Former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is once again questioning the decisions of the Trump Administration after the manifesto of the accused White House shooter was released.
The White House Correspondents' Dinner was interrupted Saturday night when shots rang out inside the Washington Hilton. President Trump, the First Lady and Vice President Vance were quickly escorted out of the ballroom as press from around the world took cover under their tables and seats.
A Secret Service agent was shot, but was wearing a bulletproof vest and is expected to recover, and no others were injured before the shooter was taken into custody. The alleged shooter has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California.
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A 1000-word manifesto, published in full by multiple outlets, outlines Allen's thoughts about the Trump Administration and points to why he may have attempted the shooting. Trump was questioned about the manifesto, which said "I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor coat my hands with his crimes," on 60 Minutes Sunday, and he responded by calling the journalist a "disgrace" and Allen a "sick person."
Greene supports manifesto release — but compares to past shooting
Greene, who has remained publicly critical of the administration following her messy falling out with the president and exile from MAGA's inner circle, questioned the release of the full manifesto on social media.
"Why does every shooter have a manifesto? Most shooter's manifesto's remain classified so they don't inspire more would be shooters. Why did they release Cole Allen's manifesto almost immediately?" Greene wrote in an April 27 post on X.
The manifesto was obtained and shared by multiple news outlets, independent of any release from the Trump Administration.
"I'm 1000% for releasing the manifesto. I'm for releasing all shooter's information ... but I want to know why the Trump admin released Cole Allen's manifesto immediately but they still keep a tight lid on Thomas Crooks," Greene wrote.
Crooks is accused of attempting to assassinate President Trump at an event in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. Multiple rounds were fired at the president as he spoke on stage, with one hitting him in the ear. Crooks was fatally shot by Secret Service agents.
"Thomas Crooks is dead and actually did shoot Trump in the face (ear which is part of the face) so why is all of his info/files totally sealed. It shouldn't be," Greene wrote. "Also, why is the security so lax around President Trump? ... I've asked questions about the lack of security around President Trump before. On the Oversight Committee, after Butler, I asked Kimberly Cheatle if there was a stand down order. And I still want to know to this day what the hell happened at Butler."
Greene says shooting used to justify FISA 702
In another post, Greene said the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting would be used to extend FISA 702, a government spy law that divided Congress.
"The President is using his war on Iran and last night's WHCD shooting as excuses to give up your rights so that Congress just passes a clean extension of FISA 702," Greene wrote. "It's ridiculous and absurd that any President who has sworn an oath to uphold the constitution would ever tell Americans to give up your rights so the government has the ability to spy on you, especially a government that has already done it to not only him, but to hundreds of thousands of Americans."
FISA 702, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act from the 9/11 era, allows America's spy agencies to access non-citizen's texts, calls and emails without a warrant to track enemy spies and extremists, though it has the chance to sweep up American's messages in the process, opponents argue.
An reauthorization of the act was already approved in the House on April 10 in the fourth vote after fighting between civil-liberty minded representatives and those in the intelligence community.
"The questions you should be asking is why is this so hard for them and why would the President of the United States demand a clean re-authorization of FISA 702 without warrant requirements????" Greene wrote.
Irene Wright covers politics in Georgia as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marjorie Taylor Greene questions release of WHCD shooter manifesto
