Whistleblower: Acting Secret Service Director Rowe Personally Slashed Trump's Protective Detail

 

From Ace:

Just days after Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe denied playing a direct role in rejecting repeated requests for added security measures and assets for former President Trump, whistleblowers have come forward refuting those claims and blaming Rowe for some of the agency's security failures that led to the July 13 assassination attempt that nearly killed Trump and left rallygoer Corey Comperatore dead and two others wounded.

Other whistleblowers are coming forward citing more systemic problems with the Secret Service, the vaunted agency whose primary job is to protect presidents, vice presidents and former presidents and their families.

Those deep-seated long-term problems include nepotism and other non-merit-based favoritism, lowering standards and cutting corners in hiring -- including failure to pass polygraph tests and accepting past hard drug use, retaliation for voicing security and other concerns, as well as uneven disciplinary action.

Sen. Josh Hawley on Thursday sent a letter to Rowe citing "disturbing information" from at least one whistleblower citing Secret Service planning failures for the Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign event "and your own involvement."

Hawley said he had received detailed information that Rowe personally directed "significant cuts" to the Countersurveillance Division, a department that performs threat assessment evaluations of event sites before the events occur and did not perform its typical evaluation of the Butler site and was not present that day.

"This is significant because CSD's duties include evaluating potential security threats outside the security perimeter," Hawley wrote, adding that a CSD's threat assessment likely would have provided more measures to protect the rooftop of the American Glass Research building where shooter Thomas Crooks perched and opened fire on Trump and the crowd.

"The whistleblower claims that if personnel from the CSD had been present at the rally, the gunman would have been handcuffed in the parking lot after being spotted with a rangefinder," Hawley continued. "You acknowledged in your Senate testimony that the American Glass Research complex should have been included in the security perimeter for the Butler event."

The unnamed whistleblower further alleged that Rowe personally directed significant cuts to the CSD, including reducing the division's manpower by 20%, Hawley asserted. "You did not mention this in your Senate testimony when asked directly to explain manpower reductions."     

Rowe specifically denied being involved in any decisions that rejected requests for added security for Trump over the course of two years, and disputed accusations that he was involved in decision-making limiting the assignment of counter sniper teams to any event not in driving distance to D.C. RealClearPolitics reported on those two accusations earlier this week, citing sources within the Secret Service community.

Whistleblowers also accused Secret Service leaders and managers of retaliating against individuals who expressed concerns about the security of Trump's events.

It Was a Set-Up: Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Caught in Another Lie, Was Personally Responsible for Cuts in Security Division Responsible for Threat Assessments (VIDEO)