Monday, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri released the most recent in a series of whistleblower allegations on failed security measures during the first assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
The accusations revealed by Senator Hawley, detailed in the broader whistleblower allegation report, state the hospital where the former president was treated following being shot in July at a Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally was secured poorly, the event lacked designated personnel to handle any reports of suspicious persons, and the lead Secret Service agent in charge was a woman who failed an exam during training previously.
Sen. Hawley’s office described the string of whistleblower findings since the incident as “highly damaging to the credibility” of the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security, its parent agency.
“They reveal a compounding pattern of negligence, sloppiness, and gross incompetence that goes back years, all of which culminated in an assassination attempt that came inches from succeeding,” said Hawley’s office.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, the Secret Service said it was “aware of the senator’s report and will continue to work with congressional oversight committees in both the House and the Senate.”
Lead female agent involved wasn’t named
The lead female agent wasn’t identified by name. The senator’s whistleblower additionally said the agent tasked with the hospital site’s security “could not answer basic questions,” and the absence of the Secret Service “intelligence units” to handle suspicious persons at the rally would have made up teams of Secret Service paired with local and state law enforcement.
The most recent disclosures came the day after another would-be assassin made an attempt on Trump’s life Sunday at his West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump International Golf Club.
Police have charged Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old, with federal gun possession-related crimes after he allegedly established a position to fire an AK-style rifle along the perimeter of the golf course. Routh fled after a Secret Service agent opened fire and was later arrested a few dozen miles away on Interstate 95.
Previously, Hawley revealed other whistleblower allegations about the Secret Service’s handling of the Butler rally, including that the agency declined to deploy drones prior to the event to help secure the rally site and failed to properly train agents on protective details.
Senator Hawley has referred all of his findings to the House bipartisan task force investigating the first assassination attempt to supplement its inquiry.
