Pittsburgh – Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee on Tuesday questioned the new acting director of the Secret Service about why he has “lost public confidence” in the agency’s “mission to protect” in the wake of the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“This institution needs to change. If not now, when? Will the next assassination happen in the next 30 days?” Blackburn Read from emailThe warning, reportedly sent by a US Secret Service counter-sniper, was released during a Senate hearing featuring testimony from Acting Director of the US Secret Service (USSS) Ronald Lowe and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate.
Blackburn also read out the final portion of an email obtained by Real Clear Politics reporter Susan Crabtree and purportedly sent by CounterSniper within the intelligence community, which said the USSS “motto” was “CYA,” an acronym that stands for “Cover Your Own Ass.”
The Tennessee senator continued, “The public has lost confidence in your ability to do your job of protecting them. I want to know how you feel about the fact that your agency’s employees are so preoccupied with cleaning up their own messes that they’re not preoccupied with protecting a former president.”
Trump shooting: A timeline of the assassination attempt
Sen. Blackburn on Tuesday grilled the Secret Service about public trust in the agency following the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Crabtree said the counter-sniper who wrote the email likely sent it to the entire uniformed division as more information about the assassination attempt came to light.
For example, Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley on Monday released text messages from Butler County, Pennsylvania, showing that a sniper had spotted shooter Thomas Crooks about 90 minutes before he fired multiple shots at the former president, ultimately killing 50-year-old Corey Comperatore and wounding 74-year-old James Copenhaver and 57-year-old David Duch.
Trump assassination attempt: Senate grills Secret Service, FBI officials
Acting Director of the U.S. Secret Service Ronald Rowe Jr. testifies at a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees at the Dirksen Senator’s Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 30, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Rowe, who took over as director last week following the resignation of Kimberly Cheatle, told Blackburn she was “hurt” by the email.
“I’m hurting because my people are suffering right now,” Rowe told Blackburn. “We need them.”
Trump assassination attempt: Texts show officers knew about Thomas Crooks 90 minutes before shooting
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) read an email purportedly sent by a Secret Service counter-sniper to the entire uniformed division on Monday night, expressing disappointment in the agency’s response to the July 13 Trump rally and public distrust. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The acting chief added that there are “emotions running high” within the department right now and said he “want to hear more” from the agent who wrote the email, who identified himself as a U.S. Marine and 20-year veteran of the USSS. Rowe added that he is committed to reviewing things and being an “agent of change.”
When reached for comment, the Secret Service referred Fox News Digital to Rowe’s testimony.
Rowe was also grilled on Monday by Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who asked why Trump was allowed on stage 17 minutes after reports of a suspicious person being present.
“No information about weapons on the roof was ever shared with our personnel,” Rowe said.
“How is that possible?” Lee asked.
The information was “on local law enforcement channels but not to the Secret Service,” Rowe said. “They were dealing with a very serious situation and my understanding is they communicated that on the radio, but it wasn’t communicated to us.”
Trump assassination attempt: FBI says gunman climbed into air conditioning unit, then across roof to location
The Butler Farm Show, the site of a campaign rally for former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, is photographed in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Monday, July 15, 2024. Trump was injured in an assassination attempt on July 13 while speaking at a rally. (AP Photo/Jean J. Puskar)
The USSS letter came after the FBI told reporters on a conference call Monday morning that Crooks used air conditioning and ductwork to gain access to the roof of a building near former President Trump’s rally in Butler.
Crooks then sprinted across several roofs and found a shooting position on the roof of a building owned by American Glass Research (AGR) near the Butler Farm Show, about 150 yards from where the former president spoke at the rally.
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On the day of the rally, Crooks parked his car and flew the drone between 3:50 and 4:00 p.m., about 200 yards from where the former president was scheduled to speak on July 13. FBI Director Christopher Wray At a congressional hearing on July 17, Crooks testified that he was at the rally for about 70 minutes on the morning of the assassination attempt.
It remains unclear how Crooks managed to evade security despite being spotted by police about 90 minutes before shots rang out, but the FBI said more than 300 agents and agents were working “around the clock” to gather facts and put together a clearer timeline of Crooks’ actions.
