An investigation into the U.S. Secret Service has been launched by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) inspector general following the failed assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.
The DHS IG is probing the failings of the Secret Service during Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
The agency’s handling of Trump’s security has been called into question after a gunman was able to scale a nearby building and shoot the 45th president in the ear.
In a brief notice posted to the inspector general’s website, the agency said the objective of the probe is to:
“Evaluate the United States Secret Service’s (Secret Service) process for securing former President Trump’s July 13, 2024 campaign event.”
The notice does not provide a date for when the investigation was launched, however.
The investigation is among a long list of ongoing cases that the inspector general’s office is pursuing.
Democrat President Joe Biden had already directed an independent review of the security at the rally.
In addition, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told Fox News that he will create a task force that has subpoena authority to investigate the failed assassination attempt of Trump last Saturday.
🚨NEW: Speaker Johnson on Fox says he will be creating a "task force" with subpoena authority to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Trump
— Emily Brooks (@emilybrooksnews) July 17, 2024
ALSO calls for Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle to RESIGN
Questions remain on Wednesday surrounding how the 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, managed to climb on top of a building and open fire at Trump and rally attendees in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said in an interview Tuesday that her agency was “solely responsible” for the implementation and execution of security there.
Cheatle told CNN that no assets from the rally were diverted on the day Trump was shot, even though other events in the state required Secret Service protection.
“At that particular site, we divided up areas of responsibility, but the Secret Service is totally responsible for the design and implementation and the execution of the site,” Cheatle said.
However, as THAIMBC News previously reported, Trump’s Secret Service detail was made up of temporary agents after the federal agency diverted resources elsewhere.
The Secret Service had shifted critical resources to guard First Lady Jill Biden’s campaign event in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Due to both events being held at the same time, agents were diverted away from the 45th president’s rally and assigned to “Doctor” Biden’s event.
In a separate interview with ABC News, Cheatle said the agency was aware of the security vulnerabilities presented by the building Crooks scaled to take a sniper’s position on aiming at Trump.
“That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point,” she said.
“And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof.
“And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside.”
However, the “sloped roof” comment is facing scrutiny.
Critics on social media are calling it a “total BS excuse” that “defies believability.”
