[tomder55]

One of the many issues surrounding the assassination attempt Saturday was the performance of the Secret Service detail tasked to protect Trump. On the other posting I speculated how DEI played a part in it. But there is more to consider .

It was a year ago . We take one of our dogs for grooming to Pickens South Carolina . Typically we drop off our dog ;take a hike ,and then go to a local watering hole for lunch . It is usually a quite spot on a weekday with only a few locals seated . But that day there was an extended table full of men and local law enforcement officers . The men were the advanced team of Secret Service officers who were there to plan Trump's scheduled rally .

Pickens is like many small towns in America . It has a main street lined with 1 and 2 story retail shops . Trump's rally was to take place there . It also has a water tower looming over it . Plenty of places for Secret Service to be concerned about .

They left the pub before I finished .I got to see them starting to stake out the town and map out their strategy . More than 50 thousand people crammed the street to listen to Trump . It went off without a hitch even though it was a very hot day.

I mention this because I am shocked to see the difference in their performance. You would think an open venue would be easier to secure than a street with many more places for an assassin to perch.

I don't know if this is true . Secret Service is denying this rumor. The rumor is that Trump's A team detail was swapped out to protect Jill Biden. I read this in Susan Crabtree's report at 'Real Clear Politics'.

GOP Was Investigating Secret Service Before Assassination Attempt | RealClearPolitics

Along with this she reports that some Secret Service agents may not be committed to protecting Trump. The agent posted that she would not take a bullet for Trump. She was fired or retired with full benefits.

Secret Service has had other incidents like fence jumpers at the White House ;uninvited guests at White House events ; cocaine in the White House ; and a continuous issue involving agents involved with prostitutes and alcohol abuse ;mental breakdown of an agent assigned to Kam the Sham

Secret Service: White House jumper was captured after over 15 minutes | CNN Politics

Borat's Daughter Sneaks Into Trump Conference, Meets Donald Trump Jr (variety.com)

Secret Service closes White House cocaine investigation citing lack of evidence | PBS News

The Secret Service’s history of sex and alcohol scandals | CNN Politics


Secret Service officer who fought colleagues while assigned to Kamala Harris once sued Dallas for $1M claiming gender bias (nypost.com)

Following the incident, Secret Service agents and officers are privately questioning the hiring process and whether the agency had adequately screened Herczeg’s background. Some also wonder whether her hire was part of a diversity, equity, and inclusion push in response to years of staff shortages that may have required the agency to lower its once-strict employment standards and physical performance to reach quotas for female agents and officers.

Secret Service Scuffle Prompts DEI, Vetting Scrutiny | RealClearPolitics

There are many Federal Agencies we can do without . Secret Service is not one of them . They must be staffed by the best agents for the job and highly trained to protect those they are assigned to protect. Yes they must be willing to take a bullet . No they should not be selected for any other reason than being the best person to do the job.

[tomder55]

Here is an interview with Secret Service boss Kimberly Cheatle last year

In an effort to diversify the agency, Cheatle aims to have 30% female recruits by 2030. Part of that effort has included allowing YouTube influencer Michelle Khare to train with agents.
"I'm very conscious as I sit in this chair now, of making sure that we need to attract diverse candidates and ensure that we are developing and giving opportunities to everybody in our workforce, and particularly women," Cheatle said.

Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle addresses controversies, challenges facing the agency - CBS News

Matt Batzel on X: "CBS News Report reveals what Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has been focused on: diversity hires https://t.co/IoKnY4uj6M" / X

[tomder55]

Goliath Claims He Only Lost Because He Fought David On Slightly Sloped Surface | Babylon Bee

[tomder55]

[jlisenbe]

Tom, those pics are hilarious.

I understand the director of the Secret Service had agreed to testify before Congress. That will be interesting.

And that was my fifth attempt at this post. This website needs work.

[tomder55]

[tomder55]

So after days of denying the claim ; we now know that indeed Trump was denied a request to have additional Secret Service protection before the assassination attempt.

The Secret Service, after initially denying turning down requests for additional security, is now acknowledging some may have been rejected

Secret Service said to have denied Trump requests for more event security - The Washington Post

Also a blatant lie was their deflection and blaming local police for the perimeter penetration. Butler police smacked that line down .

The officers were assigned to manage traffic Saturday afternoon outside the Trump rally at the Butler Farm Show, an outdoor venue. But they leapt into action when they heard a radio call about a suspicious person on the roof of a nearby building, Knights said. The officers converged on the building, owned by a glass research company, but couldn’t see anybody above, because they were too close.
“So two of the officers went to what appeared to be the lowest point from ground to roof,” Knights said. “One of the officers actually boosted the second officer up high enough for him to grab hold of the roof.”
“When he was able to pull his head up over the roof, he did in fact see an individual on the roof with a weapon,” Knights said.


The gunman pointed his rifle at the officer, who was hanging on the edge of the roof. The officer ducked his head, lost his grip and fell about 8 feet to the ground, Knights said.
The two officers — the one who fell and the one who boosted him up — both got on their radios to report that there was a person on the roof with a weapon.

Gunman pointed rifle at Butler police officer before firing on Trump, local official says (nbcnews.com)

[tomder55]

As they say a stalled clock is right twice a day . All Out Crazy asked a great question to SS diversity hired Director Cheatle ...

“The individual used an AR-15 in order to act out his assassination attempt. An AR-15 has a range of about 400 to 600 yards. My question is, why is the Secret Service protective perimeter shorter than one of the most popular semi-automatic weapons in the United States?”“And so, what I'm hearing is that a perimeter was not established outdoors in an outdoor venue that would prevent an AR-15, which is one of the most common weapons used in mass shootings, from being able to be within the range of Secret Service protection.”

The Vigilant Fox 🦊 on X: "AOC Unexpectedly Asks Secret Service Director a GOOD Question This is a Matrix-like moment. “The individual used an AR-15 in order to act out his assassination attempt. An AR-15 has a range of about 400 to 600 yards. My question is, why is the Secret Service protective https://t.co/oDvzA7yNdh" / X

[tomder55]

Secret Service has a recommendation to address their inability to protect Trump. He should stop doing outdoor rallies .

Trump campaign encouraged to halt some outdoor rallies (axios.com)

Seriously ;that is their solution to their incompetence.

Trump has held hundreds of outdoor events . There is a festival atmosphere with tailgate parties and vendors hawking Trump paraphernalia.

Yeah they are logistical nightmares but hardly more complicated than it was to protect the emperor

Obama Draws Huge Crowd in Oregon as Clinton Courts Kentucky - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

St. Louis rally largest Obama crowd in U.S. | MPR News

President Obama holds rally in Charlottesville (wjla.com)

Seems the problem is more a matter of will than ability .

For his part Trump is going to mostly comply. It will mean smaller crowds and will cost the campaign much more money to book arenas .

He does plan to go back to Butler PA to hold a rally and to honor Corey Comperatore who was killed during the assassination attempt. Guess the Secret Service will have to figure out how to secure slightly sloping rooftops 130 yards away from the stage.

[jlisenbe]

Seems the problem is more a matter of will than ability .

Maybe. With the incredibly inept director who just stepped down, I have to wonder if that lack of skill and training goes down the ladder farther than we might have thought it would. It might be a lack of both will and skill. If that's the case, then it's yet another reason to elect Trump.

[tomder55]

Whistleblower is saying that the locals offered a drone to the Feds and were turned down.

Secret Service refused police offer of drone before assassination attempt: Whistleblower | | coloradopolitics.com

[tomder55]

A whistleblower alleged that Secret Service acting Director Ronald Rowe personally cut security resources and “retaliated” against agents with security concerns leading up to former President Donald Trump’s rally on July 13, according to a letter released Thursday.
The whistleblower alleged that Rowe personally implemented “significant cuts” to the Counter Surveillance Division (CSD), which does advanced threat assessments for venues, and alleged that agents who expressed security concerns were “retaliated against,” according to Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley’s letter to Rowe. As a result, the CSD failed to perform its “typical evaluation” of the rally venue in Butler County, Pennsylvania, and “was not present on the day” of the attempted assassination.
“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,” the letter states.

Acting Secret Service Chief ‘Retaliated Against’ Agents Who Had Security Concerns At Trump Event, Whistleblower Claims (msn.com)

[tomder55]

I waited a day to confirm this story But now it is all over and confirmed by Newsweek and Susan Crabtree of 'Real Clear Politics ' who has 3 collaborating witnesses.

A Secret Service agent temporarily abandoned her post during Trump's Ashville NC rally to breast feed her baby.

Secret Service Investigating Report Agent Left Trump Event to Breastfeed - Newsweek

[jlisenbe]

And on and on it goes. Unreal!

[tomder55]

The question was 'Would Secret Service take a bullet for Trump?'
That we may never know. That is because according to Senator Josh Hawley ; whistleblowers testified that Secret Service was not there . We know that a lot of the protection of Trump was outsourced to the local police depts. What we did not know was that the rest of Trump's protection was given to Homeland Security . (I missed this when it was first reported .)

In addition, whistleblower allegations suggest the majority of DHS officials were not in fact USSS agents but instead drawn from the department’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). This is especially concerning given that HSI agents were unfamiliar with standard protocols typically used at these types of events, according to the allegations.

Hawley-Letter-to-Mayorkas-on-whistleblowers-re-assassination-attempt-on-Trump.pdf (senate.gov)

Here is the update .
Hawley yesterday claimed that they were given inadequate training . How bad was it ? They were given an online webinar to watch that had audio failure.

Sen. Hawley: Most Of The Agents On The Trump Detail At Butler Rally Were Homeland Security, Trained By A Webinar | Video | RealClearPolitics





Meanwhile the UK Daily Mail reports that it wasn't his protective detail that took out the assassin. A local sniper took the key shot that disabled Crooks . It was then that the kill shot was made by the Feds.


Bombshell congressional report on Trump assassination attempt reveals 'who REALLY took the first shot at Thomas Crooks' | Daily Mail Online

The evidence of this was conveniently lost when Crooks was swiftly cremated .

Secret Service has been taking credit. In fact their role was a complete failure.

[tomder55]

The other thing I don't quite understand is the timeline .

Asif Raza Merchant ;a Pakistani hired by Iran to arrange the assassination of Trump entered the US mid-April . He was tracked by the FBI ;tried to hire an assassin who turned into a confidential source (CS)

Merchant traveled from Texas to New York to meet with the CS and then eventually returned to Texas. In June 2024, Merchant flew from Texas to LaGuardia Airport in New York to meet with the CS again. During this meeting, the complaint alleges that Merchant told the CS he needed the CS to arrange a meeting for Merchant to meet hitmen in New York. According to the complaint, on June 10, 2024, Merchant and the CS met with two undercover law enforcement officers posing as hitmen. After the meetings, Merchant traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, and then “[o]n or about June 21, 2024, Merchant traveled from Boston to New York to make the advance payment to the hitmen for the assassination plot.”

2024-08-14-PSI-and-HSGAC-to-DHS-and-FBI.pdf (senate.gov)

Merchant then began arranging means to obtain $5,000 in cash to pay the UCs as an advance payment for the assassination, which he eventually received with assistance from an individual overseas. On June 21, Merchant met with the UCs in New York and paid them the $5,000 advance. After Merchant paid the $5,000 to the UCs, one of the UCs stated, “now we’re bonded,” to which Merchant responded “yes.” The UC then stated “Now we know we’re going forward. We’re doing this,” to which Merchant responded “Yes, absolutely.”
Merchant subsequently made flight arrangements and planned to leave the United States on Friday, July 12, 2024. On July 12th, law enforcement agents placed Merchant under arrest before he could leave the country. Merchant has stated that he has a wife and children in Iran and a wife and children in Pakistan.
2024-08-14-PSI-and-HSGAC-to-DHS-and-FBI.pdf (senate.gov)

So the FBI knew he was plotting to assassinate Trump . They tracked him since at least the time he entered the country and probably before. They knew of his recruitment attempts .
Then they arrest him on JULY 12 ;the day before the assassination attempt on Trump occurs.

Maybe it is just a coincidence. But I am less inclined to believe in coincidences these days .

[tomder55]

Again Trump was targeted by an assassin.
The assassin is Dems supporter who travelled from Hawaii to Florida to take his shot.He was also pro-Ukraine who has fought in Ukraine as a mercenary . Somehow he happened to infiltrate a golf course where Trump was playing .Somehow he was there even though Trump had no schedule indicating he would be there at that time.

[jlisenbe]

How did he come up with the weapon? Did he buy it locally after arriving?

[tomder55]

I'm sure the facts will dribble out over time courtesy of whistle blowers . Besides the rifle with a scope he had ceramic tiles that he hung on a fence and a video camera as he was planning to film his attempt.

I'm sure the Dems will restrain from their violent rhetoric against Trump for a day or two. Guessing Clueless Joe won't suggest he take Trump behind the gym to beat the cr@p out of him.

[tomder55]

Let me stipulate that blaming words for actions is a convenient excuse ;that leads to far worse things like regulating speech . But Dems saying Trump is Hitler . Dems saying democracy is on the ballot .Then Trump is called on to tone down his rhetoric after an attempt on his life ;while the left ;particularly in the US claims to have clean hands. That needs to be called out .

Here are some comments by Evita to Katie Couric .

“I do worry about political violence. I worry about threats. I worry about what’s being said online,”

“If he were really a leader, he should be doing what he can to calm the waters, not try to just continue to throw red meat out there to get people riled up.”
This she said in comments about his ad below where he calls out Dems calls to violence .

She voiced her solution to Rachel Madcow


I think it's important to indict the Russians, just as Mueller indicted a lot of Russians who were engaged in direct election interference and boosting Trump back in 2016. But I also think there are Americans who are engaged in this kind of propaganda. And whether they should be civilly or even in some cases criminally charged is something that would be a better deterrence, because the Russians are unlikely, except in a very few cases, to ever stand trial in the United States


The Party of Violence (youtube.com)

Meanwhile Kam survived an interview

This could be outlawed in the future.

Kamala Safe And In Stable Condition After Attempted Interview | Babylon Bee