FBI Director Kash Patel wants MAGA to stop pushing insane claims about the man who tried to kill Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last year.
“As to why people keep coming back to this on social media, the reality is, many people make a lot of money on social media pushing conspiracy theories for clicks,” Patel told Fox News Saturday.
Patel’s interview with Fox follows a week after he announced the FBI had determined Thomas Matthew Crooks “had limited online and in person interactions, planned and conducted the attack alone, and did not leak or share his intent to engage in the attack with anyone.”
While Patel, 45, has never peddled theories about the Butler shooting specifically, before becoming head of the FBI he enjoyed a career pushing wild and outlandish claims in the conspiracy-laden world of conservative podcasting.
Many among the MAGA base have long speculated Crooks, who was shot dead during his attempt on Trump’s life last June, had ties to the left-wing antifa movement.
Others believe he was working either with the backing of the “deep state,” a nefarious super-governmental entity often featured in Patel’s own conspiracy theories, or with the help of a hostile foreign government.
The results of the bureau’s investigation have naturally encountered a degree of backlash from Trump’s supporters.
Tucker Carlson has said “the current FBI doesn’t want us to know” the truth behind Crooks’ crimes.
Even some Republican Congressman, like Mike Kelly and Pat Fallon, claim their own investigative efforts are being “stonewalled” by the FBI.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who also spoke with Fox News Saturday, was quick to back Patel up.
“I would ask the public: What motivation would Kash Patel and Dan Bongino possibly have to hide from their personal friend, not just their boss, the president, information about a crime where he was the victim?” Bongino said.
“I don’t understand what the motivation would be,” he added.
The post Keystone Kash Admits MAGA’s Butler Gunman Theories are Crazy appeared first on The Daily Beast.
