The U.S. Secret Service is facing harsh public scrutiny and investigations as the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump thrusts an agency with a checkered past into the center of a political firestorm.
Since Saturday’s shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump allies have blasted the agency over its protection of the former president. Security concerns are particularly acute as thousands descend on Milwaukee for the start of the Republican National Convention on Monday.
Although the Secret Service, a unit of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, provides round-the-clock security to former presidents, Trump’s appearances at mega rallies have posed unique challenges. Some critics have claimed the agency rejected requests from the former president’s team for more protection — a charge that the agency called “absolutely false.”
“There are many questions and Americans demand answers,” James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who leads the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said in a statement.
American law enforcement agencies have labeled Saturday’s shooting as an assassination attempt and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the probe.
Trump suffered a gunshot wound on his right ear, but his campaign said he was “fine.” Trump said he’ll head to Milwaukee for the convention, where’s he poised to be named the Republican candidate for November’s election.
The alleged shooter, identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by the Secret Service. A bystander was killed and two others who were critically injured.
Eyewitnesses in media interviews described a chaotic scene as shots rang out. Claims by some at the rally that they tried to warn officers are also fueling scrutiny.
In one interview, a bystander told the BBC that before the shooting he and other individuals saw a man crawling up the roof with a rifle and tried to alert law enforcement authorities.
‘Every Resource’
Mike Turner, who chairs the House Intelligence committee, said on CNN on Sunday said he was alarmed by the eyewitness statements.
“The fact that we’re hearing that people knew that there was a man on this roof with a gun, and were trying to get police attention while the president was up at the podium is just incredibly cause for concern and, I think, very frustrating for everyone,” said Turner, an Ohio Republican.
In a statement, the Secret Service said that the former president, as well as President Joe Biden, is often subjected to threats, which the agency takes seriously. The agency added that it “is constantly evaluating the very dynamic threat environment and responding to it in the fulfillment of its responsibilities.”
“The assertion that a member of the former president’s security team requested additional security resources that the U.S. Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security rebuffed is absolutely false,” the agency said. “In fact, recently the U.S. Secret Service added protective resources and capabilities to the former President’s security detail.”
Secret Service RNC national coordinator Audrey Gibson-Cicchino told reporters on Sunday that the agency was working with law enforcement officers from across the state and country for convention.
“We are confident in the security plans that are in place for this event,” Gibson-Cicchino said.
Meanwhile, Biden said Sunday that he’s consistently directed the Secret Service to provide Trump with “every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure his continued safety.” He also said he’s directed Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to review all security measures for the Republican convention. He said that there will also be an independent review of the security at Saturday’s rally.
Later on Sunday, Biden again condemned the attack. “We cannot, we must not, go down this road in America. There’s no place in America for this kind of violence, for any violence ever, period. No exceptions,” the president said in an address from the White House.
Different Threats
Chad Wolf, who was acting head of DHS during part of the Trump presidency, said investigators must assess whether apparent lapses in security stemmed from a systemic failure or the actions of individuals. He also said that lawmakers and others with oversight of the Secret Service should weigh whether to give more protection to Trump.
“The threats aren’t the same, the profile’s not the same, nothing’s the same about it,” he said.
The incident has also focused attention on how well local, state and federal law enforcement agencies communicated before the shooting and as it unfolded. The coordination between various agencies is key to the security plan for the RNC convention in Milwaukee and the Democratic convention next month in Chicago.
John Cohen, the former acting undersecretary of intelligence and counterterrorism for DHS, said that the shooting raised questions about whether there was any warning of the attack among law enforcement agencies.
“We are going to have to dramatically expand the intelligence sharing and the reaction to intelligence by law enforcement,” Cohen said during a Sunday interview on ABC’s “This Week.”
Big Events
Todd Lamb, a former Secret Service agent, told Bloomberg News in an interview that security is especially challenging at large campaign rallies like the ones Trump frequently holds.
Campaigns want candidates “as close to the people as possible, pressing the flesh,” said Lamb. “Well, the Secret Service knows that you can’t keep the candidate in a bubble, but the Secret Service wants less pressing of the flesh, less interacting.”
Regardless of the circumstances, blame is already being trained on Cheatle. Even as the FBI continues to investigate the incident, Republican lawmakers are demanding answers from her and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“DHS responds to congressional inquiries directly via official channels, and the department will continue to respond appropriately to congressional oversight,” the agency said in a statement.
Former Secret Service agent Mindy Pretzman, who also served under multiple administrations, told Bloomberg News in an email that the agency will have to share information with the FBI, as the investigating agency, as well as Congress “about what resources were requested, approved, and implemented, whether the assets were adequate, and whether they responded as intended.”
“There is no one-size-fits-all application to physical security,” said Pretzman. “If anything is one-size-fits-all in the physical security space, it is training for preparedness.”
FBI officials told reporters on Sunday that they were immediately focused on investigating the shooting itself, and not how the event was secured, but that eventually there would be a full probe to reconstruct a timeline of what happened and how.
Prior Controversies
The Secret Service has navigated controversies and questions about its performance before. In 2012, agents were implicated in a prostitution scandal in Colombia while they were preparing for a visit by then-President Barack Obama.
There have been multiple breaches of the White House complex over the years. In 2014, an armed intruder jumped over a fence and was able to enter the building before being stopped. In 2017, another fence jumper walked around the grounds for 17 minutes while Trump was inside the residence. Most recently, the agency faced questions about its response to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
There were 33 core protectees last year, according to the agency’s most recent annual report. The agency also provides as-needed protection for visiting foreign heads of state and for “events of national significance.”
During a presidential election cycle, the Secret Service also protects the “major” candidates and their families. The Secretary of Homeland Security and a bipartisan advisory committee of Congressional leaders determine who qualifies for that protection, under federal law.
Cheatle has led the Secret Service since September 2022. She previously served in the agency for more than 25 years, including as a member of Biden’s security detail when he was vice president under Obama. Most recently, she was senior director in global security at PepsiCo Inc.
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(With assistance from Ellen M. Gilmer, Nick Wadhams, Alex Newman, Dave Merrill, Akayla Gardner and Justin Sink.)
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