Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance slammed the FBI Thursday for its ongoing manhunt for Charlie Kirk’s killer, arguing that the entire investigation had become ‘politicized’ under the thumb of the Trump administration.
“We saw tweets instead of press conferences and faulty information presented as fact,” wrote Vance, who previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, on her Substack “Civil Discourse.” “Instead of serving as the credible source for reliable updates that tamps down on conspiracy theories, this irresponsible action will undoubtedly fuel them.”
Kirk was killed Wednesday at Utah Valley University in an incident that drew international media attention and bi-partisan condemnation. His killer, however, remains on the loose two days later, with the FBI’s ongoing investigation already having produced several blunders.
“[Wednesday], the FBI director announced there was a suspect in custody; then, oops, it turned out that it wasn’t the guy, and he had to walk it back,” Vance wrote. “[Thursday], a [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] agent told a right-wing influencer the shooter’s ammunition was engraved with pro-transgender sentiments, but officials are now saying that ‘could’ be wrong.”
The problem, Vance argued, was that under President Donald Trump, the ongoing investigation had been consumed by the “politics of the moment,” directly contrasting Trump and his allies’ response to Kirk’s killing with past instances of political violence, such as the recent killing of a Minnesota Democratic lawmaker, or the attack on Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband, the latter of which “Republicans made jokes” about, including Trump himself.
The “politicizing” of the FBI’s investigation had other fallouts as well, Vance argued, and she pondered whether loyalty to Trump may hamper the investigation further.
“Will investigators be ordered only to follow leads that confirm the president’s narrative about who the shooter is?” she wrote. “Will investigators be afraid to follow the facts, having seen how easily agents who were doing their jobs but ran afoul of Trump can be fired?”