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Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a member of the bipartisan investigation into the Secret Service, has confirmed that he believes the clandestine agency is ultimately at fault for the July 13th attempt on former President Donald Trump's life.
In the days following the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, former director Kimberly Cheatle sat for multiple interviews where she laid the blame on local authorities partnering with her agency who she said were responsible for securing the perimeter of the outdoor rally. Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman, was able to position himself on a roof outside the rally site and approximately 400 meters from the stage. However, new evidence indicates Cheatle wasn't being honest, according to Sen. Grassley.
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Fox News reported on a letter sent by the Iowa Republican to Secret Service acting director Robert Rowe updating him on the ongoing investigation. In it, he references interviews with local authorities who told him that the Secret Service pledged to "take care" of the rally's perimeter. "Butler County law enforcement officials stated that at separate times during the walkthrough, when they reiterated their concerns to the agents and counter sniper about securing the AGR complex buildings, the agents responded: 'we will take care of it,'" Grassley writes.
The deadly shooting caused President Trump to be struck in the ear while a rallygoer, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, was killed. Sen. Grassley demanded Rowe confirm whether or not the new information is true, and if so what steps the Secret Service took - or failed to take - to secure the area where Crooks positioned himself. Rowe previously told a Senate committee that "what was communicated [to the Secret Service] is that the locals had a plan and that they had been there before," suggesting he felt no need to direct agents to monitor the perimeter. That assertion is disputed by folks on the ground, Grassley countered.
Other revelations from Senate and FBI investigations include that a communication breakdown occurred which delayed a response to Crooks by as much as 30 seconds, limiting the speed of counter-snipers to shoot him before Crooks opened fire. A local officer is also the target of an investigation into why he backed away from Crooks seconds before the young man opened fire. And admissions by Rowe that the Secret Service is years behind the times with its technology has led to an uproar about why the agency wasn't equipped with drone capabilities to monitor the rally site from the sky.
Sen. Grassley added that the Secret Service previously told him "that it would not provide responses to my requests due to other ongoing investigations and reviews." He charged, "That's unacceptable and fails to take into consideration Congress's constitutional authority to conduct independent oversight. It also flies in the face of your congressional testimony about responding to Congress."
Since the original attack on President Trump, other attempts or threats have emerged that have added to Grassley's caseload. His committee is also investigating an apparent assassination plot by Iranian forces, and on Sunday authorities arrested a second man who appeared ready to open fire on President Trump while golfing in Florida.
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