The Secret Service has been tight-lipped about the day Donald Trump was shot.
But one important detail is coming out.
And Secret Service officials made one surprising claim about Trump’s assassination attempt.
Acting Secret Service director makes claim about security failure
The Secret Service had numerous security failures that led to former President Donald Trump being shot at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Answers have been in short supply about how this happened.
It was revealed that Trump’s security detail asked for extra resources for the past two years but was denied them.
The short staff for the Secret Service meant at Trump’s Butler rally the security detail leaned on local law enforcement and agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to help fill the gap.
A whistleblower revealed to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) that the HSI agents were given a two-hour webinar where the sound only worked half the time by the Secret Service to prepare them to work Trump’s security detail.
The Secret Service has had a staffing shortfall for years, which has left them stretched thin.
One of the potential causes of the security failure at the Butler rally was eliminated.
U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-AL) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) asked acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe in August if a lack of funding contributed to the security failure.
Rowe sent a letter to the Senators that was obtained by Roll Call that claimed funding didn’t contribute to the problems at the Butler rally.
“While the reviews and investigations are ongoing, we do not believe the security failure of July 13, 2024 was the result of a lack of resources,” Rowe wrote.
Secret Service motivations in question
The Secret Service’s budget has come under scrutiny since the assassination attempt on Trump.
Rowe suggested that the agency needed a budget increase in his letter.
“We have taken necessary steps to meet the operational tempo of the protective mission today, but the increased mission requirements of the Secret Service necessitate additional resources to ensure that we have the tools, resources and personnel needed to meet these requirements and execute our mission going forward,” Rowe said.
The Secret Service’s budget has grown from $1.8 billion in 2014 to more than $3 billion today.
Funding wasn’t an excuse for why security failure happened at the Butler.
Trump’s security detail requested additional equipment to help screen the crowd at rallies but was denied by the Secret Service.
Rowe said money wasn’t the issue.
This suggests it was a political decision to deny Trump’s security detail the extra resources it requested.
The Secret Service had the money for equipment, but it didn’t want to use it.
Now, the second biggest name after former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is calling it a career.
Secret Service Assistant Director Michael Plati who runs the Office of Protective Operations –the division which runs protective details – announced he was retiring after 27 years.
A statement said the decision was voluntary and wasn’t made under pressure.
There are still many unanswered questions about what went wrong the day Trump was shot for investigators to uncover.
Stay tuned to Unmuzzled News for any updates to this ongoing story.
