This week, the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump released its bipartisan interim staff report, which revealed stunning security lapses and communication failures leading up to and during the July 13 Butler, Pa. rally.
Here’s what folks are saying about the findings…
“serious breakdown in communication between the Secret Service and local law enforcement”
Punchbowl News: “The 53-page preliminary report, which comes nearly three months after the task force was created, says congressional investigators found a serious breakdown in communication between the Secret Service and local law enforcement that enabled a gunman to climb up on a rooftop and fire at Trump from only 150 yards away. Two people were killed in the attack, including the shooter, while Trump was injured.”
“no one was in charge of planning and security decisions”
New York Times: “Its findings largely hew to the conclusions of three other recent investigations. A Senate inquiry found that no one was in charge of planning and security decisions for the July 13 campaign rally where Mr. Trump was shot; an independent panel reviewing the failures that led to the attempted assassination called on the Secret Service to replace its leadership with people from the private sector and focus almost exclusively on its protective mission; and the Secret Service’s own internal investigation found that complacency had set in among some of the agents charged with securing the rally site.”
“cascading and wide-ranging law enforcement failings”
Associated Press: “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 in the shooting and two others were wounded.”
DailyMail: “Lawmakers in their report focus on ‘the fragmented lines of communication and unclear chains of command’ between Secret Service – an agency tasked with protecting the country’s top leaders – and Pennsylvania state and local police.”
“multiple security failures allowed a 20-year-old gunman to climb atop an unsecured roof and fire eight shots”
Washington Post: “The deadly shooting at a July 13 Donald Trump rally was preventable, but multiple security failures allowed a 20-year-old gunman to climb atop an unsecured roof and fire eight shots, killing an attendee and wounding Trump and two others, the bipartisan House task force investigating the attack wrote in a preliminary report released Monday.”
Real Clear Politics: “But a section on “fragmented lines of communication and unclear lines of communication and chains of command” provides new detail about the failures that led to no law enforcement officer engaging with Crooks until he was on a rooftop only 200 yards from Trump and the crowd. It also provides more information about why the threat Crooks posed was not communicated to the innermost ring of Secret Service agents protecting the former president on the stage so they could remove the candidate from the dais before Crooks opened fire.”
“lack of coordination and clarification”
Washington Times: “The lack of coordination and clarification contributed to the failure to address the clear line of sight from the AGR building to the stage where Mr. Trump was speaking. Edward Lenz, commander of the Butler ESU, testified that the Secret Service never asked him to put a sniper team on top of the roof of the AGR complex, nor did it object to the decision to place his team in the second floor of the AGR building to provide overwatch of the rally site.”
CBS News: “The bipartisan House task force investigating the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump found that the incident was “preventable,” detailing in a report released early Monday that there were communication and planning shortcomings.”
Washington Reporter: Missed me: “The tragic and shocking events of July 13 were preventable and should not have happened,” wrote the bipartisan Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump in today’s bombshell report, which is separate from the one required to be released later this year. Findings include that “federal, state, and local law enforcement officers could have engaged [attempted assassin] Thomas Matthew Crooks at several pivotal moments” and that there was “a lack of planning and coordination between the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners before the rally.”
Butler Eagle: “The Secret Service did not give clear guidance to state and local agencies about managing areas outside the event perimeter, and there was no joint meeting the day of the rally, according to the report.”
“communication made more difficult by a lack of a central command system with USSS”
Fox News: “It said three local law enforcement officers noticed Crooks around 5 p.m. ET, each “independently” deducing his “behavior and manner were suspicious.” Back-and-forth ensued among local and state units, with communication made more difficult by a lack of a central command system with USSS.”
Axios: “The lack of unified briefing on July 13 may have resulted in “gaps in awareness among state and local law enforcement partners as to who was stationed where, spheres of responsibility, and expectations regarding communications,” the report stated.”
WTAE: “That included a lack of planning leading up to the rally, not having a unified command post and dedicated radio link and not having a joint meeting on the day of the rally. The report said the lack of communication led to critical pieces of information about suspected gunman Thomas Crooks’ whereabouts to move slowly among Secret Service and law enforcement personnel.”
“list of failures is so long”
The Spectator: “The list of failures is so long that it appears nothing short of miraculous that Trump had gotten that far into his campaign without a serious threat on his life. Barring the “wake-up call” that Crooks’s failed assassination attempt presented, those working on the report told The Spectator it’s unlikely that the Secret Service would have felt any need to implement reforms. Following the events of Butler, the Secret Service’s director resigned.”
“foundation for a broader analysis and legislative recommendations”
Bloomberg: “The task force’s report Monday focuses on specific mistakes the Secret Service made July 13 but serves as the foundation for a broader analysis and legislative recommendations due in December. The report outlines a series of communications lapses throughout the afternoon that left Trump an open target despite law enforcement officers’ ongoing response to suspicious activity.”
“could bring more pressure”
CNN: “The report could bring more pressure on the leadership of the US Secret Service after a Homeland Security independent panel called for a complete leadership overhaul. The testimony in the report from unnamed Butler officials details the chaotic sequence of events from when local officials first spotted the Trump rally gunman, Thomas Crooks, to when Crooks was finally shot down.”
“continue to “rigorously” investigate the July assassination attempt”
NewsNation: “The task force staff writes that it will continue to “rigorously” investigate the July assassination attempt. It will also look at the September 15 incident in West Palm Beach, Florida in which an armed man was arrested near the Trump International Golf Course.”
NBC News: “The task force said it’s still in the process of conducting more than 20 transcribed interviews of federal officials and others who might have more information on what transpired on July 13. It’s also investigating the alleged assassination attempt against Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15. The panel has requested information and records from the Secret Service, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.”
“House panel’s scope has been expanded”
POLITICO: “The House panel’s scope has been expanded to include the second assassination attempt in Florida in September. But Monday’s report focuses squarely on the Butler rally, including detailing radio communications and text messages between state and local law enforcement about the shooter. It is “unclear” if any of that information reached Trump’s security detail at the time, according to the panel’s findings.”
In case you missed it, you can read the full report here.
