Butler, Pennsylvania – The whistleblower said: Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri The agency said Acting Director of the Secret Service Ronald Rowe Jr. personally ordered budget cuts to the Countersurveillance Division (CSD), which resulted in threat assessment teams being unable to carry out their normal duties ahead of the Butler, Pennsylvania rally.
The senators’ report came after lawmakers grilled agency leaders about serious security failings at a rally in Pennsylvania, where former President Trump narrowly escaped assassination.
The whistleblower alleged that the Secret Service CSD, the division responsible for conducting threat assessments of event venues before events take place, failed to conduct an assessment before the fateful rally in western Pennsylvania on July 13.
“This is important because CSD’s mission includes assessing potential security threats outside the security perimeter and mitigating those threats during the event,” Hawley said in a letter to Rowe on Thursday.
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Senators grilled Acting Director of the Secret Service Ronald Rowe Jr. and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate about the events leading up to the July 13 assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The whistleblower further alleged that if CSD had carried out its normal duties, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks “would have been handcuffed in the parking lot.”
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“The whistleblower alleges that if CSD officers had been at the rally, the shooter would have been found with a rangefinder and would have been handcuffed in the parking lot,” Hawley wrote to Rowe. “You acknowledged in your Senate testimony that the security perimeter for the Butler rally should have included the American Glass Research facility.”
“The whistleblower alleges that because CSD was not present at Butler, this glaring deficiency was never properly warned about or mitigated,” he said.
Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump is watched by U.S. Secret Service agents during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Hawley’s office also uncovered evidence that Rowe was personally involved in staff cuts at the CSD.
“The whistleblower further alleges that you personally ordered significant cuts at CSD, reducing the department’s staffing by 20 percent,” Hawley said. “You did not mention this when asked directly to explain the cuts during your Senate testimony.”
Sen. Josh Hawley released a report into the alleged involvement of Acting Director of the Secret Service Ronald Rowe Jr. in staffing President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The whistleblower alleged that Rowe also contributed to cultural problems at the organization, including threats of retaliation against anyone who raised safety concerns.
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“The whistleblower also alleges retaliation against Secret Service personnel who raised concerns about security at President Trump’s events,” Hawley said. “The whistleblower alleges that after an event with the former president at a golf tournament last August, Secret Service agents present expressed serious concerns that the Secret Service’s use of local police was not adequate to meet security needs, and that local police were not adequately trained for the event or prepared to fulfill their assigned duties.”
“Additionally, Secret Service officials expressed concerns that attendees were allowed into the event without vetting,” he said. “The whistleblowers allege that those who raised such concerns were subjected to retaliation.”
An aerial photo shows investigators investigating the scene of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Fox Flight Team)
About 90 minutes had passed since police authorities first spotted a suspicious person near the rally venue.
Authorities briefly lost sight of the suspect, but a sniper spotted Crooks at about 5:52 p.m., about 20 minutes before shots rang out.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Secret Service for comment.
