Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) released a 22-page report on the security failures of former President Donald Trump’s July 13 rally.
A press release describing the report says its findings are “highly damaging” to the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The report reveals 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.”
The report lists numerous security failures, including the failure to “deploy drone technology,” the lack of a “typical evaluation of the Butler site,” and the abandonment of the rooftop from which Thomas Crooks would later attempt to assassinate Trump.
Hawley’s report says the security failures are signs of “incompetence.”
The report also lists several new whistleblower allegations that have not been published in letters to DHS or the Secret Service, including the absence of Secret Service intelligence units and the poor security of the hospital site where Trump received treatment after being shot.
The Secret Service has failed to provide answers on its security procedures for July 13. Hawley asked, “Who, within the Secret Service or DHS, made the decision to deny counter sniper coverage to the rooftop from which Thomas Crooks shot former President Trump on July 13,” “When will Secret Service or DHS publicly name the lead site agent for the rally and the lead agent for the Butler visit,” and “Did the Acting Secret Service Director ever deny resources to the Trump campaign, or USSS counter sniper teams, as has been reported in the press?”
Hawley’s report concluded by stating that the “American people still know far too little about why” Trump was nearly assassinated two months ago.
“The Secret Service, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security have not been forthcoming with the American people. Far from it: they have closed ranks, refused to confirm or deny whistleblower allegations, and resisted meaningful oversight,” the report says, noting that “courageous whistleblowers” have come forward to share what “really happened.”
“Left alone, these agencies will not reform themselves. They will continue to stonewall and obfuscate. Plainly, it is now up to Congress and the President to clean house at these failing agencies at the earliest possible opportunity,” Hawley’s report says.
