The Secret Service has admitted that some security modifications for Trump “were not provided” before the assassination attempt against him last Saturday.
The Secret Service acknowledged on Sunday that in some cases where it did not provide “specific specialized units or resources,” the agency made “modifications to provide additional protection” for former President Donald Trump ahead of last week’s assassination attempt, as calls for an investigation continue.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement Sunday that such changes could include “relying on state or local partners to provide specialized functions or identifying other alternatives to reduce a protected person’s public exposure.”
A person briefed on the matter confirmed to CBS News that the Trump campaign has been requesting additional resources from the Secret Service since he left office in 2021.
The Secret Service’s decisions about protecting Trump were first reported by The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Director of Secret Services Kimberly Cheatle U.S. Senator Donald Trump is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Monday. On Sunday night, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appointed a bipartisan panel to conduct a 45-day independent investigation into the attempted assassination of Trump. He named former DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, former Homeland Security Adviser Frances Townsend, former Judge and Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip and former Delaware Homeland Security official David Mitchell to the panel.
A day after the shooting, Guglielmi called it “categorically false“that additional security for Trump had been requested and denied.
Mr. Trump was shot and wounded, a bystander was killed and two other people were injured in the shooting. Secret Service snipers shot and killed the suspect, later identified as a 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
In June, the Secret Service beefed up the former president’s security, adding a counterattack team, drones and robotic dogs. An official familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News that Trump’s Secret Service boost was tied to the surge in Iranian threats.
A source close to Trump, familiar with the planning and security of the president’s political rallies, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that there had been concerns over the past two years about a lack of additional resources and support from the Secret Service.
Trump’s campaign has requested additional security measures for some events, including more metal detectors at a rally in the Bronx in May that led to long lines for thousands of attendees. Trump’s campaign also requested metal detectors when the former president attended his son Barron’s graduation in May. But the Secret Service initially refused to provide them because it wasn’t a political event. The agency eventually added metal detectors and other security measures before Barron Trump’s graduation.
The Secret Service’s handling of security at Trump’s July 13 rally has drawn questions, particularly after new information emerged about the timeline of the shooting. Three sources familiar with a law enforcement briefing to members of Congress last week said the Secret Service was notified by Pennsylvania State Police that there was a suspicious person wearing a mask. rangefinder On Sept. 11, at 5:51 p.m., the shooter opened fire on the property, about 20 minutes before the gunman opened fire. At the time, local law enforcement was unaware that the suspect had a firearm, according to a local law enforcement officer and the Butler County sheriff.
Cell phone video It also shows rally-goers pointing at the shooter and trying to alert authorities to his presence, two minutes before he opened fire on the former president.
Law enforcement is still investigating a possible motive.
A growing number of Republicans have called for the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle following the shooting.
At last week’s Republican National Convention, Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn and John Barrasso posted a video on social media appearing to show several members of Congress In the video posted by Blackburn, which also features Sen. James Lankford, Barrasso demands a “resignation or a full explanation” from Cheatle. After answering a number of questions as senators criticized her, Cheatle said in the video, “I don’t think this is the place to have that discussion.”
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, a Republican, told “Face the Nation” that Cheatle’s “failures are absolutely outrageous and unbelievable.”
“If he had been killed, they would be guilty,” Turner said of the Secret Service. “Every aspect of their failure leads to the opportunity to shoot Donald Trump. And that’s the major problem.”
Trump’s son Eric Trump said the former president did not need stitches but suffered a “nice flesh wound.” Rep. Ronny Jackson, Trump’s former White House physician, said in a letter Saturday that he had treated Trump and that the former president “is doing well.”
“The bullet passed within a quarter of an inch of his head and struck the top of his right ear,” Jackson said in the letter. “The trajectory of the bullet produced a wound 2 cm wide that extended over the cartilaginous surface of the ear.”
Trump made his first public appearances since the shooting last week at the Republican National Convention, and he held another rally on Saturday. He referred to the shooting several times, saying he “took a bullet for democracy.”
Pat Milton
