The Secret Service’s explanation for the security lapses that allowed a 20-year-old gunman to shoot former President Trump multiple times has continued to evolve, with the agency most recently acknowledging that it had turned down some requests from Trump’s team for additional security.
The revelations first reported by the Washington Post that the Secret Service denied repeated requests from Trump's security team were just the latest in an evolving explanation by the agency, which initially firmly rejected claims that it had issued such denials.
“The claim that a member of the former President's security team requested additional security resources that were denied by the U.S. Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security is absolutely false,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the day after the attempted assassination of Trump.
But Guglielmi walked back that denial in response to the Washington Post, which reported that denials of heightened security for Trump had been a constant source of tension between his team and headquarters for more than a year.
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“The Secret Service has a broad, challenging and complex mission,” he told the Washington Post in a statement. “Every day we work in a dynamic threat environment to ensure our protectees are safe and secure across multiple events, travel and other challenging environments. We execute a comprehensive, layered strategy to balance personnel, technology and specialized operational needs.”
Guglielmi explained that when the Secret Service fails to provide sufficient resources, the agency typically relies on local and state law enforcement agencies to fill the gaps.
“In some cases where specific Secret Service resources or specialized units were not provided, the agency made modifications to ensure the safety of the protected person,” Guglielmi told Fox News Digital. “This may include utilizing state or local partners to provide specialized functions or identifying alternatives to reduce a protected person's public exposure.”
The Secret Service has also offered other explanations for the failures at Trump's Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. Agency Director Kimberly Cheatle told ABC last week that the building from which the former president was shot had a “sloped roof” that would have been dangerous for agents.
Two FBI investigators scan the roof of AGR International Inc, the building adjacent to the Butler Fairgrounds, from where Matthew Thomas Crooks shot former President Trump, July 14, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
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“That particular building has a sloped roof at its highest point. So there's a safety factor that has to be taken into account – we don't want to put someone on a sloped roof. So the decision was made to secure the building from the inside,” he said.
Meanwhile, during a briefing on the incident last week, senators were told that the Secret Service had flagged the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, as a suspect more than an hour before he opened fire on Trump. The agency also revealed that a sniper had spotted Crooks and flagged him as a potential threat 19 minutes before the shooting.
But the briefing left many senators frustrated, with many walking off the call and criticizing the agency for its lack of transparency and failure to answer detailed questions.
“It's outrageous,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital after the briefing, noting that Cheatle had admitted “there were mistakes and blunders” by the agency before the shooting.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle at a news conference June 4 in Chicago. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)
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“It was kind of a quick briefing, which doesn't provide information, it just gives four senators the opportunity to ask questions… this doesn't provide the kind of information that people need,” Johnson added.
The evolving story and lack of transparency have led some lawmakers to call for Cheatle to resign, with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, arguing that the “failure” on security “requires a change of leadership” at the agency.
“The inexplicable and inexcusable lapse in basic security measures requires a change of leadership at the Secret Service,” Cornyn said in a post on X last week.
