A new report from the House Intelligence Committee found that the FBI “completely mishandled” its investigation into the 2017 shooting at a congressional baseball game practice in Washington, D.C. The 27-page report, released Tuesday, is the culmination of an oversight investigation into the attack in which four people were shot, including two Capitol police officers and now-Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA). The report criticizes the FBI’s handling of the investigation, as the agency initially characterized the event as a “suicide by cop,” before admitting years later it was a domestic terrorism incident.
Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford (R-AR) accused the FBI of acting with “a complete disregard and lack of investigative integrity” during a Tuesday morning press conference. The FBI briefed lawmakers who had been present for the shooting in 2017, stating that the situation was a “suicide by cop,” and not a politically motivated terrorist act. The FBI later changed its statement in 2021, telling the Appropriations Committee that the shooter was motivated “by a desire to commit an attack on Members of Congress.” “This conduct is something that we would today characterize as a domestic terrorism event,” said Jill Sanborn, then-executive assistant director for the bureau.
The FBI’s investigation found that the shooter, James Hodgkinson, 66, had been targeting Republican members of Congress and espoused opposition to President Donald Trump before he drove from Illinois to Washington. The agency released information that the shooter had a piece of paper on his person with the names of six GOP members, and “no context was included.” However, the Intelligence Committee released a document that included physical descriptions and addresses on the list, calling the decision to leave out those details “grossly unprofessional” and inconsistent with intelligence assessment standards. “The FBI’s cherry-picking on what to disclose or not to disclose to substantiate a conclusion is concerning, and demonstrates politicization and lack of objectivity that the Committee has observed in other IC analytic products for high-profile cases,” the committee’s report stated.
Scalise, a rank-and-file representative at the time, applauded the committee in a statement. “This report definitively shows the FBI completely mishandled the investigation into the Congressional baseball shooting of 2017 – ignoring crucial and obvious facts in order to sell a false narrative that the shooting was not politically motivated,” the leader said. The committee recommended in its report that FBI Director Kash Patel conduct a “swift review” of how the FBI came to its conclusions in 2017 and whether those decisions were made by leadership or analysts closest to the case.
The director is also encouraged to take action to hold those involved in the “substandard” investigation accountable. Intelligence lawmakers are also urging legislation to install criminal liability for the “politicization of intelligence analysis,” as well as asking Patel to propose legislative solutions should he find that domestic extremists are more willing to resort to political violence. TRUMP’S CABINET TO FACE DOGE SCRUTINY IN FLURRY OF BUDGET HEARINGS “I encourage Director Patel to adopt the recommendations of the Committee to ensure the intelligence community is rid of bias and to identify who was responsible for the misleading and incorrect conclusions and why, and ensure the FBI gets back to its mission of following the facts, wherever they may lead,” Scalise said.
The FBI told the Washington Examiner it is “grateful for our partners in Congress, and as Director Patel promised during his confirmation, this FBI is committed to working quickly and transparently with Capitol Hill to ensure the American people receive the full truth they deserve.” “We have diligently delivered all requested documents and will continue to cooperate fully with Congress to uphold transparency and accountability,” the agency added.
