Senators demand accountability in Senate hearing with Secret Service, FBI over assassination attempt

Tuesday’s Senate hearing with Secret Service and FBI leadership was highlighted by heated exchanges demanding accountability, but little new information.

During the hearing, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe and Deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate fielded questions from members of the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees regarding the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, pushed the effort to find answers and demand accountability for the shocking security lapses that allowed 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks to fire eight shots at Trump, striking him once in the right ear, killing rally-goer Corey Comperatore and critically injuring two others.

At one point, Rowe made the astounding admission that the Secret Service was never actually alerted by local law enforcement about a potential shooter on the roof of the now infamous AGR building. He claims agents only learned of the would-be assassin’s location when he began shooting.

“The only thing we had was that locals were working an issue at the three o’clock – which would have been the former president’s right-hand side – which is where the shot came,” he said. “Nothing about man on the roof, nothing about man with a gun. None of that information ever made it over our net.”

Rowe also seemed to blame the deadly miscommunication, at least in part, on a lack of basic coordination between the Secret Service and local officials, saying the information got “stuck” in local channels.

Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Michigan, said local law enforcement confirmed the communications issues. He said local officials claim it was difficult to relay threat information to the Secret Service because they were “only able to call in to a state command center.”

Drilling down further, Peters questioned whether that lack of coordination robbed the Secret Service of an opportunity to prevent the assassination attempt, even after all the other known security lapses.

“There was about 30 seconds between when the local law enforcement reported that there was a man on the roof with a gun [and the first shot],” he asserted. “If it’s communicated directly to a counter-sniper team, would that be enough time to react prior to the firing of those shots?”

“If we’d had that information,” Rowe answered, “they would have been able to address it more quickly. It appears that that information was stuck or siloed in that local channel. It is troubling to me that we did not get that information as quickly as we should have. We didn’t know that there was this incident going on.”

Rowe also testified that the shooter was killed within 15.5 seconds of firing his first shot.

Rowe’s exchange with Senator Cruz became tense when Cruz questioned Rowe about the relative size of the Secret Service details for President Trump and President Biden.

“Sir, stop interrupting me!” Cruz demanded. “You are refusing to answer clear and direct questions. I am asking the relative difference in the number of agents between those assigned to Donald Trump and those assigned to Joe Biden. I’m not asking why you assign more to Joe Biden.”

Rowe said he didn’t have the specifics, but committed to following up with the senator later.

The exchange between Senator Hawley and Rowe became agitated when Hawley tried to discern what steps the Secret Service has taken to ensure accountability since the failed assassination attempt.

“My question is, why don’t you relieve everybody of duty who made bad judgment?” Hawley asked. “You’re right, I’m zeroing in on somebody, trying to find somebody who is accountable here. You’re telling me the person who made the decision not to include this [building from which Crooks shot] in the perimeter has not been relieved of duty? What about the person in charge of the interoperability of radio frequencies between local law enforcement and the Secret Service? Has that person been relieved of duty?”

“No, sir. We’re investigating this through mission assurance, and as opposed to zeroing in on one or two individuals,” Rowe replied.

“What do you need to investigate to know there were critical failures, that some individuals ought to be held accountable? What more do you need to know?” Hawley demanded.

When Rowe evoked the memory of the Kennedy assassination, things got even more heated.

“Sir, this could have been our Texas School Book Depository. I’ve lost sleep over that the last 17 days like you have,” Rowe told Hawley.

“Then fire somebody. Hold them accountable!” Hawley demanded.

“I will tell you, Senator, I will not rush to judgment,” Rowe shouted. “People will be held accountable, and I will do so with integrity and not rush to judgment and put people unfairly persecuted…”

“Unfairly persecuted? You have people who are dead!” the senator responded.