The near assassination of Donald Trump was a shocking security failure on every level.
Now, the public is discovering just how badly the Secret Service dropped the ball.
And Josh Hawley was stunned when the Secret Service director made this scary confession.
Acting Secret Service director makes stunning confession
One of the most disturbing aspects of the Secret Service’s security failure at former President Donald Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania rally was the preparations the gunman was able to make before the event.
He showed up before the rally with a rangefinder where a sniper spotted him and took a picture.
And the gunman was able to fly a drone on a pre-programmed flight pattern around the fairgrounds before the rally to further help him scout things out.
The Secret Service never used a drone at the Butler rally, even after local law enforcement offered them one for the event.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe testified at a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees.
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) grilled Rowe about his agency not using a drone at the rally.
“I’m also told that local law enforcement suppliers offered the Secret Service drones and you declined them. Is that true?” Hawley asked.
“So Senator, one, I’ve been very transparent and forthcoming,” Rowe claimed.
“Uh, the agency has not been transparent and forthcoming, so please, let’s not go there!” Hawley fired back.
Rowe, who spent the hearing ducking questions, had the gall to say he’d been forthcoming.
Hawley noted that the Secret Service hasn’t fired anyone after the former President was nearly assassinated.
The acting Secret Service director finally admitted that a drone was offered.
“Why did you deny it?” Hawley asked.
“Uh, again, I think the ability of local law enforcement to provide an asset we probably should have taken them up on it,” Rowe stammered. “If it was offered.”
The Acting Service Director can’t keep his story straight
Rowe, in the span of a few minutes, completely changed his story on the offer of drones from local law enforcement in Pennsylvania.
He went from refusing to answer the question to admitting that the drones had been offered to finally hedging that the offer had even been made.
Rowe claimed he was “transparent and forthcoming,” but he couldn’t even give a straight answer to a simple question.
The Secret Service agent in charge of security for the Butler rally was offered the use of a drone and turned it down.
Rowe claimed that the agency couldn’t use their drones because of issues with cell phone connections in the area.
“Communication that day at the Butler rally site was challenging,” Rowe said. “This day, in particular, there was a connectivity problem.”
U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) asked him why the gunman could have flown his drone that day, but the Secret Service couldn’t.
Rowe didn’t have an explanation.
The Secret Service’s handling of security at Trump’s rally was either gross incompetence or malice.
Neither answer is comforting for the American people.
