Fury at Secret Service for not firing agents after Trump shooting
Crooks was able to fire off a series of bullets aimed at Trump's head - one of which grazed his ear - before officers took him down. Deputy Director of the Secret Service Matt Quinn told CBS News that the suspended employees were given penalties ranging from 10 to 42 days of leave. When the suspended employees returned to work, he said, they were given restricted roles with less operational responsibility.
'We are laser focused on fixing the root cause of the problem,' Mr. Quinn said Wednesday, adding that disciplinary act was carried out according to a federally mandated process. But their length of punishment is not sitting right with some of Trump's most ardent supporters. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer told the Daily Mail in a statement that he was 'glad' to hear that more Secret Service employees are being held accountable.
But he says the agency's 'failure' to protect Trump at the Butler campaign rally revealed the 'need for changes at the agency, starting with leadership at the top.' He noted that former Director Kimberly Cheatle was 'forced to resign' and that there should be more accountability to come. Congressman Mike Kelly, who represents the portion of eastern Pennsylvania that includes Butler noted in a statement issued by his office Thursday that he applauds 'efforts to implement transparency and accountability to the Secret Service' and looks forward to working to 'restore the Secret Service as the elite law enforcement agency in the country.'
Kelly also chaired the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump, leading its efforts from July to December of last year. Social media users were less measured in their response to the news. X user @The_FJC wrote 'It just came out that the Secret Service agents whose actions almost got Trump killed in Butler, PA, were only suspended for 10 to 42 days without pay. Their Actions Almost Got Their Protectee Killed, Others Were, And Thats IT? They were put back on the job. Seriously? [Expletive]!'
Another user, @pitbullpatriot3, noted that none of the agents involved with the 'failures' had been fired. 'It's been a year since Trump's assassination attempt and just now 6 Secret Service agents have been suspended because of that day!' 'Not fired, just suspended! So when you find yourself asking why do these things keep happening, this is why!'
At the time of the incident, Secret Service blamed local police for failing to secure the rooftop from which Crooks attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, insisting it was outside the perimeter the federal agency was tasked with protecting. Instead, securing and patrolling the factory grounds of AGR International Inc. — located about 150 yards from the stage where Trump was speaking Saturday — was the responsibility of local Pennsylvania police, Secret Service representative Anthony Gugliemi said, according to the New York Times.
The Secret Service was only tasked with covering the grounds where Trump's rally took place, with local police being recruited to assist with those efforts and secure the area outside the rally. Now-former Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle resigned last July shortly after the assassination attempt.
Two days after the incident, Cheatle noted in a media release issued by the Secret Service that 'personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our counter sniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of [then]former president Donald Trump.'
A U.S. Secret Service report released just days before the 2024 election confirmed that 'multiple operational and communications gaps preceded the July 13 attempted assassination.' The Secret Service also described some of the gaps as 'deficiency of established command and control, lapses in communication, and a lack of diligence by agency personnel,' while also noting that 'the accountability process [was] underway.'
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