Trump assassination attempt: Acting Secret Service director says victim video confirms 'failure'
Acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe held a press conference Friday in which he again admitted that the agency failed at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally for former President Donald Trump on July 13.
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The U.S. Secret Service is aware of the “time lag” from when James Copenhaver, who was critically injured in the shooting, caught images of the shooter on the roof and when shots were fired, U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe said in Friday press conference, "America Reports" co-anchor John Roberts reported.
“And his head was above the roof line,” Roberts added, referring to the shooter.
“They are, John,” Fox News correspondent David Spunt, who was at Rowe’s Friday press conference, responded. “Two minutes and 52 seconds. They’re aware of it. Just said it’s part of the investigation, won’t give anything more than that.”
Spunt added that he had also just spoken to a Secret Service agent on Friday who asked to remain anonymous who said “there needs to be accountability at the higher levels. I asked the acting director if there would be such accountability and he kinda talked around it a little bit and said that there’s an ongoing investigation and there’s personnel issues and then ultimately I followed back up and said will you tell us if people are suspended with or without pay or fired you don’t have to give us names.”
Rowe said he would be able to do that “because there is a craving for accountability,” Spunt added.
Acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said on Friday that the agency has not yet interviewed local law enforcement or the local snipers posted at former President Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“We're starting with our federal personnel and working out,” he told a reporter who asked about interviews. “We will get if they're willing to be interviewed, we will ask for the local law enforcement on site to be interviewed that day.”
Rowe also admitted that the Secret Service doesn’t yet know the exact locations where the snipers with local law enforcement were posted before Trump was shot in the ear, saying the evaluation of their positions was based on Secret Service assessments.
“We’ll look forward to interviewing them and definitely getting their side of the story,” Rowe said. “This was a Secret Service failure, and so they should not be blamed. We’re not trying to shift blame to anybody.”
(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe said Friday the agency will use drones at events going forward after not having one at former President Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally on July 13.
“We did not, have a drone on site,” Rowe told reporters in a press conference after being asked. “We did not put a drone up. Based on the information I have right now, I am aware that there was a request from a local agency to offer to fly a drone on that day, and that is also part of the mission assurance review that I've asked to get some better insight in. One of the other changes that I implemented when I became the acting director, is we are now going to leverage the use of unmanned aerial systems at sites now.”
Video obtained exclusively by Fox News appears to show the shooter on a roof minutes before shots rang out.
He added, “We are, putting those assets out. And, you know, we should have had better line of sight on some of those high ground concerns. We thought we might have had it covered with the human eye. But clearly, we are going to change our approach now, and we are going to leverage, technology and put those unmanned aerial systems up.”
A veteran U.S. Secret Service agent who spoke to Fox News Digital on the condition of anonymity called on the leadership at the agency to be fired, dubbing them the “kings of cover-up.”
"The three things that failed us in Butler were lack of communication, which is a leadership issue, lack of personnel, which is a leadership issue, and lack of use of technology, which is also a leadership issue,” the agent said.
The agent defended those who were on the ground on July 13 at former President Trump ill-fated Butler, Pennsylvania rally, adding "the people that need to be fired are the people in leadership."
He added that the USSS is "horrible at retention and horrible at hiring," adding, "We have people on the job capable of doing it, but they want to do things their ignorant ways. There’s a bit of cockiness to it, if you will."
Fox News' David Spunt and Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.
Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., who was appointed to a task force on the Trump rally shooting, told Fox News Digital that his sources within the U.S. Secret Service had gotten the idea that the agency’s leaders didn’t want to “burn through” their budget for security before the July 13 shooting.
“The leadership wouldn’t say it explicitly but the tone and the tenor they got was ‘We’re not going to burn through our budget, all the extra overtime, all the extra travel, all these extra agents and resources so that Trump can have all of these rallies every week.’ That was really the kind of message they were getting back," he said.
Waltz said he was told Trump had been getting the normal level of protection for a former president, but that USSS leadership was hesitant to grant requests for added security for all of his campaign events as a major party candidate for re-election.
"From what agents are telling me, he was assigned the same detail a former president would get to, say, Jimmy Carter or [George W. Bush]. Well, he's obviously not your average former president. And they're telling me they were repeatedly denied additional resources."
He added, "You can't just go to, you know, your standard operating procedures for, say, a Jimmy Carter who's sitting in an old folks' home. And so I'm really interested in getting to the bottom of how that happened."
He said that the Secret Service should have come to Congress if it needed more resources.
Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and Peter Petroff contributed to this report.
Retired U.S. Secret Service agent-in-charge Jeff James called it “almost unthinkable” that the shooter could have accessed the roof while former President Trump was speaking at his July 13 rally.
“I don’t know which domino fell first in how that young man was able to get up there but him being able to get up there at that close of a proximity was just, I mean, almost unthinkable,” James told “America Reports” on Friday after U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe held a news conference on the shooting.
He added, “I know the perimeter of these outdoor events, and these outdoor events are a monster. You know, the sightlines go on for thousands of yards and there’s a debate about how far do you push out your outer perimeter because it could take on a life of its own.”
But he reiterated what Rowe said in the presser that the shooter being able to get on the roof was a “very glaring error.”
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told reporters on Friday that the men and women of their Pittsburgh field office “feel like they let the country down,” calling it an “open wound.”
“You know, our Pittsburgh field office, I don't think there's anybody in the Secret Service who is feeling this more than the men and women of our Pittsburgh field office,” Rowe said after a reporter asked about the office's level of experience and how it prepared for former President Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“And I've met with them, and they are down right now. And so, when I've met with them, the other day, it was very, it was very difficult. It's difficult for them. They feel like they let their colleagues down. They feel like they let the country down. And they are wearing this, and it is it's open. You can see it. It's an open wound that they are caring.”
Secret Service Acting Director Rowe responded to a whistleblower allegation that he personally directed cuts to the Counter Surveillance Division (CSD), which led to the threat assessment team failing to perform its typical duties prior to the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally.
"So, I've recently become aware of this. We got a congressional letter on it. What I can tell you is that the Counter Surveillance Division, they do a fantastic job," Rowe said.
"I know that there's been allegations that I personally cut or that I denied that request. The counter surveillance division has been out there supporting the former president's detail at some very high profile events. They continue to provide that support, and they're out there providing support right now. So, we're going to respond to the letter that we received.
Rowe said he would share that response when he receives permission from congressional lawmakers. He denied that he personally cut CSD funding.
A member of former President Trump's Secret Service detail contacted the Pittsburgh field office about reports of a suspicious person at the rally right as Thomas Crooks opened fire.
Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe told reporters the advance person from Trump's detail on the ground learned from a radio transmission that local law enforcement were investigating a suspicious person at around 3:00 p.m. on July 13.
"That member of the detail called their Pittsburgh field office counterpart," Rowe said. "In the midst, right in the middle of that phone conversation, the shots began firing."
Former President Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was the first time Secret Service countersnipers had been deployed to Trump's detail since he left the White House in 2020, Acting Director Ronald Rowe said.
He clarified that Trump has had sniper protection provided by state and local law enforcement at his previous campaign rallies.
"We evaluate our threat landscape every day. We calibrate based on that threat. We evaluated a threat stream that we have, and we put our Secret Service counter sniper personnel out there," Rowe said. "And looking back, it was very fortunate that we did."
Trump will have countersniper coverage provided by the Secret Service moving forward, as will President Biden, Vice President Harris and Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio.
"We're going to make sure that we have all the resources out there to address any challenges that we may have," said Rowe.
Acting Director Ronald Rowe said video exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital confirms the shooting incident at former President Trump's Pennsylvania rally was a Secret Service "failure."
"We should have had better protection for the protectee," Rowe told reporters. "We should have had better coverage on that roof line. We should have had at least some other set of eyes from the Secret Service point of view, covering that. That building was very close to that outer perimeter. And we should have had more of a presence."
Video taken by James Copenhaver, one of the victims critically wounded in the July 13 assassination attempt, shows a figure moving across the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building just minutes before gunfire rang out at Trump's rally in Butler.
In the video taken at 6:08 p.m. on July 13, the person appears on the roof of the building adjacent to where Trump is speaking and can be seen walking from the 1:00 second mark to about the 2:50 second mark.
Officials believe gunman Thomas Crooks, 20, began shooting with a collapsible AR-15-style rifle three minutes later, around 6:11 p.m. Counter snipers fatally shot Crooks shortly afterward, and law enforcement officials found eight shell casings near his body.
In his attempt to assassinate the former president, Crooks killed 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, a husband, father and former fire chief at the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department. Crooks also critically wounded Copenhaver, 74, and David Dutch, 57. Both victims were shot twice, according to those familiar with both victims.
Copenhaver was not filming when he was shot, said his lawyer, Joseph Feldman at the Law Offices of Max C. Feldman. Feldman said Copenhaver stopped filming when everyone turned their heads to look at a projection screen.
Copenhaver was discharged from Allegheny General Hospital on July 26 but is still recovering in a rehabilitation center, Feldman told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this update.
The Secret Service will not provide real time updates on disciplinary action taken against employees related to the failed assassination attempt against former President Trump.
Acting Director Ronald Rowe told Fox News' David Spunt that a mission assurance review is investigating whether there were policy violations leading up to the July 13 shooting.
Rowe explained that if a policy violation is found, a parallel disciplinary investigation will be opened against any individual found to have breached Secret Service protocols.
"Those are internal investigations that deal with employee matters, so we're not going to be able to provide you updates on that," Rowe said. "But what I will tell you is that these were very thorough investigations. And if, in fact, there were policy violations and they are substantiated, those employees will be held accountable."
Rowe did say if that if disciplinary action is being taken, he will be able to release a statement notifying the public that people are being held accountable without getting into specifics.
Acting Director Ronald Rowe began Friday's press conference with an apology and an acknowledgement that the Secret Service is fully responsible for the deadly shooting at Trump's July 13 rally.
"The Secret Service takes full responsibility for the tragic events of July 13th. This was a mission failure. The sole responsibility of our agency is to make sure our protectees are never put in danger. We fell short of that in Butler, and I'm working to make sure that this failure does not happen again," Rowe said.
The acting director pledged to fully cooperate with congressional oversight investigations and an independent review ordered by President Biden. The Secret Service is also conducting its own internal review.
"If policy violations by Secret Service personnel are identified by the agency's mission assurance review, those individuals will be held accountable and they will be held accountable to our fair and thorough disciplinary process," Rowe said.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn read from an email that a Secret Service counter sniper reportedly sent to the entire Uniform Division on Monday, expressing his disappointment in the agency's handling of the July 13 Trump rally and public distrust. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images/File)
Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn on Tuesday asked the Secret Service's new acting director why the "public has lost trust" in the agency's "mission to protect" after a July 13 assassination attempt against former President Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
"This agency needs to change, and if not now, when? The next assassination in 30 days?" Blackburn read from an email, reportedly sent by a Secret Service counter sniper, during a Senate hearing involving testimony from Acting U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Director Ronald Rowe and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate.
Blackburn also read the last portion of the email, obtained by Real Clear Politics reporter Susan Crabtree and reportedly sent within the agency by the counter sniper, stating that the "motto" of the USSS is "CYA," an acronym for "cover your a--."
The Tennessee senator continued: "The public has lost trust in the ability to execute the mission to protect, and I want to know how you feel about the fact that employees in your agency are worried about covering their behind and not worried about protecting a former president."
The counter sniper who wrote the email apparently sent it to the entire Uniform Division as more information about the assassination attempt became public, according to Crabtree.
Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this update.
The Butler County, Pennsylvania, district attorney told Fox News on Wednesday that local snipers were not responsible for monitoring the rooftop where a gunman tried to assassinate former President Trump.
Richard Goldinger is the latest official to dispute acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe's testimony at a Senate hearing on the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Goldinger, who coordinated local snipers working at the July 13 rally, said they were assigned to a window with a different vantage point than the one Rowe pointed to during his testimony on Tuesday.
Goldinger said monitoring the roof of the AGR building, where Thomas Matthew Crooks perched and opened fire, was not the local snipers' assignment.
"The snipers from the Butler and Beaver ESU teams were posted in the second floor of the building adjacent to where the shooter was located, were posted in the two windows toward the end of the building," Goldinger said. "From their post and vantage point, they were unable to see the shooter on the roof of the other building."
"They were not posted at a location that would overlook the roof," he continued. "Monitoring that roof was not their assignment."
In his testimony on Tuesday, Rowe appeared to place blame on local law enforcement for not seeing Crooks on the roof. He used exhibits of the site and pointed to the roof that Crooks fired from, which he said showed that local snipers had a better vantage point of Crooks' shooting position than Secret Service snipers.
"I will not, and I cannot understand why there was not better coverage or at least someone looking at that roofline when that's where they were posted," Rowe said.
In response to Goldinger's comments, a Secret Service spokesperson pointed back to Rowe's testimony and said that the agency coordinated with the Butler County Emergency Services Unit, which was the "tactical lead" for the site.
Fox News Digital's Christina Coulter and Fox News' CB Cotton contributed to this update.
The U.S. Secret Service and FBI on Thursday responded to a video recorded by James Copenhaver, one of the victims wounded in a July 13 assassination attempt against former President Trump, showing a figure moving across the roof of the building gunman Thomas Crooks shot from.
The video that Copenhaver shared exclusively with Fox News Digital was taken at 6:08 p.m. on July 13, minutes before Crooks fired at least eight gunshots at 6:11 before counter snipers killed him.
"The Secret Service is committed to better understanding what happened before, during, and after the assassination attempt of former President Trump to ensure that never happens again," the agency told Fox News in a statement. "That includes complete cooperation with Congress, the FBI and other relevant investigations."
The FBI told Fox News it is aware of the video but has no further comment.
Crooks killed 50-year-old Corey Comperatore — a father and volunteer fire chief — and critically wounded 74-year-old James Copenhaver and 57-year-old David Dutch in his attempt to assassinate the former president. Because Trump turned his head at the last second to look at a projection screen displaying immigration statistics, a bullet sliced Trump's ear, but he was rushed out of the rally otherwise unscathed.
A new poll has revealed that most Americans don’t trust the Secret Service to keep presidential candidates safe from violence in the wake of the Trump rally shooting in Pennsylvania three weeks ago.
The survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only around 3 in 10 Americans are extremely or very confident that the Secret Service can protect presidential candidates from harm before this November’s election.
The poll of 1,143 adults, which was conducted in the wake of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s resignation, also uncovered that Democrats and Republicans are split on what is to blame for the Trump assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler.
Six in 10 Democrats say the availability of guns bears a great deal of responsibility, compared to about one-third of independents and 15% of Republicans. About half of Republicans think the Secret Service has a great deal of responsibility, compared to around 4 in 10 Democrats and independents.
Overall, about 7 in 10 Americans think the Secret Service bears at least a moderate amount of responsibility for the assassination attempt, while half of Americans think local law enforcement in Pennsylvania had at least a moderate amount of responsibility, according to the poll.
The poll also revealed that Americans were most likely to say that political division in the U.S. had "a great deal" of responsibility for the assassination attempt.
Only about one-third of Americans said they are extremely or very confident that the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, will conduct a full and fair investigation of the Trump assassination attempt.
Sen. Josh Hawley released a report on Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr.'s alleged involvement in the staffing at Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
A whistleblower told Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley that Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. personally directed cuts to the Counter Surveillance Division (CSD), which led to the threat assessment team failing to perform its typical duties prior to the Butler, Pennsylvania rally.
The senator's report comes after lawmakers grilled agency leaders on the mounting security failures at the Pennsylvania rally where former President Trump narrowly escaped assassination.
The whistleblower alleged that the Secret Service CSD, the division that performs threat assessment of event sites before the event occurs, did not perform its evaluation prior to the fateful rally in Western Pennsylvania on July 13.
"This is significant because CSD's duties include evaluating potential security threats outside the security perimeter and mitigating those threats during the event," Hawley wrote in a letter to Rowe on Thursday.
The whistleblower further alleged that if the CSD performed their normal duties, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks "would have been handcuffed in the parking lot."
"The whistleblower claims that if personnel from CSD had been present at the rally, the gunman would have been handcuffed in the parking lot after being spotted with a rangefinder," Hawley wrote to Rowe. "You acknowledged in your Senate testimony that the American Glass Research complex should have been included in the security perimeter for the Butler event."
"The whistleblower alleges that because CSD was not present in Butler, this manifest shortcoming was never properly flagged or mitigated," he said.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said that they will respond to Hawley's requests.
"We respect the Senator and the role of oversight and will respond to the request through official channels," Guglielmi said.
Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this update.
The U.S. Secret Service will host a press conference Friday at 2:00 p.m. to "provide additional transparency to the American public" following controversy over the attempted assassination of former President Trump on July 13.
Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. will discuss a timeline of events and take questions from reporters as his agency faces mounting criticism over security failures at Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania leading up to the shooting.
"This is a failure of the Secret Service," Rowe told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committees during a joint hearing last week.
He acknowledged that the roof of the AGR building near where Trump spoke should have had better security coverage and promised to fully investigate whether there were policy violations that led to the lapse in security at the rally.
"I could not, and I will not, and I cannot understand why there was not better coverage, or at least somebody looking at that roof line when that's where they were posted," Rowe said.
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