The Secret Service is facing new scrutiny following Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Trump, bringing the long-troubled agency back into the spotlight over what many see as failures on its part to protect the high-profile candidate. of the Republican Party.
Trump was bloodied Saturday during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania after he said a bullet hit his ear. One rally participant was killed and two were injured in the incident sparked by a 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was perched on top of a building near the event site. Crooks was shot to death by authorities moments after firing his gun.
Although Trump himself said his Secret Service detail did a “fantastic job” protecting him from the shooter, the agency faced swift backlash due to the apparent danger.
“This will be highly scrutinized and scrutinized,” said Lauren Bean Buitta, founder of the national security nonprofit Girl Security. “And if a security breach is identified, the Secret Service and other agencies will share information and lessons from this incident to try to prevent another occurrence.”
Political leaders, lawmakers and social media provocateurs on both sides of the aisle have sharply questioned how a lone attacker managed to shoot Trump.
Representative Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said in a statement that the incident raised “grave concerns” about the security measures taken – or not taken – to protect Trump, while Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X that “any third grader would know that it would be negligent not to have personnel on the roof where the shooter was positioned.” Others called for the agency’s leadership to resign.
Cheryl Tyler, a former Secret Service agent, said “a lot of work” is needed to prepare for major events involving protected individuals. Typically, an advance team of agents is assembled to liaise with local authorities, look for vulnerabilities on location and on the map. develop contingency plans.
The gunman targeted the former president from a rooftop outside the venue, about 150 meters from where Trump was speaking – a little further than a football field.
When it comes to determining the location of a secure perimeter, there is no “rubber stamp” or “definitive answer,” Tyler said of the Secret Service process.
“The question is: why or why didn’t the secure perimeter go further? I don’t know those answers — only those who made the breakthrough know those answers,” Tyler said, suggesting the question is one investigators into the incident will likely try to answer.
The FBI was considered the lead investigator into the incident, which its director, Christopher Wray, called “nothing less than an attack on democracy and our democratic process.”
On Monday, the agency released an update saying it had gained access to the shooter’s phone, which technical experts continue to analyze. Nearly 100 interviews with law enforcement, event attendees and other witnesses have been conducted, the FBI said.
The DHS Office of Inspector General did not respond to questions about whether it intends to conduct its own investigation, given its oversight of the Secret Service.
When the shots were fired, Trump grabbed his ear and neck area before ducking below the auditorium behind which he was speaking. A split second later, Secret Service agents advanced toward the former president and created a human shield around him.
At that moment, his class “acted correctly,” said Jonathan Wackrow, another former Secret Service agent.
“They did the elements of their job,” he said. “They place themselves between the threat and the protected. They reacted quickly to get to the top of the president – protecting the president from harm.”
But before Trump was transported to a nearby vehicle to be transported, he asked his detail to “wait, wait, wait” before throwing a defiant fist into the air, met by applause from the crowd.
The move raised eyebrows from some critics who claimed it delayed Trump’s departure from the stage, but Tyler said the Secret Service had little say in the matter.
“You can have the worst-case scenarios on the planet, but if (a protégé is) determined to do what they want, they will do it,” she said.
The Secret Service counter-sniper team took down the shooter — the first time in the agency’s history, Wackrow said.
Kimberly Cheatle, who heads the Secret Service, defended the agency’s response to the assassination attempt in a statement Monday, writing that his staff acted “swiftly” and “neutralized” the shooter to ensure Trump’s safety.
She said the Secret Service intends to “fully participate” in the independent review President Biden ordered Sunday into security at the Pennsylvania rally, in addition to any oversight action by Congress.
“The Secret Service is working with all federal, state and local agencies involved to understand what happened, how it happened and how we can prevent an incident like this from happening again,” Cheatle said.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who oversees the Secret Service, called the event security a “failure” but later told reporters that he has “100% confidence” in the agency and its leadership.
Both former Secret Service agents who spoke to The Hill agreed that although agents appeared to be doing their jobs well at the time, overall security was still a “failure.”
“It is so shocking that this threat was able to get to an elevated firing position; 400 feet, basically, with a clear shot at the former president — I mean, that’s a security breach,” Wackrow said. “It is a failure to execute the plan. And I think that’s what the investigation needs to look into: where was this collapse? What happened that caused this catastrophic incident?”
Congress also sought swift oversight of the incident. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the House would conduct a “thorough investigation,” while House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) asked Cheatle to testify before his panel on the Secret Service response. She is scheduled to testify before the commission on July 22.
Concern about the attack was amplified by its proximity to the Republican National Convention, which began just days later in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
It also follows years of worsening political violence against public officials. In his Sunday night speech, Biden begged the Americans to “lower the temperature in our politics,” citing recent bouts of political violence, including the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, the attack on former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) husband, and the kidnapping plot against the governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer (D) . Trump urged the country to “stand together” after the attack.
Buitta said political leaders, campaigns and parties should start taking steps now to minimize potential civil unrest as the presidential election approaches.
“We don’t need to wait for the worst-case scenario, because this has occurred,” Buitta said.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
