The ex-president, 78, asked for more agents and magnetometers at large public events he attended, as well as extra snipers for outdoor venues, four insiders told The Washington Post, which first reported the damning revelation.
The outlet reported that senior officials shot down each request, claiming the agency lacked the resources Trump was asking for.
This went on for two years.
Top officials repeatedly rejected requests from Trump’s security detail for more manpower and gear at events before the attempted assassination. At times, they cited a lack of resources.
We can send billions of dollars to Ukraine but not provide resources to protect presidential candidates? I would have bought them a drone if I knew they didn’t have one.
They also did this to RFK Jr., who is a Democrat. However, he ran against Biden and must be punished.
The killer looked up Biden’s events and information on the Royal Family. Our law enforcement must protect these people.
They knew about this killer for at least an hour and let Donald Trump take the stage even as they spotted assassin Thomas Crooks on the roof ten minutes before. President Trump almost died, and Corey Comperatore died. Two men were critically wounded. Donald Trump said the two injured men would be okay.
WaPo wrote:
Top officials at the U.S. Secret Service repeatedly denied requests for additional resources and personnel sought by Donald Trump’s security detail in the two years leading up to his attempted assassination at a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday, according to four people familiar with the requests.
Agents charged with protecting the former president requested magnetometers and more agents to screen attendees at sporting events and other large public gatherings Trump attended, as well as additional snipers and specialty teams at other outdoor events, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive security discussions.
The requests, which have not been previously reported, were sometimes denied by senior officials at the agency, who cited various reasons, including a lack of resources at an agency that has long struggled with staffing shortages, they said.
Those rejections — in response to requests that were several times made in writing — led to long-standing tensions that pitted Trump, his top aides, and his security detail against Secret Service leadership, as Trump advisers privately fretted that the vaunted security agency was not doing enough to protect the former president.
Originally, they said they did not deny the Trump team additional help.
“The assertion that a member of the former president’s security team requested additional security resources that the U.S. Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security rebuffed is absolutely false,” said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, in a statement on the day after the shooting.
The agency is now acknowledging some may have been rejected. Eventually, they will admit to denying everything, just as they did for RFK.
The Secret Service statement
After receiving detailed questions from The Washington Post, Guglielmi said the agency had learned new information indicating the agency’s headquarters may have in fact denied some requests for additional security from Trump’s detail and was reviewing documentation to understand the specific interactions better.
“The Secret Service has a vast, challenging, and intricate mission,” he said in a statement. “Every day, we work in a dynamic threat environment to ensure our protectees are safe and secure across multiple events, travel, and other difficult environments. We execute a comprehensive and layered strategy to balance personnel, technology, and specialized operational needs.”
In response to a request for comment, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign referred to a statement Trump posted on Truth Social praising his own Secret Service detail.
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