Several employees at the U.S. Secret Service’s Pittsburgh field office were reportedly placed on leave following the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Another group of USSS agents specifically assigned to Trump’s special forces unit remains on duty, sources familiar with the matter told RealClear Politics.
Anthony Guglielmi, USSS communications director, told Fox News Digital in a statement that the agency’s staff “are held to the highest professional standards and that any identified and proven violations of policy will be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility for possible disciplinary action.”
The USSS did not directly confirm whether employees had been placed on leave, but Guglielmi added that the agency was “unable to comment further” due to the “personal” nature of the matter.
Attempted Trump assassin was seen at rally in Pennsylvania shortly before he opened fire
“The U.S. Secret Service is committed to investigating the decisions and actions of personnel related to the event in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump,” Guglielmi said. “The U.S. Secret Service’s mission security review is progressing and we are investigating the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure.”
Sources told RealClear Politics that the decision to furlough Pittsburgh field office staff rather than other agents assigned to Trump’s operation led to speculation internally that the local office bore primary responsibility for the July 13 failures.
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Following the assassination attempt, which killed Corey Comperatore and seriously injured two others, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, while amazingly the former president escaped with only a striped ear, several lawmakers called on the Secret Service to make personnel changes and lay off employees.
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned less than two weeks after the shooting and after her first testimony about the event to members of Congress.
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Police-worn bodycam footage released on August 9 shows the moments after gunman Thomas Crooks, 20, opened fire at the rally. Local Butler police officers can be heard discussing how the Secret Service was apparently supposed to secure the AGR building from which Crooks fired.
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“I fucking told them they had to send the damn guys here… the Secret Service,” the officer says in the video. “I fucking told them that on Tuesday. I told them they had to send the damn guys here.”
A video taken by Copenhaver from his vantage point in the stands also clearly shows a figure moving across the roof of the AGR building just three minutes before shots were fired.
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In addition, the office of Louisiana Republican Senator Higgins recently announced that the USSS had not picked up the radios that the Butler County Tactical Command had reserved for them and provided as part of operational planning.
The Congressional Task Force on the Trump Assassination will be in Butler on Monday to meet with local officials and gather more firsthand information about the events of July 13.