WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior officials from the United States Secret Service and the FBI testified Tuesday before two Senate committees about the security that led to the assassination attempt on 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 on the Homeland Security Committee and the Judiciary Committee questioned Rowe about plans for the occasion and communication breakdowns between Secret Service agents on the scene and local law enforcement who were assisting with security. Rowe said local officials who were stationed near the roof where the shooter was standing had noticed him before he opened fire, but said the Secret Service was ultimately to blame for securing the scene 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 violence. ” policy. “”
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 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.
“This 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 nation’s highest offices will need to be assured that their safety will never be compromised while serving. “
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 in the development of plans “unforgivable. “
Peters said the committee still needed data from the Secret Service on the resources available at the demonstration, adding countersniper teams, as well as what he called the taste of “problematic” communication.
Senator Rand Paul, a 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 had 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 on stage.
“It is our duty and our greatest duty to be informed of this failure and to hold the guilty 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 to this story and other facets that we deserve as well,” said Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, raising considerations about what he says is “widespread” and “easy” access to AR-type weapons.
Durbin’s focus on the gun used in the shooting and desire to tackle gun violence echoed comments by House Democrats at hearings of the Judiciary and Oversight committees last week.
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 made since being named acting director of the Secret Service, adding that he traveled to the scene of the Butler shooting to better understand how America’s Secret Service coverage of Trump failed.
“What I saw made me ashamed,” 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 scrutinized 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 counterattack groups nor the former president’s security knew that there was a guy on the roof of the AGR building with a gun,” Rowe said, explaining that they were not aware of it 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 went through 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 seized his electronic devices and related media. He said Crooks’ movements 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 was informed of the presence of a suspicious person.
Abbate said newly discovered video shows the gunman climbing to the roof of the AGR building at 6:06 p. m. , and that he observed local police on the roof two minutes later.
At 6:11 p. m. , just before Crooks began shooting, a local police officer climbed to the roof, spotted 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, embrace political violence and are described as excessive in nature,” he said. To determine if this account actually belonged to the shooter, it is vital to make a percentage and write it down today, especially given the general lack of other data to date on social media and other media. Data sources that reflect the shooter’s future reason and mood.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, asked witnesses whether the security plan for the upcoming Democratic National Convention would take “the July 13 classes into consideration,” to which both responded that those plans would.
“It’s 100 percent Secret Service,” Rowe said.
Abbate added that the FBI had been executing the security plan for more than a year.
The conference begins August 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 he concluded that the Secret Service needed “more cash and more personnel. “
The South Carolina senator then asked if the FBI had to encrypt messaging apps used by scammers.
Abbate said the FBI has experienced “a series of comebacks. “
“We want a solution that guarantees the legality 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 clear that this is a significant risk to this building,” Rowe provided dramatic testimony describing the shooter’s perspectives from where he stood on the roof. Formation
‘Why didn’t the gunman notice?'” Rowe said, pointing to a symbol that appears from where the gunman fired, noticed from a nearby construction site where police were stationed. “When they told us that the construction was going to be covered, that had been a face-to-face assembly this afternoon, where our team leaders met, that was the view. “
He also laid out the view that Secret Service countersnipers closest to Trump would have had about the shooter, saying the shooter would have been largely hidden from their view.
“That’s what our sniper saw,” Rowe said.
“Let me tell you that this countersniper, this individual, I know him, I am a friend to him. He covered me operationally in crash zones and when I served my sentence with the president,” Array Rowe added. “This exemplifies the courage, capability and capacity to respond under intense stress in such a short time to neutralize risk and prevent further loss of life. ”
Rowe expressed confusion about how the shooter could have gone unnoticed among 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, so that’s where they were parked,” Rowe said. .
Rowe detailed the breakdown in communication between the Secret Service and local police who were present at the rally to assist with security.
Reacting 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, they could have fixed it. quickly.
“It turns out that this data is locked or silos 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 corps of Secret Service workers on the floor only knew that local authorities were working on “a problem” to the former president’s right, “nothing about a guy on the roof, nothing about a guy with a gun, none of this data ever released. ” in our network. “
Rowe said the Secret Service is working to address interoperability issues and make sure certain agents have to deal with national and local communication challenges.
“That ceiling deserves to have had a bigger 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 responded, “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 have 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 representatives of local agencies are stationed who will bring their own radios and transmit applicable data that may only have an effect on security. Agency 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 made any moves before the shooting that would have alarmed federal or local authorities. He said Crooks had no movement before the attack and that the FBI did not discover any data 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 leading up to the demonstration, in which they discussed the lives of the intelligence services or information about threats opposed to the demonstration, against Trump or present.
“That’s not the case in preparation,” he said. “None of us had any data or data related to the ultimate shooter. “
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, questioned how having experienced supervisors review the site’s security plans can help prevent attacks.
Rowe said having “a lot of eyes” helps to have “tunnel vision,” and said it’s vital at the point of work and at the point of detail to put the new protocol in place for more in-depth review by supervisors.
“I think having that collaboration and having more eyes to look at the challenge will make sure we don’t miss anything,” Rowe said.
When asked about the Secret Service’s communication plan with Congress and the American people, Rowe pledged to be transparent.
“My view is that the sun is the disinfectant,” Rowe said. “We intend to provide data to Congress in the exercise 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 provided more resources for Mar-a-Lago, Trump in South Florida.
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 via news 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 based on the size of the rifle, it would have been visible sticking out of the backpack, but he said the bureau hasn’t heard from anyone who observed that happening.
The deputy chief said there is video of the shooter that suggests the shooter returned to his car just before the shooting to retrieve the backpack, before walking across the roof with the backpack in front of him. He was later seen with the rifle on the roof. Abbate added that it is conceivable that the shooter broke the rifle and carried it to the roof, which is one of the theories they are studying.
The FBI had said in the past that the gun had a folding stock.
Rowe provided senators with a breakdown of the federal, state and local law enforcement offer at the July 13 rally.
He said there were another 155 people total at the site, adding Secret Service workers “back 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 brought to the gathering domain several hours before opening fire, Rowe said the drone operates because there is no unmanned aircraft system, or UAS, here.
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 6:00 p. m. y hours for about 11 minutes.
When asked by Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, why Trump was able to take the point when a suspicious user had been identified, Rowe said at the time that “the suspicion was not successful at the point of risk or imminent harm. “
Rowe explained that it is difficult for authorities in general to know what an individual’s intentions are after displaying suspicious behavior.
“Without more data at this point, we’re not yet at the point where we might withdraw 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 that mistake again. “
“These assumptions can be deadly,” Cornyn replied.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. , noted that lawmakers have requested several documents from the agencies and have won “a handful so far. “He asked Rowe to set a timetable for the transmission of the documents, and Rowe said they would try to meet this week’s deadline.
Blumenthal insisted Rowe agree to communications that officers were sending to others, saying that “one day this will all end up being made public. “Rowe said the company would gather the communications and deliver them to Congress.
In an exchange with Blumenthal about the other day-to-day security duties at the rally and the local snipers positioned 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 neutralised him, but if they had just kept their post and looked to the left, maybe – and there’s a lot of maybe out there. . . Maybe they would have detected it. “
When asked later by Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, about the communications failures, Rowe questioned why data on scammers isn’t filtered 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 running on a factor at 3 p. m. ,” he said. “It was something more urgent than that. “
Asked by 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 ceiling, Rowe said the Secret Service had no more data than local agents. “We were running at 3 p. m. number. “
“No information about a gun on the roof has ever been conveyed 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 the AGR construction deserved to be removed from the security perimeter, insisting that the 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 officer, I need to know exactly what the resolution procedure was,” Rowe said, saying he sought to remain impartial until they can learn who would have possibly “presented evidence of poor judgment. “
“My question is, why don’t everyone who demonstrated poor judgment be kicked out of the workplace?” Hawley continued. “I’m looking to locate to be guilty here. “
Hawley compiled a list of other people who may 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 mistakes 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, saying Hawley asked him to “rush to judgment on someone who is failing. “
“Sir, this may have been our Texas school book depository. I’ve lost sleep over this for the last 17 days, as have you,” Rowe said, raising his voice. “And I will tell you, senator, that I will not rush to judgment, that other people will be held accountable with integrity, and that I will not rush to judgment and [that] other people will be unjustly persecuted. ”
Rowe agreed with Hawley at one point, saying “it’s a failure and we’ll get to the end. “
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, focused on reports that the Secret Service had rejected security and Trump campaign requests, and criticized the agency’s leadership for overseeing what he called “catastrophic security failures. “
Regarding the collection at Butler, Rowe said that “all of the requested assets have been approved. “But in relation to media reports about other asset requests, he said that “there were times when assets could not be held and may not have been filled, and the gaps were provided with tactical law enforcement resources at the state and local level. “
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 gotten Secret Service coverage earlier in the campaign. Rowe said there is a procedure for a candidate to get coverage, which goes all the way to Capitol Hill involvement.
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 of 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. Mr. Biden and Trump.
“I’ll 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 shortages and attrition rate, saying “this tells me you either have a cultural challenge or just blatant incompetence. “
Rowe refuted that characterization, insisting that “we are committed to making sure our project does not fail. ” 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. .
If the FBI confirms that the account belonged to Crooks, Abbate said it would be “the first genuine indication that he expresses what is described as extremist views and speaks of political violence. ”
In an exchange with Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, Abbate reiterated that Trump took a bullet to the ear.
“Surely there is no doubt in the FBI’s brain that former President Trump shot and hit him in the ear,” he said. “Without a doubt. There is never a matrix. “
Kennedy asked if it was an area laser, a murder hornet or a sasquatch that 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 would-be Reagan shooter had also followed former President Jimmy Carter on the campaign trail.
“We have other people who, for whatever reason, are obsessed with attacking 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-Ark. , questioned why the rangefinder, which the shooter saw used at the rally, isn’t on the list of pieces banned at Trump’s crusade events.
Rowe said he wasn’t on the list, “but we’re going to make that change. “
Cotton then addressed the risks from Iran, against Trump and other former officials in his administration, which the Secret Service covered because of the risk environment. He asked why key points had been removed from former national security adviser Robert O’Brien’s coverage.
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 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. He declined to call the account or platform, as the FBI did not determine that 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. “Although this has been publicly disclosed through the IOC and other things, we are still racing to certify and determine that it is indeed his account. But it turns out that there are divergent points of view. “
Abbate said that comments left through the Gab 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 agency executives 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, saying Rowe wants to get Americans to have him 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.
“Certainly, other Americans deserve to know what happened and 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 a security breach like this never happens again. “