What is happening with the Secret Service? The agency is already under intense scrutiny for failing to protect former President Donald Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Kimberly Cheatle, the former director, resigned a day after her atrocious testimony before Congress on this fiasco. How could such an incident occur with federal agents who were supposedly some of the best-trained bodyguards in the world? How could a rooftop less than 200 yards from the stage be left unprotected by local and federal law enforcement? Many questions remain, and there are no answers.
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Now, we have two updates in the aftermath of the Trump assassination attempt: whistleblowers allege that the lead site agent was inexperienced and unqualified for the task but has yet to be disciplined for the incident. Second, no IDs were allegedly not checked when issuing credentials into the restricted area:
We know from leaked text messages that the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was photographed and described by local police who shared the profile of the suspicious person, which fell on deaf ears. The Secret Service revealed they couldn’t access the radio system, which prevented this vital information from being assessed. Because of this bifurcated communications system, no coordination was possible, allowing Crooks to remain one step ahead of the security apparatus designed to protect Trump.
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The most glaring flaw was that the American Glass Research building rooftop from which Crooks perched was left unguarded, not even included in the perimeter plan. Yet, there appears to be a failure by a thousand cuts here, and no one has yet to be fired over this catastrophe.