KY Sen. Paul: Locals warned Secret Service about building before assassination attempt
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul indicated on Tuesday that local law enforcement in Pennsylvania said it had warned U.S. Secret Service agents about the building used by Thomas Matthew Crooks to take aim at former President Donald Trump.
“Local law enforcement told my staff that they specifically flagged the vulnerability of the building to the Secret Service and were told it would be taken care of,” Paul said. “Clearly these vulnerabilities were not addressed.”
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate appeared before a special joint Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, in which senators probed for specific answers about the security failure at the July 13 Trump rally.
Paul, a Kentucky Republican, is the ranking member of the committee that oversees homeland security and government affairs.
In his remarks, Paul also stressed local law enforcement officers had expressed suspicions about Crooks 90 minutes before he fired shots at Trump from the roof of a building just 400 feet from where Trump delivered his campaign remarks in Pennsylvania that day.
“Why was Donald Trump allowed to take the stage, and why wasn’t he removed from the stage when a suspicious individual was taking increasingly suspicious activities?,” Paul asked.
Rowe, a 25-year Secret Service veteran, is taking the place of Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned her post after a ruinous appearance before the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Kentucky Rep. James Comer. He assumed oversight of the agency July 23.
He succeeded Kimberly Cheatle who quit under pressure from lawmakers and others. Rowe previously served as deputy director of the Secret Service, responsible for overseeing daily investigative and protective operations.
Starting with his opening statement, Rowe made no excuses for the agency. He told lawmakers that he was “ashamed” the Secret Service failed to secure the rooftop where the gunman fired on Trump.
Firing at Trump, the gunman killed one person in the crowd and critically injured two others. One of the bullets grazed Trump’s ear.
“This was a failure, and we will get to the bottom of it.” Rowe told Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican.
In response to a question from Committee Chairman Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan, Rowe detailed that information about the shooter was “stuck or siloed in that state and local channel.” He also cited cellular and radio issues in Butler, Pennsylvania, that day.
He said he would hold Secret Service agents accountable if they violated protocols, but he did not say if he had found such transgressions. Rowe said the Secret Service did not have any knowledge a man was on the nearby roof with a firearm.
No motive has yet been identified, but the FBI found that the shooter left hundreds of extreme comments online in prior years.
Paul said his committee has formally requested interviews with the agents tasked with securing the July 13 event.
“When will we be allowed to talk to these people?,” Paul probed.
On that question, Rowe made no commitments.
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