Trump blames Biden, Harris rhetoric for second assassination attempt
'Outnumbered' co-host Kayleigh McEnany discusses the second assassination attempt against former President Trump and warns of the impact of 'dangerous' rhetoric.
GOP Sen. Josh Hawley released a wide-ranging report Monday morning detailing the failures of the Secret Service in connection with the first assassination attempt against former President Trump in July, including new whistleblower allegations that are "highly damaging to the credibility" of the agency.
Hawley, R-Mo., shared his report with the House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump to supplement their investigation.
Hawley found a "compounding pattern of negligence, sloppiness, and gross incompetence that goes back years, all of which culminated in an assassination attempt that came inches from succeeding."
"On July 13, 2024, former President Donald J. Trump was nearly killed by an assassin’s bullet while hosting a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Secret Service failed to prevent it," the Hawley report states. "It was the most stunning breakdown in presidential security since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan."
Former President Trump was injured during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Hawley said the Secret Service, FBI and Department of Homeland Security "have all tried to evade real accountability."
"These agencies and their leaders have slow-walked congressional investigations, misled the American people, and shirked responsibility," the report states.
After the first of two assassination attempts against Trump in just over two months, Hawley visited the Butler rally site to interview whistleblowers and opened up a whistleblower tip line, encouraging those with relevant information to share with officials.
"The resulting findings are highly damaging to the credibility of the Secret Service and DHS," the report states. "They reveal a compounding pattern of negligence, sloppiness, and gross incompetence that goes back years, all of which culminated in an assassination attempt that came inches from succeeding."
Whistleblowers provided valuable information to Hawley, including that the Secret Service’s Counter Surveillance Division, which performs threat assessments of event sites, did not perform a typical evaluation of the Butler site and was not present on the day of the rally.
Hawley also learned that Secret Service personnel "declined multiple offers from a local law enforcement partner to deploy drone technology, despite the fact that the would-be assassin used a drone to survey the rally site mere hours before the attempted assassination."
Sen. Josh Hawley told Jesse Watters that he has been in contact with whistleblowers about the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Trump. (Getty Images | Fox News)
Hawley also learned that the Secret Service’s Office of Protective Operations-Manpower told agents in charge of security for the rally "not to request additional security resources because they would be denied."
The report also outlines other whistleblower allegations, including that law enforcement personnel "abandoned" the rooftop where would-be assassin Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate Trump "because of hot weather."
The report also said the Secret Service agent with the responsibility of the security of the site, including "line-of-site concerns," was allegedly "known to be incompetent."
"That incompetence led to the placement of items like flags around the Butler stage and catwalk, impairing visibility," the report states.
Whistleblowers also told Hawley that supplemental DHS personnel were used to fill in shortages of Secret Service personnel on the day of the rally. Some of those agents were allegedly pulled off of child exploitation cases. Whistleblowers said their training was "merely a poor-quality, two-hour webinar."
Meanwhile, Hawley revealed in the report that the lead agent responsible for the Butler rally "failed a key examination during their federal law enforcement training to become a Secret Service agent."
Hawley also was told that Secret Service intelligence units – or teams of Secret Service agents paired with state and local law enforcement to handle reports of suspicious persons – were allegedly absent from the Butler rally.
Whistleblowers also told Hawley that the hospital site where Trump received treatment after the shooting was "poorly secured, and the hospital site agent could not answer basic questions about site security."
Kimberly Cheatle, who was the director of the Secret Service at the time of the rally, resigned from her post amid mounting pressure from congressional lawmakers on both sides of the aisle after the massive security failure.
The Secret Service’s assistant director, Michael Plati, is also retiring.
At least five Secret Service agents have been placed on leave since the assassination attempt in July.
Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face as Secret Service agents rush him off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump was shot with Crooks’ bullet, which pierced the upper part of his right ear. As Secret Service agents led him away, with blood dripping down his cheek and his right ear, the former president raised his arm defiantly.
Trump, just a day later, traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the 2024 Republican National Convention. He attended events each night of the convention, and on the final night, formally accepted the GOP presidential nomination.
Hawley released his report just a day after the second assassination attempt against Trump.
Trump was golfing at his course at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, Sunday when Secret Service agents spotted and began shooting at another would-be assassin – Ryan Wesley Routh – who allegedly had an AK-47 pointed at the former president on the green.
Routh was arrested. Routh laughed and smiled ahead of his first court appearance in Florida on Monday, Fox News confirmed.
He was charged with possession of firearm by convicted felon and possession of firearm with obliterated serial number.
The first offense carried a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and supervised release. The second offense carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and supervised release. Routh responded "yes" when asked if he understood the penalties.
TRUMP SAYS HE WAS 'SHOT WITH A BULLET' IN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AT PENNSYLVANIA RALLY
Fox News is told additional federal charges are possible. The initial charges announced Monday will keep Routh in custody.
The detention hearing is scheduled for Sept. 23, and the probable cause hearing is set for Sept. 30.
The Trump International Golf Club on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Routh has had at least 100 run-ins with law enforcement before his most recent arrest.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said the rhetoric of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris is causing him to be "shot at," following the second assassination attempt against him since July, while telling Fox News Digital that the suspected gunman "acted" on "highly inflammatory language" of Democrats.
"He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it," Trump said of the gunman in an interview with Fox News Digital. "Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country – both from the inside and out."
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Trump pointed to Biden and Harris’ past comments casting Trump as a "threat to democracy," while telling Americans they are "unity" leaders.
"They are the opposite," Trump said. "These are people that want to destroy our country."
He added: "It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat."
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