Thomas Crooks spotted on roof by Secret Service 10 minutes BEFORE Donald Trump took stage at Pennsylvania rally, sources say

Members of Congress learned that nan would-be Donald Trump assassin Thomas Crooks was spotted by Secret Service 10 minutes earlier he walked retired onstage, and 20 minutes earlier he was shot.

On Saturday, 20-year-old Crooks changeable aggregate rounds astatine Trump, clipping his ear, injuring aggregate attendees and tragically sidesplitting erstwhile firefighter Corey Comperatore. 

After waiting days to study much of nan assassination attempt, lawmakers were briefed by nan FBI and Secret Service Wednesday connected cardinal specifications astir nan ongoing investigation. 

Sources connected nan telephone told DailyMail.com that complete an hr passed from nan shooter being spotted to his first shot. Even much troubling, Secret Service antagonistic snipers saw Crooks connected nan tile 20 minutes earlier he changeable nan erstwhile president.

At 5:52 p.m. nan 'suspicious' shooter was spotted connected nan tile by antagonistic snipers. 

Trump walked retired onto nan shape astatine 6:02 p.m. 

Then astatine astir 6:12 p.m. Crooks' first shots rang out.  

'That is simply a crazy magnitude of clip they fto walk earlier firing,' nan root said. 

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, confirmed this successful a tweet Wednesday afternoon.

'They had identified nan shooter arsenic 'suspicious' a afloat 19 minutes earlier nan shooting,' he posted. 

Lee said that senators were only allowed to inquire 4 questions during nan briefing, which he described arsenic 'arbitrarily trim nan telephone short.' 

Adding reproach to existent injury, nan officials successful nan briefing did not supply immoderate accusation astir why their consequence took truthful long. 

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle did not cognize really Crooks sewage onto nan roof, nan root added. 

Also coming into mobility connected nan telephone was nan imaginable motive for Crooks to perpetrate specified an atrocity. 

Officials did not corroborate an operating motive and said that his rationale remains a mystery.  

They said that they person yet to find immoderate ideological worldly that could radiance ray connected why Crooks decided to sprout nan erstwhile president.

But, they did uncover that Crooks operated respective accounts connected encrypted platforms that they are still moving to summation entree to, nan root said. 

'He was identified arsenic a characteristic of suspicion because [he had] a rangefinder arsenic good arsenic a backpack. And this was complete an hr earlier nan shooting really occurred,' Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said connected Fox News Wednesday afternoon.

'So, you would deliberation complete nan people of that hour, you shouldn't suffer show of nan individual.'

'Somebody ought to beryllium pursuing up connected those sorts of things. No grounds of that happening astatine all.'

The Wyoming Republican later posted a connection calling nan gathering a '100 percent cover-your-a** briefing.'  

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has said nan agency's capacity astatine nan rally was 'unacceptable,' Tuesday evening, but antecedently she had sought to displacement blasted connected others. 

Shortly aft nan shooting she noted really section authorities were successful complaint of securing nan building Crooks was on. 

Later, she walked that backmost Tuesday and said nan Secret Service was 'solely responsible' for not preventing nan attack.

There are aggregate investigations into nan shooting from some wrong nan Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - nan agency that oversees nan Secret Service - and successful Congress. 

Cheatle is expected to attest astir nan shooting connected Monday earlier nan House Oversight Committee.