Blanche says authorities believe correspondents' dinner suspect was targeting administration

[0:00] We go now to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. [0:04] Welcome. Good morning. [0:05] And I'm glad you are safe, sir. [0:08] It was a harrowing night. [0:10] Good morning. You as well. [0:11] It was a harrowing night. [0:13] I want to get straight to what we know now in the light of day. [0:17] The FBI, as I understand it, has gone to a home in Torrance, California, [0:23] believed to belong to the alleged shooter, [0:26] most likely into his D.C. hotel room as well. [0:28] What have they discovered there? [0:30] What do we know? [0:34] Yes, that's right. [0:35] So the FBI worked all night working with local law enforcement, [0:38] working with the Secret Service. [0:40] They've executed various search warrants on locations, [0:43] also on devices that were recovered from the suspect. [0:47] This investigation is just over 12 hours old, [0:51] so we still are actively looking at everything that happened. [0:55] But as of now, we have collected a fair amount of evidence, [1:00] which we're now going through. [1:00] Any indication at this point that he was part of a group? [1:06] Was there any foreign nexus to the inspiration for the violence he attempted last night? [1:11] We're still looking into motivation, and that's something that hopefully we'll learn over the next couple of days. [1:18] We do believe, based upon just a very preliminary start to understanding what happened, [1:23] that he was targeting members of the administration. [1:27] We don't have specifics beyond that kind of general statement from what we've learned so far, [1:32] but we're actively talking to witnesses that knew him and talking to other individuals [1:38] and going through the material that we've collected. [1:40] So I expect that you will hear more about that in the coming days. [1:44] You mentioned a statement. [1:46] Is the shooter, alleged shooter, sharing details on what he was attempting to do? [1:52] What makes you say it was a threat to administration officials writ large? [1:57] Just based on the evidence we've collected, not a statement from the suspect, [2:03] just from what we've learned in our preliminary investigation. [2:07] He's not actively cooperating. [2:10] I expect that he will be formally charged tomorrow morning in federal court in Washington, D.C., [2:16] and we'll go from there. [2:17] So the Secret Service has said that the suspected gunman was staying in the hotel. [2:22] He walked up to a security checkpoint with a shotgun, handgun, and multiple knives. [2:27] How long had he been inside that hotel, and was there a security protocol for guests? [2:33] We're still understanding the security protocols that led to him being able to have firearms in that hotel. [2:43] We do believe he was staying in the hotel in the days leading up to last night. [2:48] We believe that he traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, [2:52] and then from Chicago to Washington, D.C. [2:55] As far as what happened with him coming down and breaching the perimeter, [3:01] as you've seen from some videos that have already been released, [3:05] he was apprehended and subdued feet away from breaking the perimeter. [3:10] So we were all safe inside, and that's a testament to the Secret Service doing their job [3:16] and to law enforcement doing exactly what we hope and expect them to do in a time. [3:21] They trained for this their entire careers, [3:24] and many of them never actually see it happen in real time. [3:28] And it happened last night, and they reacted exactly as they should have. [3:33] So the alleged shooter, as we just said, had multiple weapons in his possession. [3:37] Here in the District of Columbia, open carry is not permitted. [3:41] You just said he traveled from California across the country by train. [3:45] At this point, are you thinking at the federal level of changing security protocols in any way [3:52] to, for example, match on trains what you are expected to go through when you fly, [3:59] where you do have to declare a weapon when you cross state lines? [4:02] How did he travel by train without any challenge and arrive here in the nation's capital? [4:10] Look, this isn't about, in my mind, changing the law or making the laws more restrictive around possession of firearms. [4:17] It appears he purchased these firearms the past couple years. [4:19] We don't know how those firearms ended up in his possession in D.C. [4:23] We can make some assumptions based upon what I just said about how he got to D.C. [4:28] But I don't think the narrative here is about changing laws or changing, making our laws more restrictive. [4:36] This is about law enforcement who are doing their jobs and a suspect who tried to do something and failed miserably. [4:43] Well, I'm not talking about changing the law in terms of possession of a firearm. [4:47] I'm asking about crossing state lines with that firearm and arriving in the Capitol. [4:50] If you try to fly, you do have to have your firearms declared in some way. [4:55] You don't when you get on a train. [5:00] Well, look, you are talking about, I mean, if we're asking the question, that's talking about changing the laws. [5:04] And I don't think that's something that we should be focused on right now in any way, shape, or form. [5:08] Okay, not a loophole. [5:09] There are lots of ways that, yeah. [5:12] So, I mean, look, we don't, and we also don't know, we don't have all the answers this morning. [5:17] We're still looking into what happened, how he got the guns, if he got them legally. [5:21] But what we do know is that he tried to use them. [5:25] He did have two firearms and some knives on his person when he tried to use them. [5:29] And he was stopped before he got anywhere near the president, before he got near any of us that were in the room at the time that this occurred. [5:38] And that's, again, we can't overlook, and I'm not suggesting you are, but we can't overlook the great work of the Secret Service last night. [5:45] No, absolutely. [5:46] We're all thankful for that. [5:48] But we do see these kind of threats at the local and state level as well for those who aren't as heavily protected as all of us in that room were last night, [5:56] which is why I ask you if you're reviewing that. [5:59] U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, said the suspect will be charged with two counts, [6:05] using a firearm during a violent crime and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. [6:11] Do you, at this point, anticipate further charges? [6:17] Yes, we'll see about further charges. [6:20] So that's one of the things that we need to go through the evidence. [6:22] So there's a lot of federal charges that could be in play beyond those two charges. [6:26] But it depends on us understanding his motive, his intent, his premeditation, what led into him deciding that he was going to do what he did last night. [6:37] But just to be clear, those are very serious charges. [6:40] He will face a judge as early as tomorrow morning for those two charges. [6:45] But the investigation is brand new. [6:48] And so we will continue to investigate. [6:50] And if there's more charges, they'll be brought. [6:53] He'll be charged via complaint, and that'll be tomorrow morning. [6:56] And then an indictment will come thereafter, and there could be additional charges in that indictment. [7:02] But we have to see as the evidence develops. [7:04] So you must have attended past correspondence dinner. [7:08] I mean, for over 50 years, they've been held at this hotel. [7:14] Last night, it was extraordinary because we had the president, the vice president, [7:19] the speaker of the House, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, the secretary of the Treasury, all in the same room. [7:26] Those are five out of the top six leaders in that line of succession for this country, [7:31] should something have actually happened to the president himself. [7:35] Was there planning for that? [7:37] I mean, when we have the State of the Union, there's a designated survivor. [7:40] Was there an increased concern about gathering all of our leadership in that room last night? [7:46] We will not stop doing things like we did last night in this administration. [7:54] And this man, if one of his goals was to get us to be scared, he failed. [7:59] And let me just let me make clear that you're right. [8:01] All those folks were in the room and more. [8:04] And yet we were all safe. [8:05] Law enforcement did their jobs. [8:07] And so President Trump said last night, and he means it, and I very much agree with him, [8:11] that this type of conduct will not deter him. [8:14] It will not stop him from living. [8:15] It will not stop him from doing his job. [8:17] And that is not only him, but the vice president, the cabinet, the law enforcement, you all, [8:23] journalists, you're not going to stop doing your jobs either because of this lone man that did what [8:29] he did. [8:29] And so this is something that we all are still reacting to because it's fresh. [8:36] But I assure you that the types of things that you saw last night and the president being out [8:41] there and available to the American public, that will not change because of what this guy tried [8:46] to do last night. [8:47] Well, there has been reporting over the past few months that due to this increased threat [8:51] environment, both on the domestic front, but also because of the war in Gaza, because of the war in [8:56] Iran, that there is an intensity to this moment and that there had been an effort to not allow the [9:03] vice president and president to be together because of the risk. [9:07] Why was that different? [9:10] The vice president and president are together almost every day. [9:13] I mean, they're together constantly. [9:14] In a public event. [9:15] So that's false reporting? [9:19] Well, I see them together all the time. [9:21] They were certainly together last night. [9:23] And so, look, I'm not minimizing the threats that President Trump and the vice president and that [9:28] all the cabinet face every day for the reasons that you just described, domestically, Iran, [9:34] internationally. [9:34] And that is why we have a robust law enforcement keeping us safe and doing their jobs. [9:39] It allows the vice president and president to do the work they need to do. [9:43] It allows the secretary of state to do the work that he needs to do. [9:46] And so, on the one hand, we take those threats very seriously, always have, and we always will. [9:52] On the other hand, we do not, the way we respond to those threats is not to go into a bunker and hide. [9:57] It's to trust the law enforcement that are keeping us safe. [10:01] And that's what happened last night. [10:03] And that's what I think we will continue to see going forward. [10:06] So, as I understand it, there was one injured Secret Service agent. [10:11] But as the president said, he was wearing a bulletproof vest. [10:15] Can you tell us if he's been released from the hospital? [10:18] And to be clear, there was gunfire happening. [10:23] We believe from our reporting that the shooter did get off some rounds. [10:28] Was it the alleged shooter or alleged assailant here who shot the Secret Service agent? [10:37] That's what we understand as of now. [10:40] And the president spoke with him last night. [10:42] He was in great spirits. [10:44] He apparently didn't really even want to go to the hospital, although he was certainly injured and it was the right thing. [10:49] As far as whether he's been released, I don't want to get into his medical situation. [10:53] That's not fair to him. [10:55] But enough to say that we all heard his voice last night. [10:58] The president gave him words of encouragement and appreciation and thanking him for the work that he's doing for all of us. [11:06] And I will tell you, he was in very good spirits. [11:08] And so that's a tragedy avoided. [11:11] And it is because he was wearing a bulletproof vest. [11:15] I have to let you go. [11:17] But writ large, is there a thought of increasing the country's security posture after last night? [11:22] We have every single day we're focused on our security. [11:28] And so I promise you that the work that we were doing yesterday will continue today. [11:33] And if there's things that we need to adjust, we will. [11:35] But last night was, of all the bad things that happened last night, and there were a lot, it was a tragic evening. [11:41] It was also a success story when it comes to the Secret Service and FBI and law enforcement, of which we're very grateful. [11:48] All right. [11:48] Todd Blanche, thank you. [11:49] Thank you.