The new acting director of the US Secret Service said in testimony to Congress on Tuesday that he was “ashamed” of a major security lapse that preceded the July 13 assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
In a statement released before addressing two Senate committees, acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said he visited the outdoor rally site in Butler and climbed to the roof of a nearby building, from where 20-year-old Thomas Crooks opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle, wounding Trump’s right ear, killing one rally attendee and wounding two others.
“I was ashamed by what I saw,” Rove said in prepared testimony for a joint hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary committees. “As a professional law enforcement officer and a 25-year veteran with the Secret Service, I cannot explain why that roof was not better secured.”
A week after Rove acknowledged major security lapses, former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned under bipartisan congressional pressure after she refused to detail security lapses in testimony before a House of Representatives panel.
Rove sought to reassure lawmakers that he had taken steps to prevent such lapses amid fears of further political violence as campaigning heats up ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. election.
“I instructed my staff to ensure that each venue’s security plan was thoroughly vetted by multiple experienced supervisors before it was implemented,” Rowe said.
Rowe said the Secret Service, a federal law enforcement agency whose duties include protecting the president and some other top political figures, has added six people to its security list since July 13, including Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance and his family and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. Also, security details have been strengthened.
Rove was scheduled to testify alongside FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, who is scheduled to interview Trump on Thursday as part of the investigation into the firing.
The assassination attempt is the subject of multiple investigations being conducted by House and Senate committees, as well as a new bipartisan task force formed by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Investigators have been unable to determine a clear motive for Crooks, whom they have described as a loner who has no close friends and whose social network is limited to only immediate family members. Much of the interest revolves around the time frame between when law enforcement officers first spotted Crooks and when Secret Service marksmen opened fire and killed him.
The FBI said Monday that Crooks came to the attention of police more than an hour before he fired at least eight shots at the former president.
A local officer took a photo of Crooks and sent it to other law enforcement officials at the scene. About 30 minutes later, SWAT team members observed Crooks using a rangefinder and browsing news sites, the FBI said.
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