Secret Service ‘check-the-box’ Senate briefing leaves questions: ‘Infuriating’
Fox News
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., detailed a Secret Service briefing given to senators on Wednesday about the recent assassination attempt against former President Trump, saying there was “virtually no information” provided.
“It’s infuriating,” he told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“The director of the Secret Service did admit there were mistakes and gaffes,” he added, referring to Kimberly Cheatle.
But the briefing, which was given by a separate official, “was largely irrelevant,” according to Johnson. Only four senators were allowed to ask questions and there were no follow-ups, he said.
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Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, questioned the service on when they first became aware of the person who ultimately shot Trump and others at the outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, per Johnson. The briefer said they had been made aware of Thomas Crooks roughly an hour before he opened fire.
“That is a $64,000 question. When did the sniper team identify [him]? When did they have him in [their] sights?” Johnson asked. “Did they request permission to alleviate the threat? Was it denied?”
“Those are the questions. They’re being asked,” he said.
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“They should have been providing that up front,” the senator said.
He suggested that it’s counterintuitive for the service to withhold key information about the incident while stating that they want transparency and seek to prevent the spread of conspiracy theories.
“They should be addressing what’s out there right now,” Johnson said. “They didn’t.”
The Wisconsin Republican railed against the briefing by the service, saying, “They need to open it up so that people can ask detailed questions [and] follow-up questions.”
“That’s not what this thing was,” he said. “This was kind of a check-the-box, quick briefing. Not providing information, only gives four senators an opportunity to ask questions … this is not providing the kind of information people need.”
He noted that the lack of information at the briefing led to different reporting from news organizations: “This is not the way it should be done.”
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The assassination attempt on Trump left him bloodied and with a wounded right ear but ultimately OK, enough so that he opted against pushing back his attendance at the Republican National Convention this week. One spectator was killed at the rally, Corey Comperatore. He was fatally shot while shielding his family from bullets. Two other people wounded at the event are hospitalized.
Lawmakers have raised significant concerns after the shooting as more details suggest errors on the part of the Secret Service and law enforcement.