“Whistleblower allegations suggest the majority of DHS officials were not in fact USSS agents but instead drawn from the department’s Homeland Security Investigations.”
Whistleblowers have made allegations against the Secret Service, saying that the rally for Donald Trump was designated as a "loose security" event where his attempted assassination took place. The whistleblowers have suggested that most agents at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally were not even Secret Service (USSS) agents, but inexperienced agents from Homeland Security.
According to a letter sent to DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas, released by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), "Whistleblowers who have direct knowledge of the event have approached my office. According to the allegations, the July 13 rally was considered to be a 'loose' security event. For example, detection canines were not used to monitor entry and detect threats in the usual manner." The letter was also sent to USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle.
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View on X"Individuals without proper designations were able to gain access to backstage areas. Department personnel did not appropriately police the security buffer around the podium and were also not stationed at regular intervals around the event's security perimeter," Hawley adds. "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."
The letter from Hawley's office asked a series of questions related to the allegations made by the whistleblowers, one asking about how many police officers were used for staffing the security at the event.
"What percentage of the DHS agents at the event were from HSI rather than USSS? Were a majority of officers at the event drawn from HSI or other DHS components, rather than USSS? If so, why?" the Missouri Senator asked.
The allegations from the whistleblowers come as the USSS has been facing heavy scrutiny since the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, which occurred amid numerous security failures at the event on Saturday.
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