EXCLUSIVE — The government watchdog probing the Secret Service’s handling of the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump was requested Monday to expand the scope of its investigations.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) asked that the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General broaden its investigations to include allegations that requests from the Trump campaign for additional assets were denied by the Secret Service, how the agency assigns duties and responsibilities for protective details, and agency attrition within the past four years.
In a written request from Marshall to DHS IG Joseph Cuffari that was obtained by the Washington Examiner, the first-term senator said his endeavor was prompted by a lack of transparency from the Secret Service, including “unsatisfactory nonanswers” during recent congressional testimonies.
“USSS protection procedures are not transparent to the American people, even following two recent Congressional hearings during which my colleagues and I posed probing questions to the USSS Director and Acting Director, only to receive unsatisfactory nonanswers,” Marshall, who sits on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, wrote.
The inspector general’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The IG’s office is already examining several aspects of the attempted assassination carried out by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was shot and killed by Secret Service countersnipers seconds after shooting Trump and several Pennsylvania rallygoers on July 13. Those aspects include the agency’s process for securing the campaign event, the preparedness of the Counter Sniper Team to respond to such threats, and whether the planning and implementation were adequate enough to ensure the safety and security of designated protectees.
It’s unclear whether the DHS IG is already looking into the components requested by Marshall as part of its work.
At least five Secret Service agents were put on administrative leave last month, including the head of the Pittsburgh field office that worked security for the Pennsylvania rally with local police, three others from the same office, and a member of Trump’s detail.
“Nearly two months after an assassination attempt that left President Trump within centimeters of his life, there are still no answers or accountability for the Secret Service’s failures that day,” Marshall said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “Instead, they have stonewalled our inquiries, and to our knowledge, no one has been fired for top-down mistakes made. This is unacceptable from an agency once respected as one of the nation’s top law enforcement bureaus — they’ve lost the public’s trust.”
2024 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE LIVE UPDATES: TRUMP AND HARRIS FACE OFF IN ABC SHOWDOWN
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned less than two weeks following the shooting due to intense pressure and fury from lawmakers over a lack of transparency.
Some senators have told the Washington Examiner they want future agency directors to be confirmed by the Senate, which is currently not required and is a position that serves at the sole discretion of the president.
