The Secret Service held a presser yesterday where they again accepted full responsibility for the cataclysmic failure to protect former President Donald Trump during his July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. It was a rare event since the agency has opted to remain in the bunker unless they’re hauled before Congress. Acting Director Ronald Rowe has been more willing to be the public whipping boy, but lingering questions remain, and it’s starting to make some lawmakers impatient. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) outright said that a “cover-up” clearly happened (via Fox News):
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, was among a number of Republican lawmakers who reacted to acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe’s press conference Friday about the assassination attempt on former President Trump at a rally in July. Lee said he believes there’s more to the story than what Rowe told reporters.
"It is clear that the American people still have not been given the full story," Lee told Fox News Digital in a statement. "From the beginning, rally attendees and people with cellphone footage seem to have been more invested in stopping the shooter and figuring out what happened than the Secret Service itself. It is shocking that more officials have not been held accountable."
[…]
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said there was "clearly a cover-up."
"I do not believe acting Director Rowe was forthcoming, as the government rarely admits to being wrong," Johnson told Fox News Digital. "I suspect that Rowe knows precisely who was responsible for this massive security failure and that this is clearly a cover-up. We need a detailed investigation and transcribed interviews to uncover the truth."
Only three in 10 Americans are extremely or very confident the Secret Service can keep presidential candidates safe since Trump's assassination attempt, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
But Secret Service was IN CHARGE of this event, and in charge of local law enforcement. USSS lack of knowledge about events transpiring over nearly *two hours* at their own event is inexcusable https://t.co/c01mdwXTQ9
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) August 2, 2024
New details also emerged from this presser—all bad for the Secret Service. One of these was related to the breakdown of communications. Local SWAT teams had photos and descriptions of Trump’s would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, but that information never made it to the key individuals who could have acted. Why? Well, the Secret Service didn’t have access to the radio system—I wish I was kidding (via ABC News):
There may have been radio traffic from local police that the Secret Service didn't have access to that could’ve proved crucial to stopping former President Donald Trump from going on stage the day of the assassination attempt, the acting director of the Secret Service said Friday.
"It was so apparent to me that in this incident, in the final 30 seconds, which has been the focus of what happened before the assailant opened fire, there was clearly radio transmissions that may have happened on that local radio net that we did not have," acting Director Ronald Rowe said at a news conference. "And so, we have to do a better job of collocating, leveraging that counterpart system, and this is going to drive our operations going forward."
Rowe said the shooting was a Secret Service failure alone.
"In no way should any state or local agency supporting us in Butler on July 13 be held responsible," he said.
Also, Mr. Rowe said that Secret Service snipers were unaware that someone was on that rooftop with a gun (via RealClearPolitics):
At 5:45 p.m., a local Butler County Emergency Services Unit counter-sniper team member texted the Secret Service counter-sniper team leader about a suspicious person and sent two photos of the individual, later identified as the assailant. At 5:53 p.m., the Secret Service counter-sniper team leader texted the Secret Service counter-sniper teams that local law enforcement was looking for a suspicious individual outside of the perimeter lurking around the AGR building. At this time, Secret Service personnel were operating with the knowledge that local law enforcement was working on an issue of a suspicious individual.
The concept of local law enforcement working on such issues is common at sites, and on July 13th, there were over 100 calls for support. At 6 p.m., former President Trump took the stage to begin remarks, and based on what I know right now, neither the Secret Service counter-sniper teams nor members of the former president's security detail had any knowledge that there was a man on the roof of the AGR building with a firearm. It is my understanding that personnel were not aware the assailant had a firearm until they heard gunshots.
It all circles back to that rooftop which was left unprotected inside the security permitter. The American Glass Research roof, which Crooks used to stage his assassination attempt, was less than 200 yards from the stage with a clear line of sight. Trump missed a fatal headshot by millimeters, and new video shows Crooks on the rooftop before he opened fire. Law enforcement saw this kid almost 100 minutes before the attack. Leaked texts from sniper and SWAT teams show that they were aware of Crooks, who was always a step ahead of the Secret Service. Trump was saved by pure luck and maybe some divine intervention. We got lucky, and this agency deserves to give us more of the picture.