Fox News put FBI Director Kash Patel in the hot seat over Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.
The evening’s plans were derailed when 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen allegedly tried to attack the dinner with multiple weapons. His arrest was swift after exchanging gunfire with the Secret Service, but people are wondering how he was allowed to get so close to an event that President Donald Trump was attending. Patel joined Fox & Friends to provide answers.
Watch:
Lawrence Jones asked why the Secret Service has consistently been on their back foot when it comes to attacks on the president, which have occurred with alarming frequency since he announced his intent to run for a second term.
“They did a great job on the ground, but they remain reactive. The proactive approach is still under great scrutiny. The President of the United States is averaging an assassination attempt once a year. So, who’s going to do the investigating of the procedures? Secret Service can’t investigate themselves, because there’s still people in leadership at the Secret Service that were responsible for Butler,” he pointed out. “How does that happen? It was a failure!”
“I can’t speak to Butler, and I agree it was a total failure, absolutely. But I have full confidence in [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary Markwayne Mullin,” Patel said. “He oversees the United States Secret Service, I’ve talked to him repeatedly over the weekend, and said whatever you need from the FBI, whatever we can assist in, and however we can better prepare to protect our protectees going forward with the United States Secret Service, this FBI stands ready to do, and we’re going to improve that process under Markwayne’s leadership and oversight of the Secret Service.”
He also revealed that he is in communication with the White House about rescheduling the event.
“I think we are going to do it entirely differently. You heard the President say on Saturday night that we’re going to do this again in short order,” Patel noted. “We got to do a couple of things differently, and we’re already talking about it, and that’s the good thing. And we’re going to be better postured for the next event.”
One question that he couldn’t answer was whether the behavior exhibited by the suspect had been on the FBI’s radar.
“All those questions will be answered in the complaint, the criminal complaint that’s being presented,” the director stated.
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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