Staff Reports
Congressman Tim Burchett did what too few in Washington will do: he spoke plainly about the unthinkable possibility that Thomas Crooks, the young man who opened fire at a Trump rally, might not have been an isolated, self-made monster but a product of dark intelligence tradecraft and psychological manipulation. Burchett told Benny Johnson he believes Crooks was “programmed” in an MKUltra-style operation, a blunt accusation that cuts straight to the rot many Americans fear is lurking inside our own government. Conservative voters should applaud a member of Congress willing to ask hard questions instead of swallowing the convenient official story.
The facts of the July 13, 2024 attack in Butler, Pennsylvania are chilling: Thomas Crooks fired at President Trump from a rooftop, wounded the president, killed an attendee, and was himself shot dead by Secret Service countersnipers. The scene exposed chaos in the response and left too many unanswered questions about motive, planning, and how a young man with no clear manifesto came to commit such a brazen act. Americans deserve a full accounting of how this happened and why critical evidence and leads seem to evaporate under the weight of secrecy.
The FBI insists its exhaustive inquiry — hundreds of agents, thousands of interviews, and seizures of devices — shows Crooks acted alone with limited online footprint and little in-person collaboration. But when agencies churn out dense reports that end in “no conspiracy found,” patriots have every right to be skeptical, especially after years of obfuscation from careers bureaucrats. Tucker Carlson’s reporting and other independent probes exposed gaps that demand oversight, not silence from skeptical members of Congress.
Meanwhile the Secret Service has been forced to answer for its failures at the rally, including suspensions and internal discipline for lapses that could have cost the president his life and cost Americans their trust. This isn’t just about procedure; it’s about competence and accountability at an agency entrusted with protecting our leaders and, by extension, our Republic. If the agencies charged with safety and truth prefer in-house corrections over full transparency, then the people must demand congressional hearings and unvarnished answers.
History reminds us why Burchett’s concerns resonate. The CIA’s MKUltra program is not a myth but a documented episode in which the agency experimented with mind-control techniques on unwitting subjects, and those revelations came only after congressional investigations and declassified documents. Given that history of covert experimentation and the habit of agencies to hide inconvenient facts, skepticism about rash denials from the intelligence community is not paranoia — it is prudence.
Hardworking Americans aren’t asking for conspiracy for the sake of drama; they want truth, accountability, and an end to the culture of cover-up that protects institutions over citizens. If a congressman can publicly call out possible MKUltra-style grooming, then the rest of the House and Senate ought to follow with subpoenas, public hearings, and a relentless demand for files, witnesses, and forensic transparency. This country deserves better than platitudes from the Deep State; it deserves the truth, and we should stand with elected leaders who have the courage to seek it.
