An independent Department of Homeland Security review of the Secret Service following the July assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump found that the agency needs systematic changes to prevent further such incidents. File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI |
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Oct. 18 (UPI) -- An independent panel investigating the Secret Service in connection with the July assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump issued a scathing 35-page report on Thursday calling for systemic changes at the agency and new leadership.
The attempt in Butler, Pa., injured Trump and left two people in the audience during one of the former president's rallies dead. The report brought on by the Department of Homeland Security said the Secret Service is not performing at the "elite level" it needs to, given its mission to protect the country's top leaders, including the president.
The panel said that while the Secret Service's rank and file have performed with "bravery, selflessness, and willingness to serve," changes must be made immediately.
"The Secret Service as an agency requires fundamental reform to carry out its mission," the mission said in its report to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. "Without that reform, the Independent Panel believes another Butler can and will happen again."
The report said the Secret Service has become "bureaucratic, complacent and static even though risks have multiplied, and technology has evolved."
The independent panel consisted of former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, former Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip, ex-Maryland State Police Superintendent David Mitchell, and Fran Townsend, a former deputy National Security Advisor.
The panel urged that the Secret Service rebuild its leadership with people from outside the agency because it currently suffers from insular culture issues that lack wider perspectives. The report faulted Secret Service brass for failing to lead in security planning and executing that plan in Butler.
The report cited six failures at Trump's July 13 rally, ranging from not securing the building Thomas Matthew Crooks fired from despite its proximity and line of sight to the stage, communication issues, and that no one confronted the shooter even though he was spotted 90 minutes before the rally.
Mayorkas said the DHS will take action based on the panel's recommendations.
"These actions will be responsive not only to the security failures that led to the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt but, importantly, to what the Independent Review Panel describes as systemic and fundamental issues that underlie those failures," he said.
