Secret Service agents from Pittsburgh office on leave in Trump assassination attempt probe, reports say
Multiple agents from the U.S. Secret Service field office in Pittsburgh have been placed on administrative leave related to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler last month, according to multiple reports.
NBC News reported that the Secret Service’s special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh office was among those placed on leave. The outlet reported that a source familiar with the decisions could not confirm the number of agents on leave but said the number could rise as the investigation continues.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement to the Post-Gazette that “Given this is a personnel matter, we are not in a position to comment further.”
“The U.S. Secret Service is committed to investigating the decisions and actions of personnel related to the event in Butler, Pennsylvania and the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump,” the statement said. “The U.S. Secret Service's mission assurance review is progressing, and we are examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure. The U.S. Secret Service holds our personnel to the highest professional standards, and any identified and substantiated violations of policy will be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility for potential disciplinary action.”
Fox News reported that a different group of Secret Service agents assigned specifically to Trump’s security detail remains operational.
The striking security failures at the July 13 rally have become the focus of intense criticism of the protective agency and the local law enforcement they relied on to help guard the Republican nominee and his supporters at the Butler Farm Show grounds.
The shooting killed former firefighter Corey Comperatore and left Trump and two others wounded. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, was killed by a bullet fired by a Secret Service agent.
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, is leading a bipartisan U.S. House of Representatives task force, which earlier this month asked all concerned federal agencies to forward documents and information on the shooting.
Kelly — an eyewitness to the rally shooting and a nearly lifelong resident of Butler — asked leaders at Homeland Security, the Secret Service, the Justice Department and the FBI to hand over all documents and information related to the attack, even if material already has been shared with various House and Senate committees.
The task force was approved in a resolution last month as several hearings on Capitol Hill revealed more details about the shooter and security lapses before and during the rally. Kimberly Cheatle, former head of the Secret Service, resigned after being grilled by lawmakers in a House Oversight Committee hearing.
Despite police in and around the farm grounds building, Crooks was able to scale an exterior wall, move into position, confront a local law enforcement officer with his rifle and fire a deadly salvo into a crowd of rally-goers.
The ability of Crooks — who police said scouted the grounds ahead of time and flew a drone over the area hours before the rally started — to position himself on an unguarded rooftop just 150 yards away from Trump has baffled security experts.
The act of terror in Butler was striking, cold and meticulously planned by Crooks — a young, white male with few friends and a penchant for guns who fit the profile of so many other assailants who have shattered the lives of others at shopping malls and schools.
Kelly and other task force members are scheduled to return to the site of the rally shooting on Monday.
Trump has said he’ll return to Butler County for a rally in October. No exact date or further details have been given.
