Committee investigating Trump assassination attempt calls for ‘fundamental reform’ of Secret Service

An independent committee that investigates the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a campaign event in Pennsylvania pointed out the Secret Service for its poor communication that day and for failing to secure the building from which the shooter fired. The analysis also found systemic problems at the agency, such as a lack of understanding of the specific risks Trump faces and a culture of doing “more with less.”

The 52-page report released Thursday chides the Secret Service for specific problems leading up to the July 13 rally in Butler, as well as one more rooted in the agency’s culture. It recommended appointing new leaders from outside the service and redirecting their efforts to their protection mission.

“The Secret Service as an agency requires a fundamental reform to fulfill its mission,” the authors of the document indicated to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alekandro Mayorkas, head of the department on which the Secret Service depends, in a letter that accompanied the report. Without that reform, they noted, another incident like Butler’s “can and will happen.”

One rally attendee was killed and two others were injured when Thomas Michael Crooks climbed to the roof of a nearby building and opened fire during Trump’s speech. The former president was injured in the ear before being evacuated from the scene by Secret Service agents. That shooting, along with another incident in Florida when Trump was golfing — in which a gunman failed to have line of sight on the president or fire shots — has led to a crisis of confidence in the agency.

The report of the committee, made up of four former national and state security officials, follows a congressional investigationto the investigation of the agency itself and to that of a National Security supervisory body.

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels YouTube, WhatsApp and to the newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, x and instagram.