A US Secret Service probe found communication gaps and a lack of diligence ahead of the July attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon, everyone.
00:05After reviewing the planning, event details, and coordination with partner agencies regarding
00:11the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13th, our mission assurance
00:16review is nearing its completion.
00:19As I've said, this was a failure on the part of the United States Secret Service.
00:25It's important that we hold ourselves accountable for the failures of July 13th, and that we
00:30use the lessons learned to make sure that we do not have another failure like this again.
00:35And as a result of these failures, what has become clear to me is we need a shift in paradigm
00:41in how we conduct our protective operations.
00:43The Secret Service did not give clear guidance or direction to our local law enforcement
00:49partners.
00:50There were communication deficiencies between law enforcement personnel at the site, while
00:55some members of the advance team were very diligent.
01:00There was complacency on the part of others that led to a breach of security protocols.
01:05With respect to accountability, the mission assurance review has identified deficiencies
01:10in the advance planning and its implementation by Secret Service personnel.
01:14These employees will be held accountable, and this agency has among the most robust
01:18table of penalties in the entirety of the federal government, and these penalties will
01:22be administered according to our disciplinary process.
01:25What occurred on Sunday demonstrates that the threat environment in which the Secret
01:28Service operates is tremendous and under constant threat, and we've been in this heightened
01:36and increasingly dynamic threat environment since July 13th.
01:41This increased operational tempo requires additional resources to not only account for
01:46costs being incurred today, but ensure that we have the tools, the technology, and personnel
01:52needed to meet these new requirements and execute our mission going forward.
01:57But in order to do this, we need additional personnel, technical assets, and equipment
02:02for the sustainment of immediate and future needs.
02:06Our personnel have been in a state of hyper-vigilance following July 13th.
02:10The way the Secret Service is structured, the President of the United States has the
02:14highest level of protection of any world leader, period, the end.
02:18The number of assets that the Secret Service provides and the Department of Defense provides
02:23is at the highest levels.
02:25Those same highest levels with respect to the Secret Service are being provided to the
02:29former President's detail.
02:31As I stated, I'm sure Congress wants to make sure that the Secret Service is strong.
02:36I don't know the intentions behind this piece of legislation, but what I'll just point back
02:42to, coming out of Butler, coming out of July 13th, we've been providing the highest levels
02:46of Secret Service protection to the former President.
02:50All right, thank you everyone.