Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. held his first press conference yesterday, August 2, to answer media questions regarding the July 13 attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Rowe took over the office after Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in disgrace. In many ways, Rowe’s presentation mirrored what was said when he and Deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate testified about the event before a Senate committee last week. This appearance before the media, however, was filled with self-recriminations and open apologies.
”This was a failure. We should have had better protection for the protectee, better coverage on that roof line, at least some other set of eyes from the Secret Service point of view of covering that building which was very close to that outer perimeter.”
Rowe began his presentation by absolving the Butler, PA, police force of any wrongdoing and taking full responsibility for the shooting, implying the buck stops with the Secret Service. In the line of fire stands the Pittsburgh field office, which is facing enormous heat for the planning phase of the event. It somehow missed the obvious perch on the building's roof, a prime location that allowed 20-year-old Thomas Crooks to take several shots at Trump, killing one rally attendee and critically injuring two others. Rowe confirmed that local law enforcement had communicated that there was a man on the roof of the building with a gun, but astonishingly, that message did not reach the Secret Service.
Secret Service Mea Culpa
Rowe also had to face questions regarding a whistleblower’s letter to Congress that he “personally directed cuts to the counter surveillance division, which led to the threat assessments team failing to perform its duties.” Rowe categorically denied the allegation.
Regarding the failure in communications, Jeff James, retired USSS Special Agent in Charge, speculated on Fox News that there were problems with the bandwidth because of the rally's location, which was set in a rural area. James also pitched out the possibility that putting everyone on the same channel could have posed problems due to the sheer number of law enforcement people who would have been stepping on top of each other, trying to talk on one channel.
Still, no one has been held accountable for the multiple failures that occurred on July 13. Jeff James offered that it might be better to put some Secret Service personnel on administrative leave until the investigation is complete.
In the meantime, the acting Secret Service director maintained that several changes have already been made, including rethinking where their command post is located:
“And as I mentioned in that conversation with our special agents in charge in the field, I've directed them, Hey, we need to rethink where we put our security room. If the large majority of our partners are in a unified command post or in a different location, we need to probably be there, too. And so we have to rethink where we put our security rooms and we are in fact doing that now, moving forward.”
The lack of public disclosures, like yesterday's press conference, has invited speculation and boosted multiple conspiracy theories. Clearly, the Secret Service is still reeling from its mission failure on July 13. Standing in front of the media, willing to take the heat, is a good start for Rowe. Still, he will have to continue his dialogue with members of the press and the American public if he wants to rescue his agency from further accusations of incompetence.
