House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Thursday clarified an anonymous whistleblower’s allegation that Secret Service agents said they had “limited resources” ahead of the rally where a gunman opened fire on former President Trump.
Jordan’s allegations do not specifically address whether limited resources affected Secret Service staffing at the rally or security preparations that may have led to the assassination attempt.
Jordan said, Allegations in the whistleblower letter Trump briefed FBI Director Christopher Wray on the matter ahead of a hearing next week that was scheduled to take place before Trump’s July 13 rally, where the shooting occurred.
Jordan said in his letter that a whistleblower told the committee that on July 8, just days before the rally, the Secret Service held two briefings with the Western Pennsylvania Fusion Center — an organization that integrates threat intelligence sharing among federal, state and local partners — and other officials to discuss two planned visits to Pennsylvania on July 13, one with President Trump and the other with First Lady Jill Biden.
“USSS Special Agent Tim Burke reportedly told law enforcement partners that USSS resources were limited that week because he was in Washington, D.C., covering the NATO summit,” Jordan said the whistleblower told the committee. “FBI officials were also present at that briefing. The committee recognizes that the FBI is one of many agencies represented on the committee, but… [Western Pennsylvania Fusion Center]The Bureau is the lead agency for Federal investigative investigations and is a key source of information regarding potential threats to special events in its area of responsibility.”
A Secret Service spokesman declined to comment on ongoing investigations but said the agency is “committed to cooperating with any appropriate and appropriate investigations into what happened on July 13, including with Congress, the inspector general, and both internal and independent investigations.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the whistleblower’s allegations, and the FBI declined to comment.
Secret Service Communications Director Anthony Guglielmi said: I said before The allegation that Trump’s team requested additional security but was denied is untrue. The claimed resources have been diverted He called the transfer of power from Trump to Jill Biden “very wrong” and said the agency was not diverting resources from Trump.
Jordan also detailed other questions committee members are expected to ask Wray at the hearing, including why the roof of the building where the shooter entered was not secured and what coordination took place between agencies ahead of the rally.
Wray and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle briefed House and Senate members on the situation in two conference calls on Wednesday.
Senators were told the 20-year-old suspect who injured Trump in the ear and killed another rally attendee had been marked as suspicious by the Secret Service more than an hour before the shooting.
A classified briefing for House members is scheduled for next week, according to a source familiar with the plans.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has also pledged to set up a bipartisan task force with subpoena power to investigate the assassination attempt.
