WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting director of the Secret Service is pledging accountability for what he called the agency’s “abject failure” to secure the rally where a gunman opened fire on Donald Trump during his presidential campaign last summer.
Ronald Rowe will testify Thursday before a bipartisan House task force investigating how the Secret Service, which protects the highest echelons of American leaders, conducted two assassination attempts against Trump within two months. Part of Rowe’s comments were released ahead of the hearing.
The task force’s investigation is part of a series of investigations and reports into the July shootings in Butler, Pennsylvania, that accuse the troubled agency of planning and communication failures. The fallout has already included the resignation of the agency’s former director and changes that increased Secret Service protections for Trump before the Republican won the November election.
Trump has not yet named his nominee to lead the agency.
A separate independent panel investigating that assassination attempt said the agency needed fresh leadership and that “another Butler can and will happen again” without any fundamental change in protections for candidates. Trump was injured in the ear, a rally attendee was killed and two others were injured.
Rowe said the agency’s internal investigation found lapses by several employees. He found that the quality of the groundwork – the people who go to a location before an event and plan how the Secret Service will protect someone – did not meet the agency’s standards.
“It is important that we recognize the gravity of our failure on July 13, 2024,” Rowe said in prepared remarks. “Let me be clear that there will be accountability, and that accountability is happening.”
He did not provide specific details, such as how many employees could face disciplinary action or whether anyone would be fired.
This is the task force’s second public hearing and the first time Rowe has spoken publicly on the issue. It plans to publish a report on its findings and recommendations by December 13.
Much of the investigation focused on why buildings near the rally with a clear line of sight to the stage were not secured in advance. The gunman, Thomas Crooks, climbed to the roof of a nearby building and opened fire as Trump spoke.
Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper, and Trump was surrounded by agents and forced off the stage.
The shooting also exposed communication problems between the Secret Service and local and state law enforcement officials, who routinely assist the Secret Service in securing major events.
Another assassination attempt on Trump in Florida two months later also added to the agency’s problems.
Ryan Wesley Routh is accused of ambushing Trump in the bushes at one of Trump’s Florida golf courses in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15. A Secret Service agent saw the weapon poking through the bushes and opened fire, thwarting the would-be attack. Routh never fired a shot.
The agency has defended that its response is much more consistent with the functioning of its defense systems. Critics have questioned how Routh was able to camp for so long at a golf course that Trump often visited while he was in town.
Since the first assassination attempt, the Secret Service has been under intense scrutiny over its ability to carry out what is often referred to as a “zero defect mission.”
Then-Intelligence Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned a little more than a week after the July shooting and a day after she appeared before a congressional hearing where she faced hours of abuse from Democrats and Republicans.
Rowe was then announced as acting director.
In his statement to the bipartisan task force, Rowe noted what he has done to bring about change.
“It has been my sole focus to bring about much-needed intelligence reform. Be an agent of change. To challenge previous assumptions,” Rowe said.
Among the things he highlighted:
— The agency has increased staff assigned to Trump and expanded the utilize of drone technology to provide a comprehensive view of venues.
– Secret Service personnel must be co-located with state and local law enforcement while protecting someone to avoid communications blackouts due to the Butler rally.
— Alluding to the strain on agents and officers protecting a growing list of people in an increasingly divisive political environment, Rowe said he is prioritizing mental health and wellness programs and hired a chief wellness officer this week.
