BUTLER, Pa. — A lawmaker who attended Wednesday’s FBI briefing and spoke to Fox News Digital on the condition of anonymity said Congress has been denied access to a full operation detailing former President Trump’s rally protection plan. Report.
Attorney Paul Morrow, a retired NYPD inspector, said the operations report “should detail who was responsible for the rooftop area where (Thomas Matthew) Crooks fired his weapon.”
“If there is no action plan, or the roof is not covered, whoever signs the plan will fail,” Mauro said.
Morrow said a detailed written plan was in the hands of the FBI as of Thursday afternoon, and he said the information came from a source “that I trust absolutely, 100 percent.” The FBI declined to comment.
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Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump is shielded by U.S. Secret Service agents during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Somehow, Crooks, 20, was overlooked despite multiple sightings reported as early as an hour before Butler, Pa., fired into a crowd Saturday.
A bullet nicked Trump’s ear and could have killed him had he not moved his head at that moment.
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A beloved former fire chief, Corey Comperatore, was killed and two other men were seriously injured while protecting his wife and daughter from a hail of bullets.
“This is a very, very bad plan,” Mauro said. “The idea that they had Trump sitting in a car and not being able to drive off the property because the car was locked is incredibly irresponsible.”
On July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump was ousted after a shooting incident at a rally. (Anna Chanmemaker/Getty Images)
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump is assisted by security personnel after gunfire rang out at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, the United States, on July 13, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
Typically, Mauro said, there is a dedicated hospital vehicle and an evacuation plan, with the driver knowing the direct route to the hospital.
He said that “tells me that this was done very haphazardly, very under-resourced and there was no management of the whole thing.”
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“There was no incident commander. No one was really in command. Maybe on paper, there might be, but whoever was asleep at the switch.”
Mauro said they were lucky Trump was not more seriously injured.
The U.S. Secret Service returned fire after an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, before authorities approached the gunman from where he fell to the ground. (Obtained by Fox News Digital Channel)
FBI agents visit potential Trump assassin Thomas Crook at his home in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. (AFP/Reuters/Aaron Josephczyk)
He said the fact that lawmakers now can’t see the report and the Secret Service’s quickness to point the finger at local police shows they are in “cover-you mode.”
“There’s a lot of culpability, and the idea that, oh, the locals screwed up, that idea is starting to fall apart.”
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Former Buffalo Township Fire Chief Corey Comperatore poses with his daughters in an undated family photo. Thomas Matthew Crooks was trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler County, Pa., on Saturday, hitting Competore and killing him in a crossfire, authorities said. Secret Service agents returned fire, killing Crooks. (Helen Competore/Facebook)
The gunfire lasted 26 seconds before Crooks was “shot” on the roof about 150 yards from the podium where Trump was standing when he was shot.
Nearly a week after the shooting, there are many unanswered questions and clear lapses in planning and/or execution.
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The next step is a House Oversight Committee hearing on Monday, where lawmakers will raise questions Secret Service Director Kimberly Chettle, who agrees to comply with the Commission’s subpoenas.
The Oversight Committee is led by Rep. James Comer (R-KY).
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“Cuomo immediately announced that he was going to have oversight of this and that he was going to use the subpoena power of the House, which is a good thing because you need someone over the shoulders of the task force to investigate this,” Mauro said.
“They can actually say they’re working with the Pennsylvania State Police, blah, blah, blah, but the FBI is doing that, and I’m sorry … I don’t trust their leadership.”
He said there had been so many failures recently, and he said someone had to be watching over the shoulder during the investigation.
Undated photo of Thomas Matthew Crooks. (AFP handout)
Police snipers set up on the rooftop of a rally for former President Donald Trump on Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Driller Todd)
Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General began “a review of the processes implemented by the United States Secret Service (USSS) to ensure the security of the July 13 political campaign event.”
They are also reviewing the “preparations and operations” of the Secret Service counter sniper team.
“Our goal is to determine the extent to which Secret Service countersniper teams prepare for and respond to threats at events involving designated protectees,” the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General said in a statement.
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The office “continues to consider additional reviews that may arise related to USSS (United States Secret Service) programs and operations. DHS OIG will coordinate its reviews with other law enforcement partners as appropriate.”
