Trump assassination attempt: Senators grill the Secret Service’s communication and drone failures in Butler
WASHINGTON - The head of the U.S. Secret Service and FBI were grilled by Senators about the attempted assassination of former President Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee questioned FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate and Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe on the security failures that took place on July 13th.
"I am still shocked how a 20-year-old loner could outsmart two of the most established federal agencies. And almost pull it off," Senator Tom Carper said, summing up what many in the room were thinking.
One of the major flaws discussed: the Secret Service’s drone was not operational at the rally site.
The acting director attributed the drone issues to the rocky cell service in the area surrounding the rally.
"Communication that day at the Butler rally site was challenging," Rowe said. "This day, in particular, there was a connectivity problem."
"Faulty connectivity" kept the Secret Service’s drone out of operation until 5 pm. Senator Mike Lee from Utah explicitly asked Rowe why the shooter’s drone could fly despite poor service, but the Secret Service’s drone did not. Rowe could provide an answer.
If the drone was active and surveying the rally grounds, it would have detected the shooter’s drone and alerted the Secret Service of the potential threat.
"We could have perhaps found him," Rowe said. "Maybe even stopped him before."
Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa expressed serious concern about why such an advanced federal agency depends on local cell service.
Other grave flaws were picked apart by Senators, including the communication and planning between local law enforcement and the Secret Service.
"We did have a meeting in the days leading up to the event to assess any potential threats. The focus is to coordinate times for walk-throughs. Those walk-through assessments of the Butler site did happen," Abbate said.
Local law enforcement was stationed inside of the AGR building which Crooks climbed on top of. A whistleblower claimed that police were supposed to be stationed on the roof of the building, but it got too hot and they went down. Rowe said he heard the same claims but did not confirm it.
Senator Lee asked Rowe why local law enforcement officers covered the AGR building, a location that should have been covered by the Secret Service when the individuals did not meet the qualifications to work for the agency. Lee emphasized that a decision like this is "lethal."
Rowe stated that information about an active shooter "stayed within state and local enforcement and did not get passed to the Secret Service." This raised many questions in the Senate about whether any communication mechanisms exist to connect all layers of security at these kinds of events.
Department of Homeland Security ramps up investigation into Secret Service’s flaws at Trump rally
The security decisions made by the Secret Service before and during former President Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania will be under intense scrutiny by the Department of Homeland Security.
Questions spiraled among the Senate regarding why the shooter’s use of a range finder did not alter his classification from just a suspicious person to a serious threat.
Rowe argued that "a suspicious person turns to a threat when there is a weapon involved." Ignoring the suspicion that a range finder would only have been useful to someone who had a weapon and planned to use it.
Senators criticized the secrecy of the Secret Service and suggested they speak directly to the press to avoid conspiracies and the spread of false information. They argued for more frequent and public information releases.
"You guys are a black hole," said Senator Ted Cruz. "You’re making the federal government look bad, and you’re losing the trust of the American people. You need to commit to talking to the press."
Senator Ron Johnson said that the transparency of the July 13th events will be unveiled to the public.
"We need to find out literally second by second what happened, so the American public knows what happened," said Johnson.