A high-ranking Secret Service agent in Pittsburgh was left in the dark about credible threats to former President Donald Trump prior to a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
According to a Fox News report, the Special Agent in Charge (SAIC) of the Pittsburgh field office only learned about the threats after an assassination attempt on Trump when the information was broadcast on television.
The revelation comes from a preliminary report released by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which highlights several key failures within the Secret Service leading up to the incident.
The report indicates that counter snipers were deployed to the Butler event due to "credible intelligence" of a threat. However, many Secret Service personnel, including the intelligence advance agent and the SAIC of the field office, were not informed about this threat.
Shockingly, only two Secret Service personnel interviewed by the committee were aware of a credible threat to Trump before July 13. Even more concerning, just one of these individuals had access to the classified information detailing the threat.
The lead advance agent was informed by a supervisor about the "credible intel" necessitating additional security measures. However, this crucial information was not relayed to the SAIC despite a request to do so.
Secret Service agents interviewed by the committee expressed their disbelief at being kept uninformed about potential threats. The Site Agent emphasized the importance of having all relevant intelligence when securing an event.
The Site Agent told the committee:
As a Site Agent or Lead [Advance] Agent assigned, you should have any intelligence or any information pertaining to an active threat to a particular protected. It shocked me, like just being out there. They're planning to have a protectee with 15-20,000 people in an outdoor event, when there's an active threat for the drone attack. That was definitely one thing that obviously raised my concerns, and I know everyone's concerns.
This statement underscores the gravity of the situation and the potential risks associated with withholding critical information from key security personnel.
In response to the interim report, Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service chief of communications, issued a statement acknowledging the seriousness of the situation.
Guglielmi stated:
We have reviewed the interim report on the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The weight of our mission is not lost on us and in this hyperdynamic threat environment, the U.S. Secret Service cannot fail. Many of the insights gained from the Senate report align with the findings from our mission assurance review and are essential to ensuring that what happened on July 13 never happens again.
This response indicates that the Secret Service is taking the findings seriously and working to address the identified shortcomings in their protocols.
The report reveals a significant breakdown in communication within the Secret Service prior to Trump's Butler rally. The SAIC of the Pittsburgh field office was unaware of credible threats, learning about them only after an assassination attempt. Only two Secret Service personnel knew of the threat beforehand, with just one privy to classified details. This incident has raised serious concerns about information sharing and security protocols within the agency, prompting a commitment from the Secret Service to prevent similar occurrences.
