REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Saturday’s assassination attempt raises huge questions about the Secret Service — and its political overseers.
One bullet would’ve taken Donald Trump’s life if he hadn’t just turned his head; another killed Corey Comperatore; two more victims remain in critical care.
Trump’s close-in protectors did their jobs, but the fact that Thomas Crooks was able to get on that roof, under 200 yards from the podium, and fire roughly eight shots at the former president — even as bystanders were screaming for law enforcement to do something — is damning.
Though outside the formal security perimeter, the roof had a direct line of sight at Trump, yet wasn’t directly covered nor seemingly even monitored.
Plainly, the security detail was far too small: The latest news is that the Secret Service relied heavily on borrowing local police — in rural Pennsylvania! — for the event.
Indeed, one of those local cops, alerted by neighbors, reportedly made it to the roof before Crooks opened fire — but ducked back down when the gunman pointed the gun at him.
Then came the deadly shots.
The Trump team says it repeatedly requested larger Secret Service details. The agency’s flacks are denying it, but then they work for the Department of Homeland Security, whose chief Alejandro Mayorkas has for years insisted the Southern Border is “secure.”
And no PR spin can make this egregious failure go away.
Meanwhile, US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was previously known for her drive to increase diversity on the force.
This, when the USSS has been plagued with scandals going back to at least 2009, including multiple serious security failures — as well as abuses like the 2016 leaking of personal info about Rep. Jason Chaffetz, then chairing a House committee investigating Secret Service misconduct.
Another reason to believe the Trump camp’s account is DHS’s refusal to provide Secret Service protection to RFK Jr.
That was already an outrage; now it’s scandal. The Kennedy campaign’s been reduced to suing over it; info made public last week in that case show he’s received multiple death threats.
He’s a presidential candidate polling well for a third-party run; Democrats are worried that his vote could make the difference on Election Day.
And he’s the son of Robert Kennedy, assassinated as he was on the verge of winning the 1968 nomination, and the nephew of President John Kennedy, shot down in Dallas in 1963.
That makes him even more of a target for the kind of sickos who attempt assassinations.
Yes, his own campaign is providing top-notch security, but it’s beyond disgusting to deny him the best, seemingly out of pure political spite.
Meanwhile Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chaired Nancy Pelosi’s Jan. 6 committee, is rushing to explain away his DISGRACED bill (yes, he came up with alphabet soup to get that abbreviation) that would’ve entirely removed Trump’s Secret Service protection.
Thompson on Sunday fired a staffer who’d posted “please get you some shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time” Saturday night on Facebook.
Over in sane world, New York Reps. Ritchie Torres and Mike Lawler have announced a bipartisan push for enhanced Secret Service protection for Trump and President Biden, as well as RFK Jr. Will the White House act before it’s forced to?
Well, Biden on Sunday announced he’d ordered more security for Trump — but not a word about RFK.
He also insisted he’d always told his people to be sure Trump had enough protection; expect the White House to produce a scapegoat momentarily.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and the heads of the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees vow a full investigation of what went wrong Saturday.
Let the subpoenas fly: America needs answers, and there’s no sign the Biden administration will give them willingly.