People Will Be 'Appalled' by Report on Secret Service

The attempted assassination of former President Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania followed serious missteps by the Secret Service—problems that "remain unaddressed," according to a preliminary report released Wednesday by the bipartisan Senate Homeland Security Committee and its Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. "The American people are going to be appalled and astonished by what's in this report, the accumulation of gross incompetence that puts the president in danger," Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the subcommittee chair, said Tuesday, per CNN. More:

• Failures: The report describes "multiple foreseeable and preventable planning and operational failures," per Fox News. Agents failed to sweep the building from which the shooter fired and did not set up visual barriers. There were also "unclear roles and responsibilities, insufficient coordination with state and local law enforcement, the lack of effective communications, and inoperable C-UAS [Counter Unmanned Aircraft System] systems."

• No clear chain of command: The agents in charge of planning the event couldn't agree on who was responsible for decision-making or ensuring communication flowed smoothly between the Secret Service and local law enforcement, per the report.
• Deflecting blame: In post-shooting interviews, they "denied that they were individually responsible for planning or security failures and deflected blame," the committee said of the officials tasked with planning for the event, per Fox. "It was almost like an Abbott and Costello farce, with 'who's on first?' finger pointing by all of the different actors," said Blumenthal.
• Planning: The report notes law enforcement had only two "official" meetings ahead of the rally and that these were "informal." No surveillance team was requested, though one was assigned to First Lady Jill Biden's nearby event that same day for some 410 people; Trump's rally saw 15,000 in attendance, per CNN.

• Drone mishap: An agent had difficulty operating a Counter Unmanned Aircraft System even after calling a tech support hotline for help, per NBC News. By the time the agent finally got the device working, a drone operated by Trump's attempted assassin had already left the sky.
• Denied requests: The Secret Service rejected requests for additional assets from Trump's detail, including unmanned assets and "counter-assault team liaisons to coordinate tactical teams," per NBC.
• Sniper team: Though a counter sniper unit was deployed, it "failed to pick up local radio alerts about a potential shooter," CNN reports. The team leader said snipers saw police officers running toward a building "with their hands on their pistols," but didn't know what was happening. One sniper said he never thought to notify someone to get Trump off the stage, per Fox.
• Changes needed: "There's so many human errors," Republican Sen. Rand Paul said of the report, calling for changes in Secret Service leadership, per CNN. Blumenthal likewise called for "a house cleaning in procedure, practices and personnel" in response to what he called "a perfect storm of stunning failure," per CNN and NBC.

(More Secret Service stories.)