Secret Service director Cheatle initially claimed that no one had been stationed on the roof because it would have been too dangerous.
Whistleblowers continue to come forward with allegations detailing the law-enforcement failures surrounding the assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump less than two weeks ago.
Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) revealed Monday that a whistleblower is alleging that law enforcement abandoned the roof used by gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks hours earlier because of the heat, in contrast to disgraced former Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle’s claim that the roof was left open because of safety concerns.
“Contrary to Director Cheatle’s public statements about the ‘safety’ of the sloped roof of American Glass Research Building 6, one whistleblower with direct knowledge of Secret Service planning for the event alleges that there was supposed to be a law enforcement presence on the roof that day, Hawley wrote in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“In fact, the whistleblower alleges that at least one individual was specifically assigned to the roof for the duration of the rally, but this person abandoned his or her post owing to the hot weather. The whistleblower further alleges that concerns over the heat prompted law enforcement to forego patrolling Building 6 and instead to station security personnel inside the building.”
Hawley, a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, asked Mayorkas for more details related to the whistleblower allegation. National Review has reached out to the Secret Service for comment.
Whistleblowers have also alleged to Hawley that Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pa., was a “loose” security environment and untrained Department of Homeland Security personnel were assigned to work at the rally.
Last week, Cheatle told ABC News that agents were not assigned to the roof because it is “sloped,” therefore it could have presented a safety hazard. Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee on Monday and mostly declined to answer basic questions about the security lapses at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pa.
She gave members of congress less information about the rooftop than she did ABC News, refusing to explain why the roof was left open for Crooks to climb on. In a similar manner, Cheatle would not discuss personnel assignments at the Trump rally.
Hawley is not the only Senate Republican to shine light on some of the apparent security failures at the Trump rally.
Local law-enforcement entities and Secret Service experienced a communication breakdown at the Trump campaign rally, according to a preliminary report on the incident from Senator Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) based on discussions with law-enforcement sources.
Johnson released the preliminary report on Sunday describing convoluted communications channels between local law enforcement and Secret Service, one of many failures leading up to Crooks’s attempt on Trump’s life.
“Individuals with local law enforcement told Senator Johnson’s office that communications between different entities providing security at the rally were siloed. For example, local SWAT and sniper teams operated on separate radio channels from patrol,” the report reads.
“According to these individuals, communications had to be routed to Butler ESU command, who would then relay information to either Secret Service or other local law enforcement patrols. It is unclear why communications were set up this way and whether the lack of direct communications between local law enforcement and Secret Service hindered any response time or decision-making.”
Moments before Crooks opened fire, a local police officer who had been alerted to the gunman’s presence by rally attendees, tried to gain access to the rooftop, only to turn around when Crooks turned and raised his rifle.
Representative Maxwell Frost (D., Fla.) raised the communications issue to Cheatle during her testimony and she deferred to the Secret Service’s ongoing investigation.
“We take what local law enforcement relays to us seriously,” Cheatle said. “We are looking at whether or not there was a communication breakdown. If that was the case, we will take steps to ensure that we correct that, because to your point, we cannot have a communication breakdown.”
Johnson’s report states that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) sought images of Crooks’s dead body to conduct facial recognition. A local bomb technician and a man wearing a grey suit went onto the roof after the attack and local law enforcement believed the man to be a Secret Service agent. The bomb technician requested photos of Crooks be sent to a phone number belonging to a Philadelphia ATF outpost.
Cheatle had no awareness of the man wearing a grey suit and did not believe ATF agents were present at the Trump rally, she told Representative Lauren Boebert (R., Colo.).
It’s unclear how the Secret Service gained access to the rooftop after a counter-sniper killed Crooks and it remains unclear whether the ATF did end up conducting facial recognition on Crooks. National Review has reached out to the ATF for comment.
In addition, Johnson’s report alleges the Secret Service did not attend a security briefing for SWAT and sniper teams ahead of the Trump rally, but Cheatle said it was her understanding that Secret Service was present.
Cheatle estimated the Secret Service was notified about Crooks’s presence 2-5 times before he carried out the attack, but did not give a specific timeline of events from he was identified. Johnson’s report contains a specific breakdown of when he was identified and flagged to Secret Service, including details about the pictures taken of Crooks beforehand.
Facing widespread criticism, Cheatle’s lack of transparency and refusal to comment on specific law enforcement failures drew bipartisan condemnation and calls for her resignation. She stepped down from her post Tuesday morning.