Whistleblowers told the House Judiciary Committee that the Secret Service faced “limited resources” in staffing Saturday’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated.
Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, disclosed the information from the whistleblowers in a letter sent Thursday to FBI Director Christopher A. Wray.
The whistleblowers told the committee that the Secret Service led two briefings on July 8 with the Western Pennsylvania Fusion Center and other stakeholders regarding plans for Mr. Trump’s campaign rally and a separate event for first lady Jill Biden in Pittsburgh.
“The USSS Special Agent in Charge Tim Burke reportedly told law enforcement partners that the USSS had limited resources that week because the agency was covering the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Washington, D.C.,” Mr. Jordan wrote.
Although Mr. Jordan’s letter did not directly state that the report led to a decision to understaff Mr. Trump’s rally, an accompanying Judiciary Committee press release did make that connection.
“Whistleblowers have disclosed to the Committee that the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) did not have proper resources for President Trump’s campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania because of staffing shortages due to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit and First Lady Jill Biden’s event in [Pittsburgh], Pennsylvania,” the press release said.
The Washington Times reached out to the Secret Service for comment.
In previous public statements, the Secret Service has pushed back on reports of understaffing at the event. Specifically, the agency referenced reports that it rebuffed requests from Mr. Trump’s team for additional security resources as “absolutely false.”
“In fact, recently the U.S. Secret Service added protective resources and capabilities to the former President’s security detail,” Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi said Sunday.
Mr. Jordan said in the letter that FBI personnel were present at the July 8 briefings the whistleblowers disclosed and that he was bringing the matter to Mr. Wray’s attention because the FBI “is the lead federal investigative arm and a key source of intelligence on potential threats for special events in its area of responsibility.”
The information the whistleblowers provided to the committee “raises serious questions about the thoroughness of the security planning by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in support of President Trump’s campaign rally,” Mr. Jordan said.
Mr. Wray is scheduled to testify before the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for its annual FBI oversight hearing.
Mr. Jordan advised him to come prepared to answer questions about the investigation into the attempted assassination, including whether the whistleblowers’ assertion that the security posture at Mr. Trump’s rally was limited due to resource constraints with the NATO Summit and/or Ms. Biden’s event.
Mr. Jordan said he and other committee members will also seek answers about the coordination between the FBI, Secret Service and Pennsylvania law enforcement officials ahead of the July 13 rally, including decisions on which buildings to secure for the event and why the roof that the shooter climbed up on was left unsecured.
Other questions Mr. Jordan raised include:
• How much time elapsed between identifying the shooter as a potential threat and the attempted assassination?
• How much time elapsed between the local police officer encountering the shooter on the sloped roof and the attempted assassination, and did the FBI interview that officer?
• What does the FBI’s evaluation of the shooter’s phone and digital activity show about his actions and movements in the days and hours leading up to the attempted assassination?
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.