Washington – Senior officials from the US Secret Service and the FBI testified Tuesday before two Senate committees about the security leading up to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a crusade rally in Pennsylvania.
The joint hearing with Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate escalated several times, with senators pressing Rowe to explain security lapses that allowed the 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, to open fire on the July 13 rally. Trump and two others were wounded and one player was killed.
Senators from the Homeland Security Committee and the Judiciary Committee questioned Rowe about plans for the occasion and communication failures between Secret Service agents at the scene and local law enforcement who were assisting with security. Rowe said local officials who were stationed near the rooftops where the gunman was had seen him before he opened fire, but claimed the Secret Service was ultimately guilty of securing the location and that they were “ashamed” of the shooting.
Abbate also revealed that the FBI had discovered a social media account believed to belong to the shooter who had left “extreme” comments online in 2019 and 2020, adding comments that “appear to reflect anti-Semitic and anti-immigration themes” and “embrace political violence. “
Rowe took over as acting director of the Secret Service following the resignation of Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned as head of the firm after a disastrous stand before House lawmakers last week.
This is how it went:
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich. , chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, opened the joint hearing with an opening in which he denounced the attack on Trump’s rally and the security lapses that allowed the gunman access to the roof of the building. He fired 8 shots before being killed.
“It was an attack on our democracy. Americans will be able to attend a political rally and express their political ideals without worrying about violence,” Peters said. “And political candidates for our country’s highest office will need to be assured that their protection will never be affected. “be engaged while in the workplace. “
The Michigan senator said the attack was a “shocking reminder” that the risk of political violence “is alive and well. ” He called the mistakes in security and planning “unforgivable. “
Peters said the committee still needed data from the Secret Service on the resources that would be available at the meeting, adding countersniper teams, as well as what he called a “problematic” style of communication.
Sen. Rand Paul, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, somberly recalled the events of July 13. He accused the media of “shamefully” turning the page and said he was seeking answers about how the security breach occurred.
“There’s no question that this is a monumental failure on the part of the Secret Service,” Paul said. “What is still unclear is who exactly failed, how they failed, and what they want to do to ensure something like this never happens again. “
Paul said investigators will now have to focus on why the roof and grounds were left unattended and why Trump was allowed to take the stage.
“It is our duty and our greatest duty to be informed of this failure and to hold those responsible accountable,” he concluded.
Durbin, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, compared the assassination attempt to the plot of a fictional e-book and wondered how a 20-year-old could simply have the Secret Service and shoot the former president and Republican presidential candidate.
“There are other facets of this story and other facets that we also consider,” said Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, raising considerations about what he says is “widespread” and “easy” access to AR-style weapons.
Durbin’s focus on the firearm used in the shooting and desire to tackle gun violence echoed comments by House Democrats about last week’s Judiciary and Oversight Committee hearings.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, the most sensible Republican on the judiciary panel, also made brief remarks calling for accountability.
“Someone wants to be fired,” the South Carolina senator said. “No one will replace them until they lose their job. “
Rowe testified in his opening about the moves he has taken since being named acting director of the Secret Service, adding that he traveled to the scene of the shooting in Butler to better understand how U. S. coverage of Trump’s secret service failed.
“What I saw made me embarrassed,” Rowe said, adding that he “can’t justify why that roof wasn’t secured. “
Rowe explained how each site’s security plan will now be reviewed by supervisors and other corrective measures the company is taking to prevent long-term attacks, while also revealing what staff at the site knew about the risk to Trump.
“Neither the Secret Service sniper groups nor members of the former president’s security knew there was a guy on the roof of the AGR building with a gun,” Rowe said, explaining that they didn’t realize until they heard gunshots.
Rowe said the Secret Service countersniper who eliminated Crooks had “full discretion to use deadly force” to prevent an attacker and wanted to ask permission to shoot.
Abbate, the FBI’s deputy director, told lawmakers that the bureau’s investigation was aimed at identifying Crooks’ motive, whether he had worked with co-conspirators and building a timeline of his movements before the shooting.
Abbate also reiterated that Trump was passed through by a bullet fired from Crooks’ gun.
The investigation identified motives, co-conspirators or other people with deep knowledge of Crooks’ plans, he said.
Abbate told senators that the FBI conducted 460 interviews, received search warrants for him and confiscated his electronic devices and related media. He said Crooks’ moves demonstrated “advanced planning and reconnaissance. “
The FBI assistant director then reviewed a timeline of events leading up to the shooting and said Crooks first learned about it at 4:26 p. m. Twenty-five minutes before the shooting, Secret Service command reported the presence of a suspicious person.
Abbate said newly discovered video shows the shooter climbing to the roof of the AGR building at 6:06 p. m. , and that he was observed on the roof by local police two minutes later.
At 6:11 p. m. , just before Crooks began shooting, a local police officer went up to the roof, saw the shooter and radioed that he was armed with a “long gun,” Abbate said.
Toward the end of his statement, Abbate said the FBI exposed a social media account “suspected of being related to the shooter” that left about 700 comments between 2019 and 2020 or so.
“Some of those comments, if ultimately attributable to the shooter, appear to reflect anti-Semitic and anti-immigration themes, espouse political violence and are described as excessive in nature,” he said. “While the investigative team is still working to determine this account and determine if it really belonged to the shooter, it is vital that we share and annotate it today, especially given the general absence of other data to date on social media and other resources. of data that reflect the possible reason and the state of the shooter’s brain.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, asked witnesses that the security plan for the upcoming Democratic National Convention would take “into account the July 13 classes,” to which both responded that those plans would.
“It’s 100 percent Secret Service,” Rowe said.
Abbate added that the FBI has been executing the security plan for more than a year.
The conference begins Aug. 19 in Chicago.
Graham questions many of his questions about Secret Service resources and encrypted messaging apps used by scammers.
“Think big” when it comes to resources, Graham said. He later said that part of his conclusion was that the Secret Service needed “more money and more people. “
The South Carolina senator then asked if the FBI had to encrypt messaging apps used by scammers.
Abbate said the FBI has experienced “a number of returns. “
“We want a solution that guarantees the legitimacy of law enforcement,” he said.
When asked through Sen. Peters about a detailed study of the site and how it was approved “when it’s so transparent that it’s a primary risk to this building,” Rowe gave dramatic testimony describing the shooter’s perspectives from where he was on the roof.
“Why didn’t the attacker notice?” Rowe said, pointing to a symbol that appears from where the shooter fired, noticed from a nearby construction site where police officers were stationed. “When they told us that the construction was going to be covered, that there was a face-to-face assembly this afternoon, that our team leaders met, that the visit. “
He also defined the opinion that Secret Service countersnipers closest to Trump would have had of the shooter, saying that the shooter would have been largely hidden from their view.
“That’s what our sniper saw,” Rowe said.
“Let me tell you that this counter-sniper, this individual, I know him, I’m a friend. He’s covered me operationally in choke zones and when I finished my time with the president,” Rowe added. “This exemplifies the courage, ability and ability to respond under intense stress in such a short period of time to neutralize risk and prevent further loss of life. “
Rowe expressed confusion about how the shooter could have gone unnoticed by police who had a better view of the roof.
“When I was in that position, I couldn’t and possibly wouldn’t and I can’t understand why there wasn’t more cover, or at least someone searching that roof line, when that’s where they were parked,” Rowe said. .
Rowe detailed the breakdown in communication between the Secret Service and local police who were in charge of security at the demonstration.
In response to a question from Peters about how long it would take the Secret Service to react before the gunman opened fire if they had known he was on the roof, Rowe said that if the company had had that information, it could have been fixed. quickly.
“It turns out that this data is locked or siled in this state and in this local channel,” he said.
Rowe added that it was “concerning” that the Secret Service did not download data on a suspicious user on the roof of the AGR construction “as temporarily as we have. “
He said the body of Secret Service workers on the floor only knew that local authorities were working on “a problem” to the right of the former president, “nothing about a guy on the roof, nothing about a guy with a gun, None of this data was ever disclosed. “on our network.
Rowe said the Secret Service is working to address interoperability issues and ensure certain agents have to address national and local communication challenges.
“That ceiling deserves to have had a larger policy and we will have it if there was any violation of the policy,” he said.
When asked through Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. , what exactly happened on July 13, Rowe said, “I think it’s a lack of imagination. “
“The inability to believe that we really live in a very dangerous world where other people really want to harm our lives,” he continued. “I think we’ve failed to challenge our own assumptions, that we know our partners will do everything they can. “
Rowe said the Secret Service doesn’t have its own assumptions about what would be covered and whether there would be a uniform presence while working with local spouses. He said that, going forward, he has asked the firm to be very vocal about “what we want. “and your particular expectations of partner agencies, such as local law enforcement, attending the events.
Rowe told senators that to address the “complex challenge” of radio interoperability between federal and local agencies, the Secret Service relies on a security room, where there are representatives from local agencies who will bring their own radio and transmit applicable data. That they can only has an effect on safety. firm security plan.
Regarding the demonstration, Rowe said there was a Secret Service unified command post with a security room, but said communications at the site were “difficult” because there were problems with cell phones and radio.
Abbate then asked if the shooter had taken any action before the shooting that would have alarmed federal or local authorities. He said Crooks had no interaction before the attack and that the FBI had not discovered any information that would have alerted the Secret Service. .
Abbate also revealed that there was a meeting between the Secret Service and the FBI in the days before the rally, in which they discussed intelligence services or information about threats against the rally, against Trump or anyone else present.
“That wasn’t the case during the build-up,” he said. “None of us had any information about the ultimate shooter. “
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked how oversight of site security plans by experienced supervisors can help prevent attacks.
Rowe said having “a lot of eyes” helps have “tunnel vision,” and said it’s important, at the point of work and at the point of detail, to put the new protocol in place for additional scrutiny by supervisors.
“I think having that collaboration and having extra eyes to look at the factor will make sure we don’t miss anything,” Rowe said.
When asked about the Secret Service’s plan to communicate with Congress and the American people, Rowe pledged to be transparent.
“My view is that sunlight is the disinfectant,” Rowe said. “We intend to provide information to Congress about the performance of its oversight role. “
Adding to previous questions about connectivity issues, Rowe said he had “no explanation” for the cellular bandwidth issues and how they delayed the company’s ability to locate the shooter long before the attack. He added that in the future, the company is racing for connectivity.
Pressed through Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rowe told senators that the Secret Service had more resources for Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s South Florida residence.
He said the company has made “significant investments” since Trump left in January 2021, adding more than $4 million in generation and resources.
Rowe also refuted a report published Tuesday through the media outlet RealClearPolitics that he played a role in restricting Trump’s resources, calling it “false. “
When asked through Democratic Sen. Laphonza Butler of California how the shooter managed to plant a rifle on the roof, Abbate said the FBI did not have definitive evidence yet, but “he probably had it in his backpack. “
Abbate said that, given the length of the rifle, it would have been visible protruding from the backpack, but said the workplace had not heard of it.
The deputy director said there is video of the shooter suggesting he returned to his car just before the shooting to retrieve the backpack, before running across the roof with the backpack in front of him. Then they saw him with the rifle on the roof. Abbate added that it is conceivable that the shooter would break the rifle and put it back on the roof, which is one of the theories they are investigating.
The FBI has said in the past that the gun had a folding stock.
Rowe provided senators with a breakdown of federal, state and local law enforcement provision at the July 13 rally.
He said there were another 155 people total at the site, adding the corps of Secret Service workers “in the ’70s” and Homeland Security Investigations, the law enforcement firm within the Department of Homeland Security.
There were about 70 law enforcement officers from the state of Pennsylvania and local departments, Rowe said.
When asked about the drone Crooks flew to the staging domain several hours before opening fire, Rowe said the drone was working because there was no unmanned counterplane system, or UAS, present.
The acting director said that on the day of the shooting, the Secret Service’s anti-UAS formula encountered “technical difficulties” and didn’t go live until after 5 p. m.
The FBI said Crooks flew his drone between 3:50 p. m. and 6 p. m. and p. m. for approximately 11 minutes.
Asked through Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, why Trump was able to take the spot when a suspicious user had been identified, Rowe said at the time that “suspicion was not successful at the point of imminent risk or harm. “
Rowe explained that it is difficult for authorities in general to know what an individual’s intentions are after they display suspicious behavior.
“Without more data at this point, we’re not yet at the point where maybe we’ll retire it or retain it,” Rowe said.
When asked about the effectiveness of the Secret Service and its reliance on local partners, Rowe backtracked, saying he had not “challenged our assumptions. “
“We assumed the state and the citizens had it,” Rowe added, saying the firm assumed there would be a uniform presence and enough eyes to cover the area. “I can guarantee you that we will make this mistake again. “
“These assumptions can be deadly,” Cornyn replied.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. , noted that lawmakers have requested a number of documents from the agencies and have obtained “a handful so far. “He asked Rowe to set a timeline for the delivery of documents, and Rowe said he would work to meet this week’s deadline.
Blumenthal insisted that Rowe access communications the agents sent to others, saying that “one day all of this will eventually be made public. “Rowe said the firm would gather the communications and provide them to Congress.
In an exchange with Blumenthal about the day-to-day security duties at the demonstration and the local snipers stationed near the roof of the AGR building, Rowe said the duty “falls on us. “
But he explained that the sniper team stationed nearby had a better view of the roof.
“Their vision from the AGR building, their domain of responsibility, looking to the left, they have been able to see it,” he said.
Rowe continued: “I’m not saying they neutralized it, but if they had just stood their ground and looked to the left, maybe – and there are a lot of maybes out there. . . Maybe they would have detected it. “
When asked later through Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, about the communication failures, Rowe why data on the scammers wasn’t leaked through the Secret Service’s Unified Command.
“Apparently not having that real-time data is what literally prevented us from understanding anything other than the fact that the venues were operating at a factor of 3 p. m. ,” he said. “It was something more urgent than that. “
Asked through Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, why Trump wasn’t removed from the level after rally-goers yelled about a guy with a gun on the roof, Rowe said the Secret Service had no data other than that of local agents. “We were running at 3 p. m. number. “
“No data related to a gun on the roof was ever passed on to our staff,” he said.
Rowe said the data was shared through local law enforcement channels, but not “passed on or elaborated in the wisdom of the Secret Service. “
During a heated exchange, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. , pressed Rowe on the person who decided that the AGR construction deserved to be outside the security perimeter, insisting that this person be relieved of his duties. Rowe said they are still cooperating on an investigation and that the firm will let it develop.
“Senator, you’re focusing on a specific agent, I need to know exactly what the decision-making procedure was,” Rowe said, saying he sought to remain impartial until they can determine who possibly “showed poor judgment. “”
“My question is: Why don’t you relieve everyone who has shown bad judgment of their duties?” Hawley continued. “I’m looking for who is the culprit here. “
Hawley drew up a list of other people who might have made key decisions before the attack and asked if they had been relieved of their duties through the agency.
“What else needs to be investigated to know that there were errors critical enough to hold other people accountable?” Hawley insisted.
Rowe explained that he needed to know the extent of what happened and let his investigators continue their efforts, and said Hawley asked him to “make haste to judge whether any had failed. “
“Sir, this may have been our Texas textbook repository. I’ve lost sleep for the last 17 days, and so have you,” Rowe said, raising her voice. “And I will tell you, senator, that I will. ” Do not be quick to judge, that other people will be held responsible with integrity, and that I will not rush to judge and [that] other people will be unjustly persecuted. “
Rowe agreed with Hawley on one point, saying “it’s a failure and we’ll get to the end of this. “
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, focused on reports that the Secret Service had rejected security requests from the Trump campaign and criticized the agency’s leadership for overseeing what he called “catastrophic security failures. ”
Regarding the collection in Butler, Rowe said that “all requested assets have been approved. ” But regarding media reports about other asset demands, he said that “there were times when assets could not be had and may simply not be filled, and those gaps were filled with state law enforcement tactics. ” and local”.
The exchange between Cruz and Rowe then escalated, with the senator accusing Biden’s leadership of allegedly allowing the policy to infect the Secret Service.
“Secret Service agents are politicians,” Rowe said.
Cruz then questioned why candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had not obtained Secret Service coverage earlier in the campaign. Rowe said there is a procedure for a candidate to get coverage, which extends to Capitol Hill turnout.
The Texas senator also claimed that Secret Service resources were shifted from Trump’s rally to an event in Pittsburgh on July 13 with First Dr. Sally S. Jill Biden.
Rowe called that claim “not true” and said there was an agent at the local airport who handled Trump’s arrival and Jill Biden’s arrival.
The verbal exchange then focused on the breadth of details about Trump and President Biden. Rowe said there was a difference between the agents surrounding the sitting president and the former president, and Cruz accused the acting director of refusing to answer his questions about the number of agents assigned. to Mr. Biden and Trump.
“I’m going to give you this number so you can see it with your eyes,” Rowe said.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. , continued a series of tense exchanges with Rowe, pointing to “multiple individual and institutional failures” on July 13, the company’s worker shortage and attrition rate, saying, “That tells me that you also don’t have a cultural challenge or just blatant incompetence.
Rowe refuted this characterization, insisting that “we are committed to ensuring that our project does not fail. ” And he added that “of course we want more people, everyone wants them. “
When asked about the online profile Abbate had told senators at the previous hearing, the FBI deputy director said the account had just been discovered and analyzed to determine that it belonged to the shooter, and that he was the one who made the comments. .
While the FBI confirms that the account belonged to Crooks, Abbate said it is “the first genuine indication that he is expressing what are described as extremist views and discussing political violence. ”
In an exchange with Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, Abbate reiterated that Trump hit him in the ear with a bullet.
“Surely there is no doubt in the FBI’s brain that former President Trump shot and wounded him in the ear,” he said. “Without a doubt. There is never a matrix. “
Kennedy asked whether it was an area laser, a murder hornet, or a sasquatch that had hit Trump. Abbate said no to everyone.
“It’s a bullet,” he said.
Attention has focused on what hit the former president after FBI Director Chris Wray warned during his testimony last week that there were “questions” about whether Trump had been hit by a bullet or shrapnel. The FBI showed Friday that what struck the former president was a bullet, “either total or fragmented into smaller pieces,” fired from Crooks’ gun.
The Secret Service leader described the shooter’s agency, comparing him to the guy who tried to shoot President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
“We have a lone individual, we have an individual who was targeted against Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” Rowe said, noting that the potential Reagan shooter had also followed former President Jimmy Carter on the campaign trail.
“We have other people who, for whatever reason, are obsessed with an attack on the president of the United States or one of our protégés,” Rowe said.
In that case, the shooter was a lone who had investigated the Democratic National Convention, President Biden and Trump, Rowe said.
“And so I think it had evolved into the concept that I was going to do something,” Rowe said.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, questioned why the rangefinder, which the shooter was seen using at the rally, is not on the list of items prohibited at Trump crusade events.
Rowe said he wasn’t on the list, “but we’re going to make that change. “
Cotton then turned to Iran risks, as opposed to Trump and other former officials in his administration, which the Secret Service covered because of the risk environment. He wondered why the main points of former national security adviser Robert O’Brien’s coverage had been cut.
Rowe said O’Brien was a “protected memo,” meaning the president had his legal protection.
“We don’t know who gets protection,” he said.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. , asked Abbate about the online account that she said had been discovered through the FBI and allegedly linked to Crooks. The comments left on the account, if written through Crooks, reflected anti-Semitic and anti-immigration views, Abbate said earlier in the hearing. She declined to call the account or platform, as the FBI did not determine it belonged to Crooks.
Blackburn said the account on the Gab platform that appears to be connected to Crooks expressed “left-wing, pro-immigration and pro-lockdown views. “Gab is a far-right social media platform that has been used by others who express extremist views.
“From what I’ve been told, that’s correct,” Abbate said. “While this has been publicly revealed by the IOC and other things, we are still racing to certify and determine that this is indeed their account. But there seem to be conflicting perspectives. “
Abbate said that comments left through Gab’s account appear to have been posted in 2021 and that the other posts on the social media account would have preceded that.
He said the FBI was waiting for feedback from other companies, including social media companies, to get the data it had requested.
Peters concluded the hearing by pointing out some discrepancies between the testimony of the company’s leaders and what lawmakers heard from local authorities on the ground. He said Congress will now have to talk to the Secret Service agents directly involved, and said Rowe will have to make Americans available as soon as possible.
“Time is of the essence when memories are fresh,” Peters said, asking the Secret Service leader to set about having agents available for an assembly before the worshiper in a few days. Rowe agreed.
“Surely Americans deserve to know what happened and will have to be held accountable for those security failures,” Peters said. “We will continue to work to stick to the facts, get transparent answers and make vital recommendations to ensure that such a security breach never happens again. “