We've seen all kinds of issues in terms of the Secret Service coverage of the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally that ended with an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. Firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed in the shooting, and two other Trump supporters were wounded.
As our sister site Townhall reported, the Secret Service just admitted on Saturday that they had denied requests from the Trump detail for resources for two years, despite previously saying on July 15 that no resources had been rebuffed.
The Secret Service acknowledged on Saturday that it had turned down requests for additional federal resources sought by former President Donald J. Trump’s security detail in the two years leading up to his attempted assassination last week, a reversal from earlier statements by the agency denying that such requests had been rebuffed.
Almost immediately after a gunman shot at Mr. Trump from a nearby warehouse roof while he spoke at a rally in Butler, Pa., last weekend, the Secret Service faced accusations from Republicans and anonymous law enforcement officials that it had turned down requests for additional agents to secure Mr. Trump’s rallies.
“There’s an untrue assertion that a member of the former president’s team requested additional resources and that those were rebuffed,” Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said last Sunday, the day after the shooting.
[…]
On Saturday, Mr. Guglielmi acknowledged that the Secret Service had turned down some requests for additional federal security assets for Mr. Trump’s detail. Two people briefed on the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that the Trump campaign had been seeking additional resources for the better part of the time that Mr. Trump had been out of office. The denied requests for additional resources were not specifically for the rally in Butler, Mr. Guglielmi said.
That's a problem right there. And many people had pointed to this, including Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL).
Waltz Blasts Mayorkas for Dismissing His Charge Secret Service Denied Trump More Protection
Now there's more disturbing news. I wrote about RealClearPolitics' Susan Crabtree's report that they delegated resources to Jill Biden's visit in Pittsburgh rather than the Butler rally. Now there's more information from Crabtree.
🚨🚨EXCLUSIVE: Internal Secret Service Docs Show Only Three Post-Standers Allotted to Trump Rally vs. 12 at Jill Biden's Event
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) July 21, 2024
Ahead of Secret Service Director Cheatle's Congressional testimony Monday, Sen. Chuck Grassley presses her for answers in a letter sent yesterday,… pic.twitter.com/CuXkf5nZ2Y
After claiming to have ramped up security around former President Donald Trump because of an Iranian plot to assassinate him, the Secret Service provided only three agency personnel for “post-standing” Trump’s fateful July 13 Pennsylvania rally, compared to the 12 post-standers that first lady Jill Biden received at a dinner in nearby Pittsburgh that night, according to emails between and among Secret Service personnel obtained by RealClearPolitics.
The Secret Service typically assigns special agents in a candidate’s detail, or “shift” agents in Secret Service lingo, to posts within an inner perimeter of an event. The middle perimeter is then monitored by agents pulled for local Secret Service field offices and assigned as “post-standers” assigned to specific spots and responsible for security specific targeted areas.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ahead of Monday's scheduled House Oversight Committee hearing where lawmakers will question Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, is now demanding answers and a list of everyone who was providing security. He cited emails showing there were only the three post-standers for Trump and the 12 for Jill Biden.
That's insane. You have a former president who has a ton of threats against him, largely because of the demonization by the Democrats. There actually was an Iranian threat. Yet still they detailed more to Jill, if this report is true.
That's a big problem, and how they are handling Trump's security needs to be upgraded immediately. Cheatle needs to resign, but beyond that, all that went on here needs to be exposed and dealt with, with people held accountable.
Things Do Not Go Well When Secret Service Head Kim Cheatle Shows Up at the RNC
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