After the near assassination of Donald Trump, several secret service agents were placed on leave
Even after the near assassination of Donald Trump last month, tensions within the US secret service continue to rage.
The security agency said Friday it had placed “several” agents on leave as part of its investigation into how a 20-year-old nursing home worker had such a difficult time assassinating a former president, MSNBC reported.
Among those reportedly removed from duty was the special agent in charge of the agency’s Pittsburgh field office. MSNBC reported that a total of “five or six” agents were placed on leave as a “disciplinary measure.”
Fox News reported that among those placed on leave was a member of Trump’s personal security team. The identity of that agent was not disclosed, but some of his staff have been criticized by security experts for their conduct as they safely returned Trump to his motorcade.
It’s unclear how long the officials will remain on leave. Federal employees on administrative leave typically continue to receive pay and benefits, but that can reportedly vary depending on the agency and situation.
“The U.S. Secret Service Mission Assurance review is progressing and we are investigating the processes, procedures, and factors that led to this operational failure,” the agency said in a statement to the Daily Beast.
The decision came weeks after Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on July 23, ending a turbulent ten-day period in which she tried to shift blame for the disaster at the rally onto local police.
Footage from Pennsylvania police body cameras suggested that police had warned the Secret Service that it would need to deploy its own agents to secure the building from which Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire – about 120 meters from Trump and the rally stage.
The aftermath of Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. In the background you can see the roof of a warehouse from which Thomas Crooks opened fire.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
“I fucking told them to put the fucking guys here… the Secret Service,” the officer says in the video. “I fucking told them that on Tuesday. I told them to put the fucking guys here.”
Crooks eventually fired three shots before a sniper killed him within seconds. His shots injured Trump’s right ear, killed Corey Comperatore and wounded rally attendees James Copenhaver and David Dutch.
