Former President Donald Trump was nearly killed on July 13. Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, tried to assassinate the former president in Butler, Pennsylvania. The rooftop overlooking the rally stage was left unprotected, a glaring security flaw for which the FBI or the Secret Service has offered no acceptable explanation. We’re still sifting through the details, but a Secret Service sniper penned a chilling email where he warned of more assassination attempts.
"A Secret Service counter-sniper sent an email Monday night to the entire Uniformed Division (not agents) saying he will not stop speaking out until '5 high-level supervisors (1 down) are either fired or removed from their current positions,'" wrote RealClearPolitics' Susan Crabtree. "The counter-sniper also said the agency 'should expect another assassination attempt" before November and complained that he is no longer proud to be a USSS counter sniper after leadership failed the officers at the Trump rally in Butler on 7/13." The email has since been deleted by the agency (via The Federalist):
🚨🚨🚨 EXCLUSIVE: A Secret Service counter sniper sent an email Monday night to the entire Uniformed Division (not agents) saying he will not stop speaking out until "5 high-level supervisors (1 down) are either fired or removed from their current positions." The counter sniper… pic.twitter.com/0dg99EESQk
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) July 30, 2024
A Secret Service whistleblower just said there will be another assassination attempt, maybe even within the next 30 days, because of the corruption within the Secret Service. https://t.co/5uaW7uWjSO
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) July 30, 2024
Secret Service counter-sniper warned in an email there would be another assassination attempt, citing the agency’s inability to protect leaders after a shooter wounded former President Donald Trump, two of his supporters, and killed another at a rally.
“We all SHOULD expect another [assassination] attempt to happen before November,” the counter-sniper wrote in the email obtained by RealClearPolitics and posted to X. “This agency NEEDS to change, if not now, WHEN? The NEXT assassination attempt in 30 days?”
The counter-sniper emailed the entire Secret Service Uniformed Division Monday night, saying the operators assigned to Trump’s fatal rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 did their jobs “with their hands tied” and that Secret Service supervisors “knew better.”
“The foot soldiers working, made the best of a BAD situation that resulted in a civilian death and a near miss of the protectee and our Technician shooting and killing the suspect,” the counter-sniper wrote. “Our responsibility, our MISSION, is not about protecting an EMPTY White House located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It’s about preventing and stopping another JFK style assassination, in whatever city that may be. Sadly, we have fallen short for YEARS.”
No one in the country is better sourced and does a better job of fairly reporting on the Secret Service than Susan. She's been kicking the Washington Post's ass on this beat for years.
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) July 30, 2024
https://t.co/wnjJrplhIf
This was revealed during Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe’s testimony before the joint Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees today. While we should hope nothing like this ever happens again, the rooftop and the circus that followed regarding why it was left untouched don’t bode well for rebuilding trust in the agency.
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said the sloped roof prevented teams from taking positions there, which was easily refuted. Cheatle would later resign amid increasing scrutiny over the agency’s failure to protect Trump. This incident is among the few times we’ve seen genuine bipartisan outrage and concern.
The email is something to watch, especially as Trump declares that outdoor rallies are back and vows to hold another rally in Butler soon.
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