Secret Service Drop Big Update After Trump Attack
A CNN host put a Secret Service spokesperson on the spot following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump over the weekend, emphasizing that the incident “raises a lot of questions” about the agency's security measures.
Reports indicate that CNN crime and justice correspondent Shimon Prokupecz persistently questioned agency officials but was dissatisfied with their responses, prompting him to call for more transparency for the public.
In a rare press conference, the Secret Service stated that they had been preparing for a year to secure this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. However, they did not address the bullet that grazed former President Trump’s ear or the one that killed 50-year-old Corey Comperatore.
After Agent Audrey Gibson-Cicchino, the Secret Service agent in charge of coordinating security at the Republican National Convention, opened the floor for questions, Prokupecz demanded to know why the agency had been silent following the attack in Butler, Pa., on Saturday.
“I don’t understand why it is that you have one of the most significant events in the Secret Service’s history and no one from the Secret Service has publicly decided to take questions about what happened,” the CNN correspondent said. “The FBI today openly giving us an on-the-record briefing about their investigation, and yet we still have not heard from anyone from the Secret Service about what happened, about what the agency knew, about the [security lapse.] I just don’t understand how anyone could think that that’s OK.”
Gibson-Cicchino could only advise Prokupecz to direct his questions to leadership officials in Washington, D.C., which did not satisfy the crime reporter.
“Right, but this is the first time where anyone at the Secret Service has publicly even spoken to the media since this happened,” he insisted. “There was a public press conference last night that the Secret Service was not at. State officials and the FBI were there but yet the Secret Service was absent. It just raises a lot of questions about why the Secret Service is not willing to answer questions.”
Once more, the agent referred Prokupecz to her superiors.
The Secret Service is facing intense scrutiny after the attempted assassination, with recent revelations indicating that warning signs were missed before the attack.
Just The News reported:
Long before the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday night placed a harsh spotlight on the Secret Service, the presidential security agency was already confronting difficult questions about its capabilities, training, recruitment, and emphasis on diversity.
Secret Service agents reportedly circulated a petition raising concerns about their management a few weeks ago.
These issues are now certain to receive renewed attention after video footage showed a gunman was able to scale a building less than 200 yards from Trump, reach a shooting position with a rifle, and fire several rounds before being neutralized by a Secret Service sniper team at the event Saturday night in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Some witnesses claimed they alerted authorities to a man climbing on the roof before the shooting.
“How could you have somebody on the rooftop?” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who was shot by a would-be assassin and far-left Bernie Sanders supporter in 2017 during a practice session ahead of the annual congressional softball game. “There are reports that people watched him climb up the roof and even alerted authorities, and we’re going to be looking into that.”
“I mean, we’re going to have hearings on this, you know, how could you have somebody on the rooftop? There are reports that people watched him climb up the roof and even alerted authorities, and we’re going to be looking into that. How could that happen with all the authorities around that they miss something so clear that the shooter was able to get that kind of line of sight just 150 yards away from the stage?” he told Fox News on Saturday.