The following was first published on Sharyl Attkisson’s Substack. Subscribe for free here.
Sources close to the investigations into the assassination attempt against Donald Trump say the view of Secret Service snipers protecting Trump was blocked by a tree.
“The tree provided concealment to the shooter,” said one authority.
That adds to a growing list of apparent security lapses regarding the plan to protect the Republican presidential nominee and former president of the United States.
Officials say Thomas Crooks shot Trump in the ear at a rally a week and a half ago, missing a fatal shot by as little as a half inch. A Secret Service sniper shot and killed Crooks 26 seconds after Crooks fired at Trump, according to authorities.
Trump was treated at a hospital and released, and kept his busy schedule at the Republican National Convention beginning two days later. He formally accepted the Republican nomination on Thursday.
Several experienced investigators who have walked through the site of the rally in Butler, Pennsylania, and met with local authorities and witnesses tell me it’s hard to fathom how there could be so many holes in such an important security detail.
Several other weaknesses discovered in the past 24 hours include (allegedly):
- There was a water tower that was left open. (The tower can be seen in police bodycam video released by the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit.)
- Secret Service aparently didn’t visit numerous businesses beforehand that had vantages across the street from the rally.
- Secret Service failed to do a proper “pregame” check after security roles had been assigned to local authorities.
- There were two command posts: one for Secret Service and one for all of the local law enforcement teams, and there was no integration between them.
- The local teams working security and the Secret Service teams were operating on six to eight separate communications frequencies.
That communications arrangement may have led to a fatal delay in the Secret Service sniper taking his shot at Crooks. The Secret Service had been briefed that local SWAT teams would be in the area and the Secret Service sniper had to make sure he wasn’t firing at another law enforcement officer, says one source.
The communications issue has reportedly been flagged in the past.
In April, the Homeland Security Inspector General (IG) is said to have recommended improving Secret Service communications by making sure there is a communications channel all authorities can join in real time. The IG’s report contained six recommendations related to federal missteps in the January 6, 2021 Capitol rioting, but the report hasn’t been released to the public.
“The operations plan was terrible,” said one investigator looking into the Trump rally security debacle.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday, a day after her disastrous testimony to Congress. Her uninformed or evasive responses led to a bipartisan call for her to step down.
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I can’t understand why nobody is questioning the fact that the shooter in this picture is wearing khaki shorts. In the videos showing Crooks climbing on the roof, he was clearly wearing long, white pants. Did he change on the roof?
The snipers were not Secret Service snipers. Richard Goldinger, the district attorney of Butler County, said in an interview on Wednesday, that Butler County had assisted the Secret Service that day by providing four sniper teams, four quick-response teams and several officers who were stationed in a barn behind the stage at the rally. No officer deployed by Butler County was inside the building that the gunman had climbed on top of, Mr. Goldinger said.
So who shot the shooter if the SS snipers couldn’t see him?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/sniper-killed-trump-assassin-one-020458177.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall 1 in a million shot, It was the Secret Service sniper with the blocked view. Could only see the assassins scope and eyes.
It is the Secret Service’s responsibility to identify and clear potential sniper locations.
There are so many failures including the team around Trump including
a very small woman or 2 who left Trump exposed while the other agents surrounded and protected him.
poor briefing
leaving roof unprotected
goofball female agents who were out of their level of competence
Lying – the roof was to steep (about the same angle as a handicap ramp)
Roof to hot to occupy (snipers were on nearly identical roof)
Lack of feds at early AM meetings
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New evidence shows there was a sniper team in the second story of the building right behind the roof where Crooks was laying. Even if the tree was blocking at least one of the sniper teams not sure if it blocked the team in the second location), whoever was in that building on the second floor with the window open had a clear view of the roof and of Crooks. Also, as I think someone else already pointed out, the big trees in the way should have been flagged as potential concealment area and that makes it even more strange that no one was posted on that side of the roof.
We are being gas light to cover up the truth….there were 3 shooters-Cook, an unidentified person who took out Cook and a third person who was the actual shooter that hit President Trump using a very high powered rifle as shown by forensic analysis of the actual sounds of he shots. Even CNN has reported there were 3 shooters.
https://wltreport.com/2024/07/24/cnn-three-weapons-fired-trump-rally/?utm_source=newsletter_randy
It was supposed to be a mass shooting incident. What wasn’t counted on was the crowd staying in place. The crowd was supposed to panic and start running.
I suspect that this attempt to murder Trump was a setup by the left.
So many times the deep state, swamp, tried to derail his former presidency and current run for 2024 that I really believe that this was their plan.
That shot at Trump may have been fired by another person, not the 20 year old.
Don’t really care who shot or who didn’t. THIS was a total screw up by the Secret Service PERIOD!
That’s their job!!! They sure don’t look competent now do they?
Harold,
What drug(s) had he been taking ?
And have you ever worked on a
metal roof in summer ? NH, above,
notices the shooter is wearing
shorts. I, too, recall video of him in
long pants.
He’d have to be HEAVILY drugged
to tolerate the pain of skin against
H O T metal.
-Rick
P.S.
Drugs and Psychiatry and Mass-Killing Shooters :
https://blog.nomorefakenews.com/2022/06/07/new-podcast-mass-shootings-and-the-psychiatric-drug-connection/
I believe the correct term for USSS shooters is counter-sniper, NOT sniper.
It’s very obvious to me that the “Deep State…AKA Powers that Be” have tried everything (except poisoning but including an assassination attempt) to get rid of President Trump….! God Bless President Trump and keep him safe..!!
If the trees blocked the Secret Service snipper’s view, how did he manage to kill him on the first shot. He needed a clear field of vision to do this.