The Secret Service was woefully underprepared when a gunman opened fire on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania last July — with major breakdowns in the communication of threats, in adequate training and the denial of multiple requests for key security resources, according to a pair of damning reports released by Senate investigators.
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rand Paul (R-KY) outlined the agency’s “inexcusable negligence” before, during and after the attempt on Trump’s life in what they called a “cascade of preventable failures.”
Many of the findings were previously reported, but the parallel reports by the chairmen of the Senate Judiciary and and Homeland Security committees offer definitive accounts of what happened — and why federal agents failed to stop the gunman, despite multiple sightings.
Here are some of the most damning security lapses
Security assets denied
The Secret Service denied multiple requests by Trump’s security team for additional security resources, the senators claim.
The agency’s “War Room” — tasked with allocating security resources for Trump and other officials until Secret Service protection — denied a request for anti-drone systems at the Butler rally because the “resources had already been allocated for the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.”
Additionally, the agency didn’t provide a Counter Assault Team liaison to coordinate between its agents and the local SWAT teams on the ground before the Butler rally, according to an advance agent’s testimony.
Thomas Matthew Crooks flew a drone around the fairgrounds to survey to scene and gather intelligence before taking his position on a rooftop, investigators found.
Even getting additional marksmen was a problem.
It wasn’t until senior officials with the Secret Service’s Office of Protective Operations stepped in that counter-sniper teams were approved. These are the sharpshooters who “ultimately took out” the Butler gunman Crooks, according to Grassley’s report.
In all, Sen. Paul’s report found there were “at least” 10 major requests for more resources that were denied or left unfulfilled during the 2024 campaign, which ex-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle vehemently denied.
Threat against Trump’s life kept under wraps
Ten days before the July 13, 2024 campaign rally, Secret Service officials were briefed on classified intelligence related to a threat on Trump’s life.
However, due to the agency’s “siloed practice for sharing” sensitive information, few involved in the then-ex-president’s security operation were even aware of it.
In this case, the threat likely came from Iran, according to multiple reports. The Islamic Republic vowed to retaliate against Trump for the order to assassinate top general Qasem Soleimani in his first term.
“[T]he Secret Service had no process to share classified threat information with partners when the information was not considered an imminent threat to life,” read Grassley’s report.
As a result of this impeded flow of information, the Secret Service’s local law enforcement partners, nor the agency’s advance team assigned to the Butler event, received the relevant information.
The Secret Service had “multiple opportunities to share this information” leading up to the rally “but repeatedly failed to do so,” Grassley’s office contends.
Technology failures
The Secret Service faced a barrage of costly technological failures in Butler that hampered agents’ ability to communicate and surveil the fairgrounds.
The agency’s anti drone technology malfunctioned ahead of the rally, and was being repaired for “hours” by an agent who “lacked the training, knowledge and support to quickly fix the issue.”
During that time, Crooks “flew a drone — undetected — over the event site hours before the rally,” the Grassley report states.
Local law enforcement and Secret Service agents were also hindered by spotty cell phone reception on the day of the event, which prevented them from sharing information in real-time.
Additionally, the agency had “no policy in place” to “proactively troubleshoot potential audio and data communication challenges,” according to the report, which further states the agency “has yet to require agents to perform such an assessment.”
According to the report, Secret Service officials said they don’t believe a policy is necessary for operating counter-drone equipment for detection purposes, likening the technology’s ease of use to “turning on a flashlight.”
Communication breakdowns
The agency did not have a formal policy in place to effectively communicate changes to the security plans in Butler.
Ahead of the event, a Trump campaign staffer asked the Secret Service advance team “not to use large farm equipment” to block the line of sight between the stage and the rooftop of the AGR building some 130 yards away to avoid interfering with campaign press photos.
The advance team — which didn’t know about the active threat against Trump — decided to use a “jumbotron and a large flag” to try to protect the president instead.
However, those methods still allowed Crooks to shoot Trump — wounding him in the ear.
Grassley’s report said “not using the farm equipment possibly created an opportunity for the gunman to use the AGR’s elevated rooftop to fire several shots at then former President Trump and kill and injure other rally participants.”
In a briefing with Paul’s Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Secret Service officials conceded that Trump’s unique status as a former president and candidate for office was not adequately considered during the 2024 campaign.
Paul’s report said the circumstance “led to confusion and assumptions” both by Secret Service staff and local law enforcement.
Crooks was stopped at the entrance to the Butler fairgrounds because he was carrying a rangefinder, which is used to determine distance in sports like hunting or golf. Although he was flagged as suspicious “at least 25 minutes” prior to the shooting, he was still allowed inside.
This information, provided to the Secret Service by the Pennsylvania State Police, according to Paul’s report, was not relayed to Trump’s personal security detail, who could have stopped him from taking the stage.
“What happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, was not just a tragedy—it was a scandal. The United States Secret Service failed to act on credible intelligence, failed to coordinate with local law enforcement, and failed to prevent an attack that nearly took the life of a then-former president,” said Paul.
Grassley said the purpose of his report’s release was to offer “a clear path forward for the Secret Service to improve, so it can prevent another Butler from ever happening again.”
Read the full article here
