116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa’s Chuck Grassley calls for answers on ‘communication breakdown’ at Trump rally shooting
Text messages, police video show confused communications beforehand
Jul. 30, 2024 2:48 pm
Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley called for answers Tuesday over the “communication breakdown” between Pennsylvania law enforcement and the Secret Service that led to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.
Text messages, police body camera footage and an after-action report obtained by Grassley provide the most detailed picture yet of security failures surrounding the shooting at the July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pa.
Grassley, appearing Tuesday on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” ahead of a Senate hearing with the FBI and Secret Service, said “there’s just a lot of shortcomings” about law enforcement lapses in the hours before the attempted assassination of Trump.
“It’s just bad when a member of Congress has to get his information from local law enforcement instead of from the federal agencies,” Grassley said. “(I’ve) turned over everything (I) have now, and if (I) get more, (I)’ll turn it over. I believe in transparency. The public’s business ought to be public, and the protection of a presidential candidate ought to be a top priority.”
The acting director of the Secret Service said Tuesday he “cannot defend” why the roof used by the gunman was not secured, the Associated Press reported.
Ronald Rowe became acting director last week after Kimberly Cheatle resigned amid mounting criticism by members of Congress over a lack of substantive answers during a hearing about the communication failures preceding the July 13 shooting.
Rowe testified Tuesday before two Senate committees. He was joined by FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate at a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees.
Grassley pressed Rowe about the failed vetting and communications procedures that led to the near-assassination of the former president.
Rowe said he “had no explanation” for some of the Secret Service’s shortcomings at the July 13 campaign rally, and committed to improving certain agency procedures and providing “rolling” updates to Congress and the public.
Grassley also asked about the Secret Service and local law enforcement’s use of a drone to monitor the rally location. In a letter last week asking for the Secret Service’s operational plan and other records, Grassley included a document showing that a Counter Unmanned Aerial System operator was on the list of personnel for the rally.
NBC News has reported that deceased gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks flew a drone over the rally site a few hours before Trump began speaking.
“According to the Secret Service, the drone system was supposed to be operational at 3 p.m. that day,” Grassley said during his questioning of Rowe. “However, we’ve been told by Secret Service that because of cellular bandwidth problems, it wasn’t operational until about 5:20 (p.m.) on that day. If the system was operational, Secret Service would’ve had the ability to detect the shooter and his own drone use. Why is the Secret Service dependent upon local cellular networks? Does Secret Service have back up plans in place?”
Rowe said the Secret Service’s failure to detect the shooter’s drone has “cost me a lot of sleep.” Had the Secret Service’s platform been operational, Rowe noted, it might have been able to locate Crooks and intervene.
Rowe committed to leveraging Department of Homeland Security resources to provide the Secret Service guaranteed connectivity to its drone. He said the lapse “is something that I have struggled with to understand.”
“It is something that I feel as though we could have perhaps found him,” he said. “We could have maybe stopped him.”
According to documents released by Grassley’s office, law enforcement officers knew of and communicated presence of Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pa., at the rally to federal counterparts more than 90 minutes before he climbed onto a roof of what’s known as the AGR Building and fired eight rounds toward Trump.
Below is a summary of local law enforcement’s planning and communications regarding the Trump event, according to records released by Grassley’s office:
July 13
- 9 a.m.: The Butler County Emergency Response Unit hosts a briefing for local law enforcement ahead of the Trump event. The Secret Service was absent from the briefing (detail plan).
- 1:03 p.m.: Beaver, Butler and Washington County snipers connect via group chat (texts).
- Local sniper locations are noted (photos).
- 4:26 p.m.: A Beaver County sniper finishes his shift and departs the AGR Building. While exiting, he spots Crooks at a picnic table outside and alerts the remaining Beaver and Butler snipers in the AGR Building to Crooks’ presence (texts).
- 5:38 p.m.: A Beaver County sniper sends photos of Crooks to the Beaver, Butler and Washington snipers group chat. The Beaver sniper notes Crooks was using “a range finder looking toward the stage” and recommends that they notify Secret Service snipers to “look out” (texts).
- 5:45 p.m.: A Beaver County sniper sends photos of Crooks to the Beaver County ESU group chat. Beaver law enforcement recommends they alert “command” (texts).
Grassley underscored the need to pass legislation he introduced with Nevada Democratic U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, which would subject Secret Service directors to Senate confirmation and a single, 10-year term.
“The Secret Service’s core mission is to protect the individuals entrusted to its care,” Grassley said in a statement. “President Trump’s brush with death was a Secret Service failure of epic proportions, and this mission failure must never be repeated.”
He called the bill a “crucial step toward providing the transparency and accountability that Congress and the American people deserve from the Secret Service.”
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
Daily Newsletters