Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday offering further shocking whistle-blowing reports about the U.S. Secret Service’s failed response to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
In his letter, Hawley noted that the shooter had used a drone to scout the area prior to the rally, a fact confirmed by FBI Director Christopher Wray in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday.
More than two hours before the assassination attempt, the gunman flew the drone for about 11 minutes about 200 yards from the stage, Ray said.
“This raises the obvious question: Why didn’t the United States Secret Service (USSS) use its own drones?” Hawley asked Mayorkas.
Hawley said a whistleblower reported that the USSS had “repeatedly rejected offers from local law enforcement partners to use drone technology to provide security for the rally.”
“This means that the technology was available to the USSS and could have been deployed for on-site security,” Hawley’s letter continues. “The Secret Service said no. The whistleblower further alleges that after the shooting, the USSS changed course and asked its local partners to deploy drone technology for on-site surveillance following an attack.”
According to the whistleblower, the drones provided by law enforcement had the ability to identify the shooter and “assist in neutralizing him,” Hawley noted.
“It is difficult to understand why the USSS refused to use the drone when it was offered to them, especially given the fact that only hours earlier the USSS had given permission for the shooter to fly the drone over the assembly area. [the] “This event is amazing,” he wrote.
Hawley added that Mayorkas is scheduled to testify before lawmakers next week.
Just a few days ago, Hawley said in another letter Mayorkas called on the Department of Homeland Security to explain why officers were not stationed on the roof of the building where the shooter opened fire. Hawley said officers had been instructed to be on the roof but had “abandoned” that position “due to the hot weather.”
Hawley is set to introduce legislation on Thursday called the Trump Assassination Attempt Transparency Act, which would force the declassification of all information related to the incident.
“We cannot allow the federal government to hide behind the label ‘classified,'” he said. Fox News Digital.
On Wednesday, the House unanimously voted 416-0 to Bipartisan Task Force Investigate the assassination attempt.
The USSS referred comments to DHS.
DHS told Blaze News, “DHS has responded directly to Congress’ requests through official channels, and the Department will continue to respond to Congressional oversight as appropriate. We intend to cooperate with any appropriate and appropriate investigations into what happened on July 13, including with Congress, the Inspector General, and both internal and independent investigations.”
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