Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) detailed a Secret Service briefing given to senators on Wednesday about the recent assassination attempt on former President Trump, saying “virtually no information was provided.”
“It’s infuriating,” he said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“The director of the Secret Service acknowledged that mistakes and gaffes were made,” he added, referring to Kimberly Cheatle.
But Johnson said the briefing, given by another official, was “largely irrelevant,” and that only four senators were allowed to ask questions, with no follow-up afterward.
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Senator Ron Johnson blasted the Secret Service for not giving senators enough information in its briefings. (Getty Images)
According to Johnson, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) asked when police first learned about the person who ultimately shot and killed President Trump and others at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. The briefing note said police were aware of the suspect, Thomas Crooks, about an hour before he opened fire.
“That’s the $64,000 question: When did the sniper team identify? [him]When did he [their] “Did they ask for permission to mitigate the threat? Were they denied?” Johnson asked.
“That’s the question. That’s being asked,” he said.
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is hurriedly escorted off the stage during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“They should have provided that up front,” the senator said.
While he said he called for transparency and tried to prevent the spread of conspiracy theories, he suggested it would be counterintuitive for police to suppress key information about the case.
“They should be addressing what’s going on,” Johnson said. “They haven’t.”
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images/File)
The Wisconsin Republican opposed the service’s briefings, saying they “should be made public so people can ask detailed questions.” [and] Follow-up question.”
“That’s not what this is about,” he said. “This was a check-the-box briefing. By not providing information, it’s just giving four senators an opportunity to ask questions. This isn’t providing the kind of information people need.”
He noted that a lack of information at the briefings led to different reporting by media outlets, saying “this is not the way to do it.”
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Secret Service agents assemble to provide security for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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The assassination attempt left Trump bloodied and with a broken right ear, but ultimately uninjured, and he has decided not to postpone his appearance at this week’s Republican National Convention, where one spectator, Corey Comperatore, was killed after he was fatally wounded trying to shield his family from bullets. Two other people injured at the event were also hospitalized.
Lawmakers expressed serious concerns after the shooting as details emerged suggesting mistakes by the Secret Service and law enforcement.
