House Panel Blames Secret Service for Failures During Trump Assassination Attempt

WASHINGTON (AP) – A bipartisan House panel says the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at a July rally in Pennsylvania was “preventable and should not have happened,” in what it calls the “stunning security failures” at the event. Details from Correspondent Bernie Bennett.

VERBATIM: The report from a House task force released Monday, is just the latest look at the cascading and wide-ranging law enforcement failings that preceded the July 13 shooting at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally where Trump was struck in the ear by gunfire. One rallygoer was killed and two others wounded.

Members of the House and Senate have repeatedly questioned why the Secret Service didn’t do a better job communicating with local authorities during the campaign rally, particularly when it came to securing the building that was widely agreed to be a security threat… but that ultimately was left so unprotected that gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to climb up and shoot.

Lawmakers in their report focus on “the fragmented lines of communication and unclear chains of command” between Secret Service and Pennsylvania state and local police… but place the majority of the blame on the Secret Service for the security breakdown.

Bernie Bennett, Washington.