Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, questioned the Secret Service’s new acting director on Tuesday about why Americans had lost faith in the agency after Trump’s assassination attempt during his rally last month.
“This agency needs to change, and if not now, when? The next assassination in 30 days?” Blackburn read from an email, reportedly sent by a Secret Service counter sniper, during a Senate hearing.
The Tennessee senator continued: “The public has lost trust in the ability to execute the mission to protect, and I want to know how you feel about the fact that employees in your agency are worried about covering their behind and not worried about protecting a former president.”
Soon after the assassination attempt was discovered, Crabtree said that a counter sniper emailed the entire Uniform Division.
For instance, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Monday released text messages from Butler County, Pennsylvania that showed snipers were spying on shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks approximately 90 minutes before he shot multiple rounds at the former president.
Both Corey Comperatore and James Copenhaver died from injuries from the shooter.
Ronald L. Rowe – who took over the director role after Cheattle resigned this past week – said he was disturbed by the email in speaking with Blackburn.
“I’m hurt because my people are hurting right now,” Rowe told Blackburn. “We need them.”
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) asked Rowe how Trump could take to the stage 17 minutes after reports of a suspicious person were made and whether there was anything in place to alert him that someone he had just been with might pose a threat.
Rowe responded, “No information regarding a weapon on the roof was ever passed to our personnel.”
“How is that even possible?” Lee asked.
That information was “in local law enforcement channels but did not cross over and make it to Secret Service awareness,” Rowe responded. “I think that they were in the midst of dealing with a very critical situation, and they articulated that over the radio, as I understand it. However, it was never relayed over to us.”
