Acting Director of the Secret Service Ronald Rowe Jr. acknowledged before the Senate on Tuesday that the assassination attempt on former President Trump was a “failure of the Secret Service,” not a failure of local police.
Rowe’s confession marks the most direct finding of guilt by Secret Service agents and agents since the shooting on July 13. Acting FBI Director Paul Abbate appeared before the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees on Tuesday.
Rowe detailed a malfunction in the drone detection system that was supposed to be up and running before the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, conducted his own reconnaissance on the day of the rally.
Investigators say the drone system relies on public cellphone service and that bandwidth issues caused the system to come online at 5:20 p.m. instead of 3 p.m.
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The images were released on Capitol Hill on July 30, 2024, as U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate testified before Congress about the assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump. (Umit Bektas)
“Why is the Secret Service relying on local cell phone networks? Does the Secret Service have a backup plan?” asked Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
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“I’ve lost sleep worrying about what the ultimate outcome for this perpetrator would have been. What if that anti-UAS platform had been up and running and we’d been able to locate him?,” Lowe said. “It’s hard to comprehend and I can’t explain it. I feel like we could have found him. We could have stopped him. Maybe because the police saw me flying a drone that day, he decided that today wasn’t the day to do it.”
Acting Director of the Secret Service Ronald Rowe Jr. acknowledged to Congress on Tuesday that the assassination attempt on former President Trump was a “Secret Service failure” and not the fault of local police. (Robert Schmidt/AFP)
“There are drones flying around our facilities all the time. We go out and talk to them and verify their intent. On this day in particular, as you pointed out, there was a delay due to connectivity issues and he flew the drone at approximately 3:51. So going forward, we will be leveraging resources such as the Department of Homeland Security to ensure we have dedicated connectivity so that we can ensure that we are not relying on the public domain and that whatever assets we have in place, those assets are functional. We are committed to doing that,” Lowe continued.
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Lawmakers continued to press Rowe about why there was no security at the building where Crooks fired at Trump, with the official acknowledging it was “incomprehensible” why that was overlooked.
Rowe said a local sniper team was supposed to be positioned with a direct view of the rooftop, but that position was abandoned. Despite weeks of investigation, Rowe said the Secret Service has not confirmed why the position was abandoned.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) got into a heated exchange with Sen. Rowe over why no Secret Service agents have been fired or suspended in connection with the shooting.
Rowe argued that firing should wait until the investigation is over, but Hawley argued that the fact that the former president was shot was enough to act without delay.
U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. points to a photo displayed during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the security failures that led to the July 30, 2024, assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol. (Robert Schmidt/AFP)
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) also criticized the lack of transparency in the investigations of Rowe and Abbate, likening the case to the Pulse nightclub shooting while he was governor of Florida, and said the Secret Service and FBI should hold near-daily press conferences.
Lawmakers were particularly drawn to the fact that Crooks was seen to have a rangefinder in his possession, but was deemed suspicious, not a threat. Rowe confirmed that rangefinders — the golf version — are not on the Secret Service’s list of prohibited items. He said the service would add them to the list in the near future.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) then cited a whistle-blower letter from a Secret Service counter-sniper officer and said the working environment within the agency needed major reform.
Her office did not immediately respond to a request to see the letter.
FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on July 30, 2024, discussing the events that led to the July 13 assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump. (Robert Schmidt/AFP)
Abbate later clarified that the FBI did not yet have full access to the apps on Crooks’ phone, and said some content remained hidden in encrypted messaging apps.
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Abbate added that the FBI believes it has identified one of Crooks’ social media accounts, but has not yet fully confirmed its ownership.
This is a developing story, check back here for updates.
