Added to the flurry of questions surrounding the assassination attempt on the former president, numerous reports confirmed one resource the suspect had that was said not to have been utilized by the Secret Service.
Compounding concerns about how the would-be assassin managed to stalk onto the roof to take his shot at former President Donald Trump when law enforcement and the security detail were aware of the threat posed and the response when seconds counted, it has since been reported that the U.S. Secret Service did not fly a surveillance drone over the campaign rally that became a tragedy.
(Video: Fox News)
Friday on “The Ingraham Angle” Fox News host Laura Ingraham said while introducing Texas Rep. Chip Roy (R), “As Joe Biden remains defiant, we just got new details about how much security was actually on site for Trump’s rally on July 13th. A federal law enforcement source with knowledge of the security planning is telling Fox News tonight, there were just 22 Secret Service agents — including Advance Team, Assault Team and Sniper Team — for the tens of thousands of people present. As I mentioned earlier, no Secret Service drone was flown over the event.”
After mentioning failures from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and alleged abuses from the Intel Community and Justice Department, the congressman remarked, “Now the Secret Service endangers the former president and the sitting Republican nominee, and they’re acting like nothing happened.”
“They didn’t even have a drone flying. The guy who did it flew a drone!” he noted, as had been previously reported.
Similarly, as Americans await USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle’s congressional testimony expected Monday, Roy’s Lone Star State colleague, Sen. Ted Cruz had stated Wednesday on his “Verdict” podcast that the director had brushed aside the matter of aerial surveillance to questioning lawmakers.
“You had one senator who asked, ‘Were there drones, yes or no?’ And the answer from the head of the Secret Service was, ‘We determined that the risk from that rooftop was mitigated by countersnipers,'” said Cruz.
Likewise, Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin had posted about the limited resources utilized by the Secret Service at the rally, and how personnel were stationed, noting it was “believed there was no SS drone in the air,” before stating, “The entire operation security plan was created and carried out by Secret Service, which told [Homeland Security Investigations] and local law enforcement where they needed bodies, and was responsible for the advance planning.”
NEW: Per federal law enforcement source w/ knowledge of the security planning for Trump’s Butler, PA rally, the event was staffed by 22 Secret Service agents, including advance, assault, and sniper teams, 16 HSI agents, and it is believed there was no SS drone in the air.
Per…
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) July 19, 2024
House Speaker Mike Johnson had also questioned Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas about the use of drones while on a call and said, “It is standard practice now for drones to be in the air over an event like this.”
“We are compiling now a longer list of very serious and important questions that must be answered immediately,” he added.
The Federal Aviation Administration had confirmed through a spokesperson to Newsweek, “The FAA did not issue any [Special Government Interest] waivers prior to last Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania. On-scene law enforcement could have been operating drones under their individual agency authorizations.”
“It is absolutely unbelievable what we’re seeing here,” Roy told Ingraham, “but here’s the deal: we have to stop funding it, we have to stop giving these people jobs, we have to hold them accountable and, to your point, I’m glad Mike Johnson said we need one task force, we need to funnel it through one organized effort in the House.”
In seeking accountability, the congressman reminded, “It’s not just the Secret Service. It’s the Pentagon, the Department of Defense, the FBI, the CIA, DHS. Laken Riley is dead. You’ve got this firefighter who’s dead. How many Americans have to bury their loved ones while this incompetent administration endangers them, and then there’s no accountability?”
“The buck needs to stop somewhere. It’s not gonna stop at Joe Biden. Republicans are gonna have to hold the line and make sure the buck stops where it needs to stop,” he added as he furthered calls for the GOP to use the power of the purse to check the administration.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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