The embattled director will face withering, and justified, criticism over the agency's handling of Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, which resulted in the near-assassination of the former president, the murder of one rally-goer, and serious injuries to two more individuals.
Breaking news continues to expose multiple security lapses while raising more questions by the hour.
Crooks was killed by a Secret Service sniper but not before firing off several shots including one that grazed Trump's ear.
At this point, it is unclear whether Democrats will join their GOP colleagues in denouncing the agency, but they should since what happened on July 13 represents a systemwide failure that poses an immediate threat to all Secret Service protectees including Joe Biden.
Her claims that the agency provided "Additional security enhancements [to] former President Trump's detail in June" appear to contradict whistleblowers' disclosures made to Senator Josh Hawley, which indicate officials from the DHS' Homeland Security Investigations unit and not seasoned Secret Service agents represented the majority of Trump's detail on July 13.
Why was the president allowed to take the stage even after law enforcement flagged the suspicious behavior of Thomas Crooks at least 30 minutes before Trump began to speak? There is a holding area for all protectees; why didn't the Secret Service keep the president in the holding area until the grounds were declared safe and the suspicious individual detained?
Why didn't the Secret Service utilize air cover for the event? There was no substantive aerial surveillance, which should be standard operating procedure.
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