Acting Secret Service Chief Admits to Senate Trump Assassination Attempt Was a ‘Failure of Secret Service’

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Acting Secret Service Chief Admits to Senate Trump Assassination Attempt Was a ‘Failure of Secret Service’ Ronald Rowe

The acting head of the U.S. Secret Service has admitted during Senate testominy that failures from within his own agency were to blame for the failed assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, Jr. made the admission as he testified before the Senate on Tuesday.

Rowe confessed to senators that the assassination attempt against Trump was “a failure of the Secret Service,” and not local law enforcement.

The admission was the most direct assignment of guilt by the Secret Service and investigators since the July 13 shooting.

The acting director appeared before the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees on Tuesday alongside FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate.

Rowe detailed the failure of a drone detection system.

The system was supposed to be online before shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks conducted his reconnaissance on the day of the rally.

Investigators say the drone system was reliant on public cellphone service.

However, there were bandwidth issues, causing the system to only go online at 5:20 pm. instead of 3 p.m.

“Why is the Secret Service dependent upon local a cellular network?” asked Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

“Does the Secret Service have a backup plan in place?”

“That is something … that has cost me a lot of sleep because of the eventual outcome of the assailant,” Rowe said.

“What if we had a geolocated him because that counter-UAS platform had been up?”

“It is something that I have struggled with to understand, and I have no explanation for it.

“It is something that I feel as though could have perhaps found him.

“We could have maybe stopped him.

“Maybe on that particular day he would have decided this isn’t the day to do it, because law enforcement just found me flying my drone.”

“People fly drones all the time on the peripheries of our sites, and we go out and we talk to them and we ascertain what their intentions are,” Rowe continued.

“On this day, in particular, because of the connectivity challenge, as you noted, there was a delay and he flew his drone at 3:51, approximately.

“So moving forward, we are leveraging resources from the Department of Homeland Security and others to make sure that we have dedicated connectivity.

“So that we’re not reliant on public domain so that we can ensure that whatever assets we have in place, those assets are operational, and that is my commitment to you that we are going to make sure we’re going to do that.”

Senators continued to press Rowe on why there was no security coverage of the BlackRock-owned building Crooks used to fire on Trump.

However, Rowe admitted that he “cannot understand” how it was overlooked.

Rowe said a local sniper team was supposed to be stationed at a sight with a direct view of the rooftop, but the position was abandoned.

Despite multiple weeks of investigation, Rowe says the Secret Service has not confirmed why the position was abandoned.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) got into a heated back-and-forth with Rowe.

Hawley demanded to know why no Secret Service agents have been relieved of duty or suspended as of yet in relation to the shooting.

Rowe insisted that he wait for the conclusion of the investigation before making any firings, while Hawley argued that the reality of a former president being shot should be enough to act without delay.

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