Former Secret Service Agent Blasts Agency’s ‘Incompetence’

When asked if the multiple failures of the Secret Service on the day of former President Donald Trump’s assassination attempt could be chalked up to mere incompetence, former United States Secret Service Special Agent Dan Bongino said that “layered incompetence always means intent.” 

“The key question is whether this was your run-of-the-mill incompetence” or whether this was “something darker and more devious,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said in the forum at The Heritage Foundation.

The forum was led by Reps. Cory Mills, R-Fla., and Eli Crane, R-Ariz., on Aug. 26 as part of their independent investigation. Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Chip Roy, R-Texas, joined Crane and Mills. The witnesses, Dan Bongino (former United States Secret Service special agent), Erik Prince (former United States Navy SEAL officer), and Ben Shaffer (Washington Regional SWAT operator), answered questions concerning the recent assassination attempt of Donald Trump. 

Ben Shaffer revealed that the Secret Service not only failed to meet basic protective measures but turned down several resources offered to them.

“The form of communications would have been some type of encrypted law enforcement-style radio,” said Shaffer. He explained how the Secret Service was offered radios to relay information between the on-site officers and the command center that they turned down, choosing to use cell phones instead. According to Ben Shaffer, there is also normally an officer who is physically present to make quick decisions so there is no delay or risk of technical difficulties, but this was not the case on July 13.

Additionally, the Secret Service failed to accept a drone they were offered by local law enforcement, failed to show up to the morning briefing, made no effort to gain access to the roof that was utilized by the shooter, and made no effort to investigate the nearby water tower, another possible vulnerability. 

“Do you believe that you can just chalk up to mere incompetence that the Secret Service did not attend the 9:00 [briefing] meant for scheduling purposes?” Mills asked Bongino. Mills went on to ask the same question about an entire series of failures, noting that the Secret Service had serious communications problems, “that they identified Crooks about an hour ahead of time,” that Trump was not removed from the stage, “that the perimeter did not include” the building used by Crooks, that “there was no drone being flown and that the drone was turned down by the Secret Service.” “Was it just incompetence?” Mills asked repeatedly.

“If you had just ended with your first statement and said, ‘Well, we may have just screwed up the perimeter,’ you could maybe attribute it to ignorance. [But] layered incompetence always means intent,” Bongino responded. 

The former Secret Service special agent described his experience working in the Secret Service when the organization was not politically motivated: “When I was there, it was definitely not a political enterprise. … I never once, working for President Clinton, Bush, and Obama, had anyone even remotely implicate political motive for any decision whatsoever. However, from the commentary directed at some of the agents in charge of the Donald Trump detail … clearly it appears that, for the first time in American history, we have a Secret Service that is making decisions that may not be all political, but may have a political tinge to them.”

Due to the security failures of the Secret Service at Trump’s rally on July 13, any terrorist organization would have successfully achieved Trump’s assassination, according to Erik Prince. 

“Thank God that 20-year-old … aimed at a headshot at President Trump, because if he’d aimed center mass, President Trump would probably be dead. … A Hezbollah team, or ISIS, or you name the terrorist organization that actually knows what they’re doing, would have been successful that day,” said Prince.  

This was the first of a number of forums in the House Republicans’ independent investigation of the assassination attempt. “We need to get further transparency and accountability for the American people,” Mills said.