Whistleblowers have revealed that security at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally where an assassin tried to kill former President Donald Trump was “lax” and that most of the people guarding Trump were not Secret Service agents.
In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said several whistleblowers had contacted his office.
Hawley's information corroborates what former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino told Fox News' Jesse Watters earlier this week, when he said Secret Service sources told him that much of the details about Trump were written by agents with Homeland Security Investigations.
If true, the information is yet another blow to disgraced Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who was subpoenaed by the U.S. House Oversight Committee on Monday.
letter
The shocking allegations that President Trump received inadequate or incompetent protection were brought to Mayorkas' hands today.
“A whistleblower with direct knowledge of this incident contacted my office and, according to the complaint, the July 13 rally was considered a 'loose' security event,” Hawley wrote.
For example, sniffer dogs were not used in the usual manner to monitor intrusions and detect threats, individuals without proper qualifications were able to enter backstage areas, and Law Enforcement Department personnel did not adequately monitor the security buffer around the podium and were not stationed at consistent intervals around the event's security perimeter.
Even more disturbing, the Secret Service did not send its best agents to protect Trump, instead sending HSI agents, who were “the majority,” Hawley wrote.
“This is particularly concerning given that HSI agents were allegedly not familiar with the standard procedures typically used at these types of events,” he continued.
Noting that the Department of Homeland Security had been uncooperative with lawmakers about the Secret Service's dismal performance at the rally, Secretary Hawley wrote to Secretary Mayorkas that he had “learned more from the whistleblower than from Department of Homeland Security employees.”
Hawley has requested to know within seven days:
1. How did DHS determine staffing for the event, including the decision whether to rely on state or local personnel?
2. What percentage of DHS agents who attended the event were from HSI rather than USSS? Were the majority of personnel who attended the event drawn from HSI or other DHS components rather than USSS? If so, why?
3. Were HSI agents properly trained on staffing these types of events?
4. Were there gaps in the security perimeter and were the usual protocols for the use of dogs and magnetometers observed?
5. Were agents not properly positioned around the podium?
6. Was the standard protocol followed for issuing designated pins to vetted personnel permitted backstage?
7. How long did it take for your agent to be on-site to carry out a site inspection prior to the event? Did paperwork obligations prevent a longer and more thorough site inspection?
Bongino's claim
Bongino, a former agent and strong Trump ally, had previously discussed with Watters much of what the whistleblower later told Hawley.
He said there were only a few Secret Service agents and the guard unit apparently lacked the high-tech surveillance equipment needed.
Most of the agents “were temporary HSI employees,” Bongino said.
That's not what they're doing specifically. We're providing protection, that's what we're trained for. I've also heard that the countersniper forces had trouble seeing from the heights, so that's why they didn't engage right away.
Bongino also said the facility lacks aerial and high-tech surveillance equipment.
Where was the airborne visual support? Why no helicopters? Why no drones? Why no FLIRs? Why no forward looking infrared? How on earth is a crowd acting as a counter surveillance operation?
Trump was nearly killed when would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on a rooftop with a commanding view from less than 200 yards away. Crooks only grazed Trump's ear, but killed firefighter Corey Comperatore and wounded two others. A Secret Service sniper shot Crooks in the head, killing him.
Cheatle Summon
Cheatle is scheduled to appear at a hearing on Monday to answer questions from members of the House Oversight Committee.
Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) called for Cheatle to appear voluntarily, but his superiors at the Department of Homeland Security began obstructing him in an attempt to prevent him from testifying, Comer wrote on July 17.
“It appears that Department of Homeland Security officials have intervened, calling your attendance into question,” he wrote. He also complained that the committee had not received “meaningful updates” and said the Department of Homeland Security was stonewalling with a “lack of transparency and failure to cooperate.”
The Commission then issued a subpoena for Cheatle to appear in court.
Among the questions Cheatle will be asked is how Crooks was positioned to attack Trump.
According to multiple reports, Crooks was spotted multiple times in the hours before Trump spoke.
Cheatle told ABC News that investigators had not been stationed on the roof where Crooks fired the shot because it was too steep for anyone to safely climb on.
She may also have to explain her outlandish plan to force women into 30 percent of Secret Service positions by 2030.
