Thomas Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, criticized the FBI for its slow release of 75,000 pages related to the 2024 assassination attempt on then-President Donald Trump by Thomas Matthew Crooks. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Fitton expressed concern over the FBI's drip-release strategy, which could take up to 12 years to complete and would prevent timely challenges to withheld information. He also highlighted that redacted names in text messages between Crooks and an unknown recipient are hindering transparency, suggesting a potential cover-up similar to the JFK situation. Fitton argued for a balance between privacy concerns and public interest, emphasizing the need for quicker document releases to address the assassination attempt properly.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.65, but all 3 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 70890: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-10
Judicial Watch President Thomas Fitton slammed the FBI for slow-walking the release of documents related to Thomas Matthew Crooks' 2024 assassination attempt on President Donald Trump during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.
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Fitton → slam → Digital
"They are telling us that at current processing rates, the process will take 12 years.
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process → tell → years
Under the FBI's timeline, we won't even be able to challenge what they withheld until 12 years from now.
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they → challenge → years
That is obviously unacceptable, and I would like to know what leadership at the FBI and DOJ think about that position," Fitton told Fox News Digital.
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Fitton → like → Digital
Judicial Watch sued the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2025 after the FBI initially rejected a July 2024 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents pertaining to the FBI investigation of Thomas Matthew Crooks' assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
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FBI → sue → Butler
The lawsuit forced the release of multiple batches of documents to Judicial Watch, the most recent of which revealed a series of text messages Crooks sent to an unknown recipient, whose name the FBI redacted before sending to Judicial Watch.
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FBI → force → Watch
"We’re receiving these documents because they're part of the investigation, yet we’re not being told who he was talking to," Fitton told Fox News Digital.
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Fitton → receive → Digital
"Withholding that information is a very concerning decision.
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Withholding → withhold → information
The American people want to be certain this isn't another JFK situation.
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this → want → ?
By handling it this way, authorities are creating the appearance of a cover-up.
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authorities → handle → up
In part, that's true, because they aren't providing details about who Crooks was talking to, who was texting him, what they were saying, or who witnessed specific actions.
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who → provide → actions
It makes no sense to withhold this," he said.
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he → make → this
The documents revealed a series of one or two-word texts Crooks sent to the redacted recipient between May 2023 and January 2024.
uncertain
Crooks → reveal → May
The words appear unrelated and somewhat nonsensical.
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words → appear → ?
Red red," Crooks' messages said.
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messages → say → ?
Fitton, while acknowledging that any potential correspondents with Crooks have a reasonable expectation of privacy, argued that the FBI "must weigh that expectation of privacy against the public interest."
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FBI → acknowledge → interest
"The public interest in understanding how a former president was nearly killed – and two American citizens were killed – outweighs the privacy interests of anyone being protected in these documents.
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citizens → understand → documents
Unless the court speeds up the process, all we can do is speak out publicly to pressure the FBI and the Department of Justice to take ownership and stop stringing the American people along regarding the Butler assassination investigation," he told Fox News Digital.
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he → speed → Digital
A previous batch of documents Judicial Watch obtained through FOIA also revealed that, shortly before Crooks climbed onto the roof of the AGR International building where he fired his weapon from, he engaged in a heated argument with rally attendees on the ground.
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he → obtain → ground
"Thomas Crooks was behaving erratically in a very public way at the rally.
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Crooks → behave → rally
This wasn't a case of someone furtively running around; he was getting into a verbal altercation with individuals about Trump and then immediately went up onto the roof.
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he → run → roof
That just blows my mind," Fitton told Fox News Digital.
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Fitton → blow → Digital
Fitton complained that the shear numbers of the documents involved in the shooting call for a faster release process.
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numbers → complain → process
"The entire release process involves approximately 75,000 pages.
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process → involve → pages
At 500 pages per month, it will take well over 12 years to review them all.
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it → take → them
To me, that is unacceptable," he told Fox News Digital.
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he → tell → Digital
I believe the president wants it done, and it’s frustrating that the FBI is taking its typical approach to transparency—which is to offer very little," he said.
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he → believe → little
Fox News Digital contacted the FBI and U.S. Secret Service for comment.
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Digital → contact → comment
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