OPINION:
Administration officials tried to play into left-wing conspiracy theories about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, but they failed spectacularly once again. On Tuesday, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate and Ronald Rowe, the Secret Service’s newly elevated acting director, left a bad impression on the Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary committees.
Mr. Abbate attempted to paint Thomas Matthew Crooks as a right-wing extremist.
“Something just recently uncovered that I want to share is a social media account which is believed to be associated with the shooter. …Some of these comments appear to reflect antisemitic and anti-immigration themes, to espouse political violence and are described as extreme in nature,” the deputy director testified.
It’s curious why he chose to summarize posts from a 14-year-old Crooks rather than much more recent messages the FBI believes the shooter made on the social media platform Gab. Gab CEO Andrew Torba said that “the majority of [the messages] were in support of President Biden. A number of posts in particular expressed support for President Biden’s COVID lockdowns, border policies and executive orders.”
Those sentiments are consistent with observations made by a former classmate who said Crooks hated all politicians, and especially Mr. Trump. Crooks donated to Democrats through ActBlue, despite having no job, and he wore a mask long after the COVID threat had subsided. It’s dishonest for the FBI to omit such details when characterizing political views.
At least Mr. Abbate shot down the reckless conspiracy theory his boss, FBI Director Christopher Wray, floated last week about the former president possibly being struck by something other than a bullet.
“There is absolutely no doubt in the FBI’s mind whether former President Trump was hit with a bullet and wounded in the ear,” the deputy director testified. “There never has been. … It was a bullet — 100%.”
The dissembling statements combined with the lack of transparency have angered senators. After 2½ weeks, the agencies still refuse to answer basic questions about what happened in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Sen. Ted Cruz offered a specific example of the problem. Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi had insisted Mr. Trump’s requests for added security were not denied. “Your spokesperson put something out that is false on its face,” the Texas Republican said. “By the way, did you approve this statement when it went out?”
Mr. Rowe replied he had no idea whether he, or anyone else, approved that whopper. Neither Mr. Guglielmi nor anyone else at the Secret Service has been held accountable for missteps or misstatements, apart from former Director Kimberly Cheatle.
That has to change, according to a scathing internal email sent by a 20-year veteran on the Secret Service counter-sniper team. “We failed,” the agent said. “Not because of commitment or sense of dedication. But because our supervisors (aka leadership) knew better and thought our concerns were less than important.” The email was obtained by the RealClearPolitics website and cited at the hearing.
Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters, Michigan Democrat, demanded that the Secret Service agents involved in the events of July 13 submit to congressional interviews “within days.” Patience has run out on both sides of the aisle.
Secret Service and FBI leaders need to either stop stonewalling or start updating their resumes.
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