The Secret Service allegedly denied inspector general auditors from accessing former President Donald Trump’s recent campaign events to hide instances when the agency is missing protective assets, according to a new whistleblower account.
A whistleblower from the Secret Service has come forward to Sen. Josh Hawley’s office to share information about the agency’s headquarters blocking Department of Homeland Security inspector general auditors from Trump campaign events where resources are lacking.
The inspector general’s office is investigating the Secret Service’s actions during and after the assassination attempt on Mr. Trump at his July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“The whistleblower alleges that the Secret Service denied access to DHS auditors because the former president is not receiving the full level of protective assets for all of his events, and Secret Service leadership wants to obscure or simply conceal this fact,” Mr. Hawley, Missouri Republican, wrote in a letter to Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe.
The Washington Times reached out to the Secret Service and the DHS inspector general’s office for comment.
Mr. Rowe said on multiple occasions last month that Mr. Trump is receiving “the highest level” of Secret Service protection. He said President Biden ordered elevated protection for Mr. Trump after the Republican presidential nominee was nearly killed in Butler.
Congress also passed legislation last month, which Mr. Biden signed into law, requiring the Secret Service to provide Mr. Trump and all major presidential and vice presidential candidates the same level of Secret Service assets a sitting president receives.
The whistleblower alleged that the Secret Service has only allowed inspector general auditors to attend select events — like a recent rally in North Carolina — where Mr. Trump did receive the full level of protective assets “to create the impression that he is receiving this level of protection at all times, when in fact he is not,” Mr. Hawley wrote.
The senator asked Mr. Rowe to confirm the accuracy of the whistleblower’s account and explain any incidents in which inspector general auditors were denied access to Trump campaign events. Mr. Hawley also asked the acting director whether Mr. Trump is actually receiving all the assets the current president has for each of his campaign events.
The whistleblower allegation is one of several Mr. Hawley’s office has fielded since the Butler assassination attempt on things that went wrong that day and questionable actions the Secret Service has taken since.
Mr. Hawley has sent letters to Mr. Rowe detailing each of the whistleblower allegations and asking him questions, to which he has received no written responses.
The only response Mr. Hawley received from Mr. Rowe was a phone call pushing back on a whistleblower who alleged the Secret Service told Mr. Trump’s team that it did not have sufficient assets to secure a rally the campaign wanted to hold in Wisconsin.
In that phone call late last month, Mr. Hawley said Mr. Rowe “complained” about the prevalence of whistleblower allegations, telling him, “They’re hurting our agency.”
In a Fox News interview Wednesday night, Mr. Hawley said he is tired of the Secret Service’s stonewalling and concealing information amid congressional and other independent investigations, like the DHS inspector general audit.
“Director Rowe, he’s got a lot to answer for,” Mr. Hawley said. “I’m losing confidence in him by the minute.”
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.
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