So now we’re up to two foiled assassination attempts against Donald Trump since just mid-July, and with each new revelation, the Secret Service just looks worse and worse. The staggering security lapses in the first incident—the July 13 Butler, PA shooting, which resulted in the former president’s ear being grazed by a bullet and three rallygoers being hit, one fatally—were arguably worse than in Sunday’s attempt at a Florida golf course where the attempted shooter was seen and shot at before he could fire at Trump.
On Tuesday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) alleged in a letter to acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe (he’s the “acting director” because former Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in disgrace after Butler) that agents had assured local authorities that they would take care of the rooftop where the shooter eventually set up his sniper’s nest.
Grassley:
Butler County law enforcement officials stated that at separate times during the walkthrough, when they reiterated their concerns to the agents and counter sniper about securing the AGR complex buildings, the agents responded: “we will take care of it.”
The Iowa senator questioned Rowe whether the Butler County law enforcement officials’ claim is true and, if so, what the Secret Service did to secure the area with the AGR complex buildings.
Grassley noted that in the weeks following the first assassination attempt, Rowe told senators during a hearing, “what was communicated is that the locals had a plan and that they had been there before,” in regard to the roof of the AGR building where Crooks took his shots from.
The Iowa senator noted a pattern of errors and pointed out that the second assassination attempt brought into question the agency’s ability to even “fulfill its protective mission”:
“My ongoing investigation … has exposed significant security weaknesses and outright failures in how key U.S. agencies, including the Secret Service, ensure the safety and security of U.S. leaders,” Grassley wrote in a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner to acting Secret Service Director Ron Rowe on Tuesday.
“Moreover, the second attempted assassination against former President Trump on September 15, 2024, raises further questions about the Secret Service’s ability to fulfill its protective mission. This calls for continuing oversight to make sure failures are not repeated,” the letter continued.
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Grassley has been frustrated by what he says is a lack of responsiveness from Rowe and other officials. “Due to that failure,” Grassley wrote, “I’ve had to go around the Secret Service to get answers.”
He went on to demand that Rowe “provide answers and a responsive production of records to this letter” no later than Sept. 24.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is also irked by the stonewalling from federal officials and is demanding that they turn over all information regarding the Butler shooting:
Today the Homeland Security Committee UNANIMOUSLY adopted my bill demanding Secret Service & DHS stop stonewalling and give us ALL the documents and information related to the Trump assassination attempt in Butler.
We’re one step closer to the truth pic.twitter.com/pwfk4EXxAM
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 18, 2024
In both assassination attempts, agents on the ground appeared to have acted quickly, effectively, and with bravery. However, with each new disclosure, it becomes increasingly apparent that things are rotten at the top.
