakers break for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress (which you can follow here).

    Here's what we've learned so far:

    • On 6 July - a week before the shooting - the gunman searched "how far away was Oswald from Kennedy" online and registered for the Trump rally
    • The gunman's online search history suggests he was "broadly interested" in public figures and became "very focused" on Trump from around 6 July onwards
    • He visited a shooting range the day before the assassination attempt and "probably" fired a weapon similar to the one he used to target Trump
    • The FBI have not identified a clear motive for the shooting and say they don't believe he had accomplices
    • The gunman flew a drone close to the rally site around two hours before the shooting
    • That drone and three explosive devices capable of remote detonation have been recovered from the gunman's car and home
    • He was able to fire "at least eight" shots before he was killed by a Secret Service sniper
    • Agents had been searching for a ladder the gunman purchased but now believe he was able to climb onto the building he fired from by standing on nearby equipment
  2. What have we learned about the Trump gunman today?published at 18:09 British Summer Time 24 July

    Donald Trump after shootingImage source, AP

    We've learned a little bit more about Thomas Matthew Crooks during today's evidence, though much still remains a mystery.

    FBI director Christopher Wray says he appears to have been a "loner" and didn't have many contacts in his phone.

    An investigation into his internet history reveals he regularly searched news articles about various "public figures" - however, there is no clear pattern suggesting any particular ideological stance.

    About a week before the Trump rally Crooks became "very focused" on Donald Trump.

    On 6 July, he searched online "how far away was Oswald from Kennedy" and registered for the rally in Butler.

    The day before the attack, Crooks visited a shooting range and investigators believe "probably" fired a weapon similar to the one used in the attempted assassination.

    Wray says that search was "indicative" of the gunman's state of mind at that time but the FBI have still not uncovered clear evidence of his wider motivation.

    Investigators have interrogated his electronic devices and interviewed people who knew him but a firm picture of why he attempted to kill the former president has not yet emerged.

  3. Trump gunman was interested in the JFK assassinationpublished at 17:19 British Summer Time 24 July

    Law enforcement officers with gunsImage source, EPA
    Image caption,

    The gunman was killed by armed security personnel at the scene

    We've heard more from the FBI director about efforts to find a motive for the attempted assassination:

    • Wray says the FBI still does not have a "clear picture" of the gunman's motive but reveals he researched the JFK assassination days before the attack
    • On 6 July, the gunman searched for "how far was Oswald from Kennedy" and registered for the Trump rally the same day
    • Wray says the online search is "indicative" of the gunman's "state of mind" at that time
    • He says agents are "digging hard" and a clear motive remains one of the "central questions" of the investigation
    • Wray says interviews with his associates, his social media and a search of his home have not produced firm evidence of a motive yet
    • Analysis of the gunman's phone shows he "appears to have done a lot of searches" for news articles about "public figures"
    • Wray says there does not appear to be a pattern to those searches and he was interested in "public figures more broadly"
    • The gunman appears to have become "very focused" on Trump from around 6 July
  4. Evidence recovered from gunman's car and homepublished at 15:55 British Summer Time 24 July

    Trump on stage after shooting attemptImage source, EPA

    We've just heard the FBI director confirm some more key lines about the investigation:

    • Investigators have recovered the gunman's drone, which Wray confirms was flown close to the rally site about two hours before the attempted assassination
    • The FBI has recovered three "relatively crude" explosive devices: two were in the shooter's car and one was at his home
    • The explosives were capable of being detonated remotely and the gunman was carrying a transmitter with him, though Wray says it does not appear the devices were primed to go off
    • Investigators are working to decrypt messages stored on the gunman's phone as they continue to search for evidence of a motive

    You can read more on what we know about the gunman here.

  5. Key lines from FBI director's evidence so farpublished at 15:42 British Summer Time 24 July

    Christopher WrapImage source, EPA

    If you're just joining us, here are some of the key lines from the evidence we've heard so far:

    • Wray says the FBI will "leave no stone unturned" in its investigation and acknowledges there are still "open questions" about the attack
    • He describes the incident as an "attack on our democracy" and denounces political violence of any kind
    • Asked if it is true the gunman fired eight shots, Wray says eight cartridges were found on the roof where the gunman was located
    • He confirms the gunman flew a drone over the rally, which has been widely reported in US media
    • Wray also says there is no evidence "at this time" that the gunman plotted the attack with other people
  6. FBI Director testifies on Trump shootingpublished at 15:04 British Summer Time 24 July

    Brandon Livesay
    US reporter

    Hello and welcome to our live stream of FBI Director Christopher Wray's testimony before US Congress, where he will face questions over the investigation into the assassination attempt of Donald Trump.

    Wray is due before the House Judiciary Committee at 10:00 local time (15:00 BST) - you can click watch live at the top of this page to follow along.

    The FBI is handling the criminal investigation into the shooting of Trump, the Republican presidential candidate. Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania earlier this month.

    Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday, a day after she gave evidence at a different committee.

    In Cheatle's testimony, she frequently cited being unable to give details to Congress because the FBI was handling the main investigation.

    We may hear some of those details today.

    This is a stream-only page, without regular text updates. So click watch live and follow along with Wray's testimony.