In a surprising turn of events, several top-ranking Secret Service agents have announced their retirement, just ahead of the public disclosure of an internal investigation.
This probe scrutinizes the security lapses that culminated in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. The investigation's findings, as disclosed by two anonymous sources to the Washington Post, include the shocking revelation that Secret Service agents failed to instruct local police to secure the rooftop of the building where the gunman was stationed.
According to The Post Millennial, Mike Plati, the Assistant Director of the Office of Protective Operations, officially retired last Friday, as confirmed by a statement from the Secret Service. John Buckley, a senior executive in charge of managing resources for public event security, is also preparing for retirement, as indicated in an email circulated among Secret Service staff. Furthermore, a senior agent from the Pittsburgh field office, who played a crucial role in devising the security plan, has expressed his intention to retire. This information comes from an official privy to the investigation.
The agency's director, Kimberly Cheatle, tendered her resignation shortly after the shooting incident, succumbing to bipartisan calls for her departure. Cheatle faced criticism for her reticence in providing immediate details about the investigation and for her decision to wait for the conclusion of a 60-day review before divulging further information.
Dem Senator Richard Blumenthal expressed his concerns to reporters last Friday, stating, I think the American people are going to be shocked, astonished, and appalled by what we will report to them about the failures by the Secret Service in this assassination attempt on the former president.
The report is also expected to disclose that the Secret Service radio room, tasked with monitoring potential threats, lacked the capability to receive real-time alerts from local police who were overseeing the crowd and outer perimeter.
Moreover, despite receiving a warning from local police about a suspicious man at the rally before Trump's arrival, this information was not widely disseminated on Secret Service radio. Instead, counter-snipers were directed to text a photo of the manwho was behaving oddly near the Agr building and carrying a range finderto a single Secret Service agent. This limited the agency's awareness of the individual who later emerged as the gunman.
Furthermore, Secret Service agents were not privy to local police radio traffic about efforts to track and spot the suspect once Trump began his speech. In response to questions about the report, Rowe stated that the report identified numerous errors for which the agency must be held accountable. He has initiated an agency-wide review to strengthen the protective bubble around the more than 40 government officials and family members the Secret Service safeguards. He cautioned that enhancing this security would require additional funding.
Rowe told the Washington Post, The Secret Service cannot operate under the paradox of zero fail mission while also making our special agents and uniformed division officers execute a very critical national security mission by doing more with less.
The Washington Post also reported that agents securing the event had contemplated using heavy equipment and flags to obstruct the view between the Agr International building and the rally stage. However, supervisors who arrived at Butler on the day of the rally discovered that cranes, trucks, and flags were not deployed in a manner that would block the line of sight from that roof.
This oversight allowed Thomas Matthew Crooks to ascend the building and open fire on Trump, injuring his ear, critically wounding two other individuals, and killing one spectator before being fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper.
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