‘Shocking’ failures led to Trump assassination attempt: Senate report

Peters called the Secret Service’s missteps “shocking,” while Paul said the failures were an “inexcusable dereliction of duty.”

The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s interim report said the Secret Service did not “clearly define responsibilities” during the fateful rally.

The report also said that Secret Service personnel responsible for planning coverage of the July 13 event “denied that they were individually responsible for planning or security failures and deflected blame.”

Officers did not ensure that the AGR building — where the shooter eventually perched before shooting Trump — was “effectively covered,” even though it was identified as a concern, the report said.

The staff report states that the Secret Service was notified that local police saw a “suspicious person with a rangefinder” near the building around 5:45 p.m.

By 5:52 p.m., at least eight members of the Secret Service had been tipped off about the suspect, according to the report. The gunman opened fire at 18:11

Trump and two bystanders were injured, and one rally attendee was killed.

The report also found that the Secret Service “failed to coordinate effectively with state and local law enforcement” and failed to provide resources, including “Unmanned Aircraft Systems Capabilities and a Counter Strike Team,” that could have increased Trump’s protection.

In a statement to Business Insider, the Secret Service said it has taken steps since the assassination attempt to address the issues.

“The gravity of our mission is not lost on us, and in this hyper-dynamic threat environment, the US Secret Service cannot fail,” the agency’s chief of communications, Anthony Guglielmi, said in a statement to BI.

“We take the work of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee seriously and have begun to implement many of the proposed improvements,” he added.

Secret Service changes include “raising the protection posture of protected individuals and strengthening our protective details as appropriate,” Guglielmi said.

He added that the agency is “improving communications and interoperability with our federal, state and local partners.”