This week, the Secret Service has been taking its lumps over pitiful coverage of Donald Trump during the rally where an attempt was made on his life.
Over the last few days, we have learned quite a bit, including from whistleblowers who have come forward regarding the lack of resources available for Trump.
Talking Points…
- Jill Biden coverage
- NATO stretched Secret Service resources
- Analysis
RealClearPolitics reporter Susan Crabtree had already dropped one bombshell report about Donald Trump's Secret Service Detail this week. She had noted that many of Trump's normal agents had been given the day off because they had worked at least a week straight to that point.
She also noted that resources were allegedly taken away from Trump to cover Jill Biden's event that was taking place the same day. She posted:
"Secret Services resources were diverted to Jill Biden's event and away from Trump's because they followed agency protocol applying to Trump as a former president, according to two sources within the Secret Service community.
"But Trump is not just a former president -- he is the first in modern history to have run for president again -- and he has been the focus of several prosecutions and controversies (understatement intentional). Who made the decision to divert the resources to Jill Biden's event?"
During a recent House Judiciary Committee hearing, it was revealed that the Secret Service had already been stretched thin due to the recent NATO summit in DC. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Tim Burke revealed this during a meeting on July 8 with the FBI, Western Pennsylvania Fusion Center, and other law enforcement partners.
That meeting was held to discuss the upcoming security needs for Donald Trump's Butler, PA, rally and the campaign event that Jill Biden was holding on the same day in Pittsburgh. In fact, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who chairs that committee, penned a letter to FBI Director Wray after the disclosures were made to his committee panel. Jordan wrote:
"Law enforcement overlooked a number of vulnerabilities prior to and during the event, allowing an assassin to shoot a President, murder an attendee, and critically wound two others."
When the Secret Service was asked to comment on the matter, spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi stated:
"We cannot comment on matters related to an ongoing investigation at this time.
"We of course are committed to working with the appropriate and relevant investigations of what happened on July 13, including with Congress, the Inspector General, and both internal and independent reviews."
The picture is becoming increasingly clear regarding the agents' lack of preparation and training while working on Donald Trump's details that day, but the fact that they knew they did not have enough coverage makes it even worse.
When you then factor in that agents had spotted the threat hours before Trump went on, even tagging the shooter as a "threat" prior to Trump taking the stage, but still allowing Trump to take the stage while not taking the shooter into custody, well, you can see how conspiracy theories are starting to fly. One thing is for sure… Director Cheatle needs to be fired and possibly charged for her role in allowing this assassination attempt to be carried out.
