A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report details significant security lapses by the U.S. Secret Service during the first assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at a Butler, Pennsylvania rally one year ago.<\/p>\n
Commissioned by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the report found that the Secret Service had received classified intelligence about a threat to Trump\u2019s life ten days before the event but failed to distribute it to other relevant agencies. It also highlighted a series of procedural and planning errors\u2014such as misallocated resources, insufficient training, and widespread communication breakdowns\u2014that nearly enabled the attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne year ago, a series of bad decisions and bureaucratic handicaps led to one of the most shocking moments in political history,\u201d Grassley said in a statement obtained by Fox News. \u201cThe Secret Service\u2019s failure on July 13 was the culmination of years of mismanagement and came after the Biden administration denied requests for enhanced security to protect President Trump. Americans should be grateful that President Trump survived that day and was ultimately reelected to restore common sense to our country.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2014whose campaign had requested enhanced security measures that the Biden administration declined\u2014was grazed in the right ear while speaking to the crowd. Secret Service agents immediately converged on him, but he famously rose to his feet during the evacuation, raised his fist, and urged the stunned audience to \u201cFight, fight, fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cory Comperatore, a rallygoer who shielded his family, was killed, and two others were wounded. The 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Crooks, was killed by counter-snipers as he crouched on a nearby rooftop.<\/p>\n