Secret Service failed to prevent juvenile from trespassing Mar-a-Lago for hour, jumping in pool in 2023: report

RealClearPolitics National Political Correspondent Susan Crabtree reported Monday, “One source said the intruder did a 'cannon-ball' into the pool, but another could only confirm that the young person jumped into the pool.”

“The entire compound is alarmed and secured, but because Mar-a-Lago is an active club, its security has proven particularly difficult for the Secret Service,” she continued. Secret Service claimed that the pool was on the exterior grounds of Mar-a-Lago, where authorized guests are allowed, however, she was told by sources that the pool is close to the resident building on the property.

She noted an earlier report by radio host Dan Bongino that a “direct source” told him the Secret Service denied a request by the former president for “enhanced” protection at Mar-a-Lago because the Secret Service cannot protect “a nightclub.” Bongino is a former Secret Service special agent and disputed the claim, noting the agency is responsible for protecting the president, no matter what complications occur.

Crabtree pointed out the seeming hypocrisy that after a drunken intruder entered the home of Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in the middle of the night last year, the Secret Service removed two Presidential Protective Division supervisors from that detail.

She also noted the agency’s failures during the assassination attempt on former President Trump in July that killed retired fireman Corey Comperatore in front of his family and critically injured two others in the audience at the Bulter, Pennsylvania rally in July.

Following the assassination attempt, the Secret Service stepped up security for Trump’s properties in Mar-a-Lago, Trump Tower, and Bedminster, New Jersey.

A spokesman for the agency told Crabtree, "The juvenile was apprehended and taken into custody by Palm Beach Police Department officers. The U.S. Secret Service takes these matters extremely seriously, and at the time, an investigation was immediately launched, and certain U.S. Secret Service personnel were held accountable in accordance with agency protocols. We remain thankful to the Town of Palm Beach Police Department and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office for their response and strong partnership."