Washington — The House task force investigating assassination attempts against President-elect Donald Trump released a final report on its investigation on Tuesday, offering several recommendations to address future security failures.
“The task force found that the tragic and shocking events in Butler, Pennsylvania, could have been prevented and should not have happened. However, there was no single moment or decision that allowed Thomas Matthew Crooks to assassinate the former President. Gave it,” 180 page report said, noting that “various failures … combined to create an environment in which the former President – and everyone involved in the campaign event – was placed in grave danger.”
During the investigation, the task force said it conducted 46 interviews, reviewed 18,000 pages of documents and visited incident sites in Pennsylvania and West Palm Beach.
Home voted to establish The panel follows the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, where a gunman opened fire during a rally and a bullet grazed the former president's ear. Secret Service snipers shot and killed the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. The Secret Service came under intense investigation following the incident, and its director soon resigned.
The task force, composed of seven Republicans and six Democrats, also looked at a second assassination attempt in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, which was foiled. Trump was playing golf when a Secret Service agent spotted a man with a rifle waiting along the tree line of the course.
The panel presented its views final hearing With testimony last week from Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe, who acknowledged the agency's “gross failure” in the July shootings. Rowe outlined a series of changes implemented at the agency since the assassination attempt, including the addition of an aviation unit to monitor drones in incidents with protected people, as well as merging its investigative office into the Office of Field Operations. Also includes relocating.
The report comes after the panel issued an interim report in October that said the July 13 incident was “preventable” and highlighted shortcomings in communication and planning. The panel said in a preliminary report that “broken lines of communication” allowed the gunman to “escape law enforcement” and noted that law enforcement had multiple opportunities to engage with the gunman.
The task force is chaired by Representative Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania Republican whose district includes Butler. Said On “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” last week, he said the task force's purpose from day one has been to help restore trust and confidence in the Secret Service. He acknowledged the continued pressure on agents, saying the agency is possibly at the “lowest level” in its history.
“You have to be prepared at every moment for any possible eventuality. Is it a difficult task? Yes. Is it almost impossible?” Kelly said Sunday. “But you know what's not impossible is our dedication to the fact that we're going to do our best every day to make sure that the American people have confidence and trust in us.”