New Secret Service Report: They Had “One Hour” Of Training — Had To Call “Tech Support” For Help!

I don’t use the word “bombshell” very often, but this new report on the Secret Service failures in Butler, PA is a complete BOMBSHELL!

Multiple “foreseeable” and “preventable” failures from the Secret Service have been exposed, including:

They knew about the threat ahead of time and that is the ONLY reason they had a counter-sniper team on hand.

It appears as though it was all setup ahead of time to assassinate Trump and then blame Iran — but of course it failed.

Some Secret Service agents had only 1 hour of training prior to being dispatched to this team.

The drone operators had virtually no training on how to operate a drone, leading one Secret Service officer to call “tech support” to try and get his drone operational.

And it just gets worse from there…..

Watch more here from Fox News:

The Secret Service report is nothing short of an embarrassment.

With shocking failures, a leadership void, and a missed Iran threat, it’s clear that accountability has left the building.

We are fortunate President Trump is alive and well, but Americans demand real reform! pic.twitter.com/TfIyaDQ2Dd

— Lance Gooden (@Lancegooden) September 25, 2024

Lead Secret Service agent at Trump’s Butler rally knew of ‘credible intelligence’ of threat but didn’t raise alarm, Senate report finds https://t.co/uWkrPa1M1S pic.twitter.com/CZM5E0dQkj

— New York Post (@nypost) September 25, 2024

Here are more details from the NY Post:

The Secret Service agent in charge of Donald Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler, Pa., was made aware of “credible intelligence” of a threat against the former president — but didn’t pass it along to her supervisor or others planning security for the event, a Senate report on the assassination attempt found.

The 94-page report on the shooting, released Wednesday by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, determined that the Secret Service’s lead advance agent for the Trump rally wrote in a security planning document that there was “no adverse intelligence” concerning the 45th president’s visit to Butler — despite being notified of an unspecified threat.

Furthermore, the lead agent told Senate investigators that she notified the special agent in charge (SAIC) of the Secret Service’s Pittsburgh field office about the “credible intelligence” before the rally — but he claims that never happened.

Had the Pittsburgh SAIC known about the potential threat to Trump, the rally at the Butler Farm Show Grounds may have been moved indoors, he told investigators.

Despite the damning findings, the lead agent and 11 other members of the Secret Service interviewed by  investigators refused to accept responsibility for any of the numerous security failures identified in the report.

‘Credible intelligence’ of a threat

Secret Service counter-snipers — including the one who shot and killed Crooks after having him in his sights only “mere seconds” before firing — were sent to Butler in direct response to the threat intelligence, investigators found.

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Their fortunate deployment marked the first time a Secret Service counter-sniper team has ever been assigned to cover an event for someone other than the president, vice president, or a formally nominated presidential candidate.

Senate unanimously passes bill enhancing Secret Service protection for presidential, vice presidential nominees
The Secret Service’s assistant director of the office of protective operations told investigators that officials at the agency determined “prior to July 5” that counter-snipers would be present at all outdoor events for Trump “going forward.”

“In his interview with the Committee, the USSS Assistant Director for OPO said this decision was based on several factors including the size and scale of the former President’s outdoor events, his being on the cusp of becoming the nominee, and threat information, at least some of which is classified,” the report states.

“To date, the Committee has not been provided any additional detail related to the USSS’ decision,” it continues, noting that “only two of the USSS personnel the Committee has interviewed were made aware that there was a credible threat related to former President Trump prior to July 13, only one of which was made aware of the classified information underlying the threat.”

The report notes that the FBI has indicated Crooks “was not known” to the bureau prior to the assassination attempt.

From eHack, check out this WILD list of failures:

Senate Report on Secret Service Failures
✅ Preliminary report on Jul 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump released.
✅ Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs highlights Secret Service missteps.
➡️ Spectator killed, two seriously wounded; Trump struck on ear.
✅ Agent inexperienced with drone equipment called toll-free tech support after request for assets denied.
➡️ Agent had only 1 hour of informal training with device.
✅ Multiple failures: unclear roles, insufficient coordination, ineffective communications, inoperable C-UAS systems.
✅ Secret Service unaware of suspicious person 27 mins before shooting.
➡️ Shooter took position on AGR building roof.
✅ USSS counter sniper saw law enforcement running with guns drawn but didn’t alert Trump’s detail.
😇 Failures underscore need for better coordination and communication in security planning.
✅ Addition of counter snipers was unique due to credible threat.
➡️ Typically not deployed before party’s nominating convention.
✅ Local law enforcement raised concerns about AGR building days before rally.
➡️ Rooftop remained unsecured.
✅ Advance agents requested additional resources; requests denied without explanation.
✅ Agent in charge of drone equipment faced technical issues; prevented flight until after suspect flew drone.
😇 Committee recommends better coordination, clearer leadership, functional communication.
✅ Secret Service faced technical problems with radios; special agent didn’t have a radio.
✅ Lack of clear chain of command criticized; officials deflected blame.
😇 Secret Service urged to improve protocols to prevent future incidents.
➡️ Miscommunication on radio channels/frequencies; poor info sharing between LE agencies; gaps in coordination.
➡️ Local LE entities unaware of two separate comm centers, creating confusion.
😇 Two commands? This is nuts. It’s not a command then; it’s an outpost.
✅ Site security issues: Butler Farm Show venue choice driven by crowd size, despite SS concerns (Staff chose site).
➡️ Line of sight threats not mitigated as planned; sniper teams’ position not coordinated.
😇 SS had limited awareness of local tactical team presence, compromising overall security.
✅ Specialty asset delays: Counter-sniper teams arrived late; technical issues w/ drone detection.
😇 Operational tempo stretched resources thin, especially during a presidential campaign.
✅ Increased SS workload due to growing protectee schedules & National Security Events.
✅ Senate committee urges Congress to review USSS budget & adjust security measures for U.S. leaders based on threats, not office status (Prelim. report out Wed).
✅ July 13 Butler rally: 20-yr-old gunman climbed unsecured roof, fired 8 shots; killed 1, wounded Trump & 2 others (Senate report).
➡️ USSS seeks $3B budget boost for agents, equip, training after Pa. attack & potential Fla. incident.
😇 Budget debate: Senators divided on whether more $ fixes systemic issues; some agents blamed others for security gaps.
✅ Call for Congress to mandate recording USSS radio transmissions at all protective events.
➡️ Acting Dir. Rowe accepted responsibility for lapses & ↑Trump’s security; briefed report on internal review.
✅ Sen. Rand Paul: July 13 was “human error,” not resource problem; Sen. Johnson: budget already ↑ by 65% in 10 yrs (From $2B to $3.3B).
➡️ Sen. Blumenthal: More $ needed; Trump detail lacked countersurveillance at Butler rally (~15K attendees).
😇 Disparities in coverage: Trump lacked units available to Jill Biden, despite both facing threats.
✅ Butler rally: Agent’s radio not working; counter-drone system failed before Trump took stage.
➡️ Drone could’ve detected Crooks’ aerial threat; but system operator inexperienced (Only 3 months using equip.).
😇 Senate investigation into Butler shooting & Trump golf club incident ongoing.
✅ Golf club incident: Man w/ rifle & scope hid for 12 hrs near Trump; agent spotted him, opened fire.
😇 Independent panel, DHS IG, bipartisan House task force also investigating July 13 Butler attack.
✅ Senate report based on 2.8K USSS docs, interviews w/ agents, LE officials involved in rally security planning.
➡️ Known issues: Failed communication lines, lack of roof security, poor planning by advance team.
😇 Sniper aware of Crooks’ presence but failed to warn Trump’s detail to move him.
✅ Report notes Trump didn’t get requested protection: No ballistic glass, counterassault liaison at rally.
😇 Rally was first non-incumbent event w/ counter-sniper team; credited w/ saving lives when sniper killed Crooks. They had advance notice of threats to this specific event.

Wow!

And now for the visual learners out there, here is an excellent summary in video form:

Full transcript:

He had it called tech support. What man?
The Secret Service failures were bad, according to a Senate committee report from Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs highlights. Oh boy, the “oopsie dupsies” at the Secret Service were worse than thought.

Apparently, there was a Secret Service agent in charge of drone equipment who only had about one hour of training. He ended up calling a toll-free tech support line to try to get help with his drone after his requests for assistance from other Secret Service agents, who actually knew how to handle drone equipment, were apparently declined.

There were also apparently multiple Central Communications centers, which is mind-blowing because a Central Communications Center usually means there’s one central location. But apparently, there were two, and they didn’t talk to each other.

The Secret Service, we already know, was aware of a suspicious person 27 minutes before the shooting. And we know that the Secret Service advance team knew that the very rooftop the shooter used was a specific threat.

What’s also really remarkable — and this is the first time I’m hearing about this — is that apparently, the Secret Service was in a position where, whoa, we knew there was a threat against this event. And this was one of the rare times they actually provided a counter-sniper team.

At most of the events before the Butler shooting, Trump would go without a counter-sniper team. So, the presence of a counter-sniper team was considered unique due to a credible threat, which you typically don’t see before you’re officially nominated or unless there’s an elevated threat level.

This is crazy because imagine if the counter-sniper team had not been there. Nobody would have had a shot on this guy. People could see the shooter from the sides, but we saw law enforcement running around going, “What? Where?”

And the one cop who got up on the building fell off the building as soon as the guy with the rifle turned around and pointed it at him. I mean, I don’t really blame the cop. If you’re halfway pulling yourself up a building and somebody’s pointing an AR at you, you’re like, “Oh, I’m going back down.”

It kind of reminds me of that clown show where the cop sees the bank robbers in those clown costumes — or nuns or whatever. What’s that scene? The bank robbery scene? Yeah, yeah, yeah, this is it, The Town. That’s a good one. It reminds me of that. You know, they’re getting out of the car with their rifles, and the cop’s like, “You know what? On second thought, I’m just going to pretend I don’t see you.”

That was a great movie, but anyway, like, I’m laughing, but it’s also so horrible and so ridiculous that the Secret Service should basically be creating their own movie, not called The Town, but it should be called The Clown.

And I don’t blame the individual agents. I blame the fact that the advance teams asked for more resources, better-trained people with drones, and it was all denied.

Apparently, the reports find that there were also miscommunications on radio channels and frequencies, and there was a massive gap in coordination between the law enforcement officers and Secret Service agents.

I was under the impression that if I had an event like this, I would have everybody on the same freaking channel and the same radios. So basically, everybody at the event, whether you’re Secret Service, DHS, or the local sheriff’s office or whatever, should be on one radio system. Everyone should tune in to the same channel. If your job is that event, why do you need to listen to an accident that happened five miles away? Let your main patrol handle that on a different channel or a different radio system.

It’s not that hard. You pretty much plug your little earpiece into any radio. Everybody should be on the same freaking radio so that if one guy goes, “Shooter spotted, get Trump off,” they can actually take him down.

What’s even worse is that apparently the counter-sniper saw officers running with guns drawn. This was deemed to be suspicious but not enough of a threat level to encourage that Secret Service officer to tell the team to get Trump off the stage.

This is not good. This is a pretty ugly report. Now, the report also suggests that this was not specifically a money problem, even though the Secret Service is now asking for a full $3 billion budget and an increase in funding. It looks like multiple Senators are sort of divided on whether more money would actually make a difference.

Now, Congress is mandating or calling for the mandatory recording of all Secret Service transmissions at protective events. Apparently, they didn’t record transmissions during the last one, which is pretty easy to do with digital radios.

The new acting director accepted responsibility for the lapses. Senator Rand Paul says this was a human error, not a resource problem. Senator Blumenthal says more money is needed. There were also questions over why Jill Biden had substantially more coverage than Trump.

There’s been some argument over, well, he’s not the president, but yes, he was a former president, and he’s the Republican choice for president. It’s just shocking.

Apparently, there was also a Secret Service agent whose radio was legitimately just not working, which is also really sad. What was it, like a Hezbollah radio or something? It’s not that hard to make a radio freaking work.

Anyway, there’s a new independent investigation going into the golf course shooting as well. This poor planning by the Secret Service is already a pretty clear issue. Trump had also requested ballistic glass and a counter-assault liaison at the rally, but apparently, quite a few upgrades were denied for no reason cited.

Again, even though the sniper was credited with taking the kill shot, they saw cops running with guns drawn, and that wasn’t enough to suggest that maybe, just maybe, as a precautionary measure, we should take Trump off the stage. Just shocking to me.

Apparently, the shooter flew his drone for 11 minutes that day, but again, the Secret Service couldn’t detect it because they couldn’t get their equipment working. They thought the local police department was on that building that had been identified as a threat, and they thought it was covered. But they never checked that the police department was actually covering it. When the police were asked, they said, “No, the Secret Service was covering it.”

Honestly, it’s just a complete disaster. Blumenthal made this great reference where he likened it to an Abbott and Costello skit. If you haven’t seen it, it’s pretty funny. It’s a baseball game, and the person on first base’s name is “Who.” Second base is “What,” and third base is “I Don’t Know.” Left field is “Why.” It just keeps going with these confusing names.

It’s a great analogy for the disaster that was going on there. Who’s on first, what’s on second, I don’t know is on third.

It’s just ridiculous, but it’s also kind of insulting. Who’s got the building? That’s what I’m wondering now. Who’s got the building? I don’t know.

Oh gosh. Anyway, this is a sad briefing that reveals some new information. Specifically, now we know there was a Secret Service operator who needed to call tech support because he had one hour of training. And B, the sniper team alleges they saw police running with guns, and apparently that wasn’t dangerous enough to pull Trump off the stage. Insane.