(PatriotWise.com) — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan last week detailed a claim by whistleblowers that the US Secret Service had “limited resources” before the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally in which Donald Trump was nearly assassinated.
In a July 18 letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Jordan said the whistleblowers claimed that on July 8, the Secret Service held two briefings with the Fusion Center in Western Pennsylvania to discuss two campaign events that were scheduled for July 13 – Trump’s rally and an event featuring First Lady Jill Biden.
According to the letter, the Special Agent in Charge reportedly told Pennsylvania law enforcement that the Secret Service’s resources were limited due to the NATO 75th Anniversary Summit being held in Washington, DC, earlier that same week. Jordan noted that the whistleblowers told the Judiciary Committee that members of the FBI were also present at those briefings.
The day after the assassination attempt, RealClearPolitics reporter Susan Crabtree said that sources had informed her that the Secret Service “diverted” some assets from the Trump rally to the First Lady’s event in Pittsburgh.
At the time, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi denied Crabtree’s reporting, saying the agency’s protection models did not “work that way.”
In his letter, Chairman Jordan also included the questions he expected Judiciary Committee members to ask Director Wray when he testified in a July 24 hearing before the panel.
The questions included why the rooftop where the shooter was located was not secured before the rally and whether there was any coordination between the various law enforcement agencies in advance of the rally.
Wray, along with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, held briefing calls with members of the Senate and House last Wednesday.
Senators were informed that the gunman had been flagged by the Secret Service as “suspicious” more than an hour before the shooting.
Members of the House are expected to receive a classified briefing this week. Speaker Mike Johnson has vowed to launch a bipartisan task force to investigate the July 13 assassination attempt that would have subpoena authority.
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