The Secret Service has \u201cdeep flaws\u201d that allowed the attack at the Trump campaign rally, according to an independent panel that reviewed the July assassination attempt against then-candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
The panel also called for \u201cfundamental reform\u201d of the agency to fulfill its mission of protecting top government officials worldwide.<\/p>\n
The independent review panel noted in a letter signed by all four members that it had discovered \u201cnumerous mistakes\u201d during its investigation that resulted in the attempted assassination of Trump, but also \u201cdeeper systemic issues that must be addressed with urgency.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Secret Service as an agency requires fundamental reform to carry out its mission,\u201d the members said. \u201cWithout that reform, the Independent Review Panel believes another Butler can and will happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The panel dedicated its work to Corey Comperatore, who was killed in the shooting, and James Copenhaver and David Dutch, who were injured, as well as their families.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese actions will be responsive not only to the security failures that led to the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt but, importantly, to what the Independent Review Panel describes as systemic and foundational issues that underlie those failures,\u201d the members said.<\/p>\n
The group also cited \u201cdeeper concerns\u201d it had discovered regarding the Secret Service, such as a \u201ctroubling lack of critical thinking\u201d by Secret Service personnel in the days leading up to and following the assassination attempt, \u201ccorrosive cultural attitudes\u201d regarding resources, and a \u201clack of clarity\u201d regarding who has security ownership of a protectee\u2019s site.<\/p>\n
It criticized Secret Service leadership for what the panel claimed was a \u201cinsufficiently experienced-based approach\u201d by Trump\u2019s detail regarding the choice of agents to carry out security-critical tasks and a failure to assume responsibility for security planning and execution at the Butler rally.<\/p>\n
The breakdowns \u201creveal deep flaws in the Secret Service, including some that appear to be systemic or cultural,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n
It recommended new Secret Service leadership with outside agency experience and a return to the agency\u2019s \u201ccore protective mission\u201d to address the problems the panel had identified.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Secret Service must be the world\u2019s leading governmental protective organization,\u201d according to the report. \u201cThe events at Butler on July 13 demonstrate that, currently, it is not.\u201d<\/p>\n
This comes as\u00a0President Donald Trump nominated Sean Curran, the head of his personal Secret Service security detail, to serve as director of the U.S. Secret Service.<\/p>\n
Curran, one of several quick-thinking agents who hurried onstage to defend Trump during an attempted assassination on July 13, was already anticipated to be appointed to the role.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Trump called the appointment of Curran an \u201chonor\u201d in a Truth Social post.<\/p>\n
\u201cSean is a Great Patriot, who has protected my family over the past few years, and that is why I trust him to lead the Brave Men and Women of the United States Secret Service,\u201d the president wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is brilliant leader, who is capable of directing and leading operational security plans for some of the most complex Special Security Events in the History of our Country, and the World. He proved his fearless courage when he risked his own life to help save mine from an assassin\u2019s bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania. I have complete and total confidence in Sean to make the United States Secret Service stronger than ever before,\u201d Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.<\/p>\n