Bongino Has New Questions For Secret Service Over Shocking Video In Trump Attack

Conservative commentator, author, and radio host Dan Bongino is raising new concerns with his former employer, the U.S. Secret Service, following the release of a troubling video taken just before an attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pa., last month.

During his Thursday broadcast, Bongino discussed the video captured on a cellphone from a vantage point behind Trump on stage. The footage shows a “shadowy figure” moving along the backside of a building, ultimately stopping at a spot with a clear line of sight to the former president. This figure was identified as the shooter, Thomas Crooks, 20.

In the cellphone video, Crooks is seen moving across the roof opposite Trump for a few seconds before disappearing and then reappearing moments later. Bongino, who served as a Secret Service agent for 12 years, highlighted that acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe had previously stated that local authorities were addressing “an issue” in the area where Crooks was spotted, which was referred to as “the three o’clock,” according to the Washington Examiner.

“If you’re looking at the three o’clock, how the hell do you miss this?!” Bongino exclaimed on his show while playing new footage from a counter-sniper who located Crooks on a nearby rooftop. “This is a cell phone camera! This is not a zoom, high, telephoto, freaking lens used to film a Marvel movie! It’s a cellphone! You can see the guy clear as day! How did they miss this?!” he questioned, “What is left to defend?”

WATCH:

Bongino further criticized the agency and the Biden administration, suggesting they are asking Americans to “believe the implausible” regarding the Secret Service's explanations for failing to prevent Crooks from firing at Trump, which resulted in a grazing wound to Trump's right ear, the death of a rally attendee, and injuries to two others.

Rowe claimed on Tuesday that neither the Secret Service countersniper teams nor Trump’s security detail were aware of the shooter on the roof. He characterized the attempt on Trump’s life as a “failure on multiple levels.”

“You were told 90 minutes out. You were 60 minutes out,” Bongino said of the snipers. “You were told by text. You were told by radios on the tactical net. I don’t understand. You’re expecting people to believe the implausible because they can’t be expected to believe the alternative that this much incompetence was displayed on the same day.”

Recently, RealClearPolitics White House correspondent Susan Crabtree reported on internal communications from an agency counter-sniper expressing frustration over the Secret Service’s considerable security lapse. The email disclosed that the counter-sniper was advocating for the dismissal of several senior officials and warned that without changes to protocols, another disaster could occur.

“A Secret Service counter sniper sent an email Monday night to the entire Uniformed Division (not agents) saying he will not stop speaking out until ‘5 high-level supervisors (1 down) are either fired or removed from their current positions,’” Crabtree wrote on X. “The counter sniper also said the agency ‘SHOULD expect another assassination attempt’ before November and complained that he is no longer proud to be a USSS counter sniper after leadership failed the officers at the Trump rally in Butler on 7/13.”

In the email obtained by Crabtree, the alleged SS sniper added: “Sadly we have fallen short for YEARS. We just look good doing it. I have conveyed these thoughts to not only supervisors (to include the current Captain of CS, but those responsible for training us (SOTS/CS). Only to be brushed off as those with less experience somehow knew more than me.”

“The team I was once proud to be a part of, is something I have to somehow hide as I move into my next career,” the counter-sniper continued. “Who wants to hire a USSS CS guy who failed? That’s the public perception I’m now faced with. The USSS CS team is a stain I will never be able to cleanse. The motto of the USSS…CYA. And every supervisor is doing it right now.”