On Tuesday, Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee questioned the Secret Service’s acting director about the decline in public trust in the agency’s ability to protect its mission.
This inquiry came after a July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“This agency needs to change, and if not now, when? The next assassination in 30 days?” Blackburn read from an email, reportedly sent by a Secret Service counter sniper, during a Senate hearing involving testimony from Acting U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Director Ronald Rowe and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate.
Blackburn also shared the final segment of an email, acquired by Real Clear Politics reporter Susan Crabtree, which was allegedly circulated within the agency by a counter-sniper. The email reportedly indicated that the U.S. Secret Service’s “motto” is “CYA,” shorthand for “cover your a**.”
The Tennessee senator continued: “The public has lost trust in the ability to execute the mission to protect, and I want to know how you feel about the fact that employees in your agency are worried about “covering their behind and not worried about protecting a former president.”
The counter sniper who wrote the email apparently sent it to the entire Uniform Division as more information about the assassination attempt became public, according to Crabtree.
On Monday, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa released text messages from Butler County, Pennsylvania.
The messages revealed that snipers had detected shooter Thomas Crooks about 90 minutes before he opened fire on the former president.
The attack resulted in the death of 50-year-old Corey Comperatore and injuries to 74-year-old James Copenhaver and 57-year-old David Dutch.
Rowe, who took on the position of director after Kimberly Cheatle resigned last week, told Blackburn he is “hurt” by the email.
“I’m hurt because my people are hurting right now,” Rowe told Blackburn. “We need them.”
The acting director noted that “emotions are raw” within the agency at the moment and expressed a desire to hear more from the agent who authored the email, who identified himself as both a U.S. Marine and a 20-year veteran of the Secret Service. Rowe also emphasized his commitment to reviewing the situation and serving as a “change agent.”
Rowe was also grilled on Monday by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who asked how it was possible that Trump was allowed on stage 17 minutes after reports of a suspicious person.
“No information regarding a weapon on the roof was ever passed to our personnel,” Rowe said.
“How is that even possible?” Lee asked.
That information was “in local law enforcement channels but did not cross over and make it to Secret Service awareness,” Rowe responded.
“I think that they were in the midst of dealing with a very critical situation and they articulated that over the radio, as I understand it. However, it was never relayed over to us.”
The Secret Service letter follows an FBI briefing on Monday morning, where reporters were informed that Crooks used HVAC equipment and piping to access the roof of a building near former President Trump’s rally in Butler.
Crooks then moved across several rooftops until he reached his shooting position atop a building owned by American Glass Research (AGR), situated near the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds, roughly 150 yards from where the former president was speaking at his rally.
On the day of the rally, Crooks parked his vehicle and flew a drone between about 3:50 p.m. and 4 p.m. about 200 yards from where the former president would be speaking on July 13.
Crooks had been at the rally site for about 70 minutes the morning of the assassination attempt.
It remains unclear how Crooks managed to evade security despite being spotted by law enforcement roughly 90 minutes before the shooting began.
However, the FBI stated that over 300 agents and staff are working “around the clock” to collect information and establish a clearer timeline of Crooks’ movements.
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