The report reveals the US Secret Service's mistakes during the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump
US Secret Service failures are revealed in a new report on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler a year ago. The document was prepared by the Government Accountability Office at the request of Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, reports Independent.
Grassley's office released the report on Saturday, July 12. The senator said that the attempted assassination of Trump on July 13, 2024, was the result of a series of bad decisions and bureaucratic delays.
The report said that the Secret Service "failed to implement security measures" that could have prevented the assassination attempt. It highlighted numerous errors by the agency, noted serious communication problems, and the "lack of specific and complete instructions" for agents at the rally.
The document claims that senior agency officials knew about a possible threat against Trump before the rally. However, the threat "did not specifically refer to the July 13 rally or the attacker".
Secret Service and local law enforcement 'unaware of threat' due to agency's 'isolated practice of sharing classified information'.
The report recommended that the agency commit to "amending Secret Service policy to require the Secret Service to proactively share threat information, which can help ensure that its agents and partners have the information they need to provide effective protection".
The document also notes that many Secret Service officers "faced limited access" to their cell phones during the rally, which likely hindered effective communication.
Grassley said that the July 13 Secret Service failure "was the culmination of years of inefficiency" and came after the administration of the 46th US President Joe Biden allegedly rejected requests for increased security measures to protect Trump.
- On July 13, 2024, Trump was shot at during a campaign rally in Butler. The attacker was killed, he turned out to be 20-year-old Pennsylvania resident Thomas Crooks.
- Before the attempt on Trump's, a police officer climbed to the roof where the attacker was, – he saw Crooks, but was unable to use his gun.
- On July 23, Cheadle resigned as head of the Secret Service after a wave of outrage over her agency's failure to prevent the attempt.