A new US Senate report has found that the advance commander of the US Secret Service for Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania on July 13 learned of “credible intelligence” of a threat against the former president three days before the rally but did not inform special agents in the Pittsburgh field office or share the information in preliminary investigation documents for the rally.
According to a preliminary report on the assassination attempt on President Trump at the Butler, Pennsylvania, fairgrounds, the special agent in charge of Pittsburgh told Senate investigators that if he had known about the threat “he might have worked to move the event indoors if it was determined that the risk was too high at an outdoor venue.”
“Despite learning on July 9 based on 'credible intelligence' that USSS countersniper assets would be provided for the July 13 rally, the lead advance officer wrote in the intelligence section of the preliminary investigation document that 'at this time, no adverse intelligence has been received regarding this visit,'” the report reads. September 25th Report From the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
“Had he received this information, he would have asked for more assets.”
The lead investigator told Senate investigators that he had “no incriminating information to convey.” [to] …”for the group as a whole,” which is why it wasn't listed on the questionnaire. But the Pittsburgh SAIC told the committee that it “expects that any credible threats or intelligence will be listed under the 'intelligence' section of the preliminary investigation,” the report said.
“Furthermore, SAIC told the committee that had it received this information, it would have requested more assets,” the report said.
On July 13, as President Trump was speaking to a large crowd at the Butler Farm Show, suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks fired a rifle from a nearby roof, striking President Trump in the right ear, killing one volunteer firefighter, and severely injuring two event attendees.
In the wake of the assassination attempt, nearly a dozen investigations have been launched by Congress, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, Pennsylvania State Police, and the U.S. House Task Force on the Assassination Attempt of Donald J. Trump.
At the July rally, a lack of communication and coordination between the Secret Service and local police was cited as a major problem.
The report said advance teams identified “multiple” issues with line of sight to the event stage and recommended positioning large trucks and heavy machinery between the stage and nearby buildings, a safety measure that was ultimately not implemented.
SWAT members climb onto the roof of the American Glass Research building following the shooting of former President Donald J. Trump on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Butler Township Police Department (via Judicial Watch)
Interviewed by Senate committee investigators on Aug. 30, SAIC said it did not know why counter-snipers were assigned to Trump's event on July 13. The Secret Service said it was the first time it had assigned counter-snipers to an event not involving the president, vice president or presidential nominee.
According to the report, on July 9, the lead agent for the U.S. Secret Service received a call from his superior for Trump, informing him that he had “credible intelligence that he could not discuss” that led to the decision to deploy counter-snipers at the Trump event on July 13.
“The advance commander requested that this information be conveyed to SAIC in the Pittsburgh field office, but this was not conveyed,” the report states.
“The USSS has not provided the Committee with any information confirming that this information was shared with other USSS personnel responsible for planning the July 13 rally, including USSS field agents, USSS counter-assault teams, field counterparts, intelligence advance agents, Technical Security Division (TSD) advance agents, C-UAS advance agents, or state or local law enforcement officials.”
The Secret Service advance agent covering the July 13 rally said they had not been provided with any specific threat information and did not know why counter-snipers were deployed to the rally, the report said. The agent contacted the FBI on July 10, requesting “information related to former President Trump and the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.”
“The FBI did not respond to this request for information,” the report said.
The most significant security blunder at the July 13 event was the failure to cover the extensive roof system at the American Glass Research complex just north of the stage, the report said. Local police had raised the issue days in advance, but Secret Service planning documents did not include deploying guards or patrolmen to cover the roof.
“What happened on July 13th was the cumulative effect of a series of mistakes culminating in a spectacular failure.”
According to the report, Secret Service agents did not enter the AGR building during planning for the event and did not search the premises prior to the rally on July 13. An agent on the scene said that because the AGR building was outside the secured area, “we did not discuss or plan for the presence of poststanders or any personnel other than local counter-sniper personnel.”
Moments before Crooks opened fire at the event, a Secret Service counter-sniper saw a local police officer running toward the AGR building with his gun drawn, but did not alert security forces to remove Trump from the stage, the report said. The sniper told investigators that the idea of removing Trump from the stage “never crossed his mind.”
The Secret Service wasn't able to get the anti-drone system up and running until 4:33 p.m., after an inexperienced agent in charge of the system spent “several hours” on the phone with technical support. Technical support suggested the agent replace the Ethernet cable between the two components, but the agent didn't have a spare and had to get one from the Trump campaign, the report said.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, called the Secret Service's July 13 blunder “inexcusable.”
“Our initial findings clearly demonstrate a series of multiple failures and an unacceptable dereliction of duty by the United States Secret Service (USSS),” Paul said.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said the preliminary report underscores the need for Secret Service reform.
Beaver County Emergency Services SWAT members and medics entered the building where Thomas Crooks shot former President Donald J. Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Butler Township Police Department (via Judicial Watch)
“What happened on July 13th was a series of mistakes that accumulated into one spectacular failure,” Blumenthal said. Committee Website“This was a tragedy and entirely preventable from the start, both due to inadequate provision of resources such as functioning radios, drone detection systems and counter-surveillance teams, and due to the lack of an effective chain of command.”
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said the Senate needs to use stronger tools to ensure better cooperation from federal law enforcement and other agencies.
“Federal agencies, including the Secret Service, the FBI and the Department of Justice, continue to conceal records vital to this committee's work,” Johnson said. “There is still a lot of information the public and Congress deserve to know.”
“Going forward, this committee must prepare to conduct a compelling process to ensure that the American people have a full and thorough understanding of the security failures that led to the multiple assassination attempts on former President Trump.”
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