Homeland Security inspector general investigates Secret Service handling of security at Trump rally
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general says it has launched an investigation into the U.S. Secret Service’s handling of security for former President Donald Trump on the day he met with U.S. President Donald Trump. a gunman tried to kill him at a meeting in Pennsylvania.
In a brief statement on the inspector general’s website, the agency said the purpose of the investigation is to “evaluate the U.S. Secret Service’s process for securing former President Trump’s campaign event on July 13, 2024.”
No date was given for when the investigation would begin. The notice was one of several ongoing cases the inspector general’s office is investigating.
President Joe Biden had already ordered an independent investigation into security at the meeting.
The shooting has raised questions about how the shooter was able to climb onto a roof, allowing him to see the former president, who was wounded.
The 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to get within 157 yards of the podium where the former Republican president was speaking when he opened fire. That’s despite a threat to Trump’s life from Iran, leading to additional security measures for the former president in the days leading up to Saturday’s meeting.
A bloodied Trump was quickly escorted from the stage by Secret Service agents and agency snipers killed the shooter. Trump said the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting. One rallygoer was killed and two others were seriously injured.
Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle said the agency understands the importance of the review ordered by Biden and will participate fully in it, as well as with the congressional committees investigating the shooting. She said the agency was working to understand how Saturday’s shooting happened and to ensure it never happens again.
The agency employs approximately 7,800 people and is responsible for protecting presidents, vice presidents, their families, former presidents, their spouses and their minor children under the age of 16, and certain other senior Cabinet officials, such as the Secretary of Homeland Security.