The new acting director of the Secret Service was on the hot seat during an appearance before a joint session of the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees on Tuesday, testifying that he had never personally denied former President Donald Trump extra security for his outdoor rallies but that he would hold “accountable” all agents assigned to Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally on July 13.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe spoke to the two Senate committees to discuss the recent assassination attempt on Trump, a shooting that in addition to nearly killing the former president, claimed the life of former fire chief Corey Comperatore and critically wounded two others.
‘So, it is a room that makes the decision?’
In anticipation of Rowe’s testimony, RealClearPolitics issued a shocking report on Tuesday morning that claimed Rowe was “directly involved” in Secret Service decisions to deny the Trump campaign’s repeated requests for “more magnetometers, additional agents, and other resources to help screen rallygoers.” Such added security requests were denied over the course of two years, RCP claimed, citing “several sources familiar with the decision-making” at the Secret Service agency.
The report from RCP further alleged that Rowe had sole authority to decide whether “to deny counter sniper teams to any Trump event outside of driving distance from D.C.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) mentioned the RCP report during a heated exchange with the acting director.
“RealClearPolitics reports this morning that you were directly involved in denying additional security resources and personnel, including counter-snipers, not just to this event, but over the last two years, that President Trump’s team repeatedly asked for these additional resources, and you personally were involved in denying them,” Hawley stated. “Is that true?”
“Senator, as I stated earlier, that is not true,” Rowe replied.
When Hawley asked again whether Rowe was involved in denying the Trump campaign more security, Rowe continued to deny the allegations: “Uh no, not me. No, sir.”
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) likewise pressed Rowe on who made the call to deny Trump added security, prompting a strange response from the acting Secret Service director.
“You’ve stated that on multiple occasions, President Trump’s team was denied more the detail, more assets,” Marshall said. “Who denies that? Who’s the person that denies that, generally speaking?”
Rowe answered: “So, Senator, there, uh, there’s a process, uh, again, there’s a conversation had with the detail.”
Rather than name names, Rowe kept referring to a “process,” a “conversation,” and even a nebulous group called “the war room,” making Marshall so exasperated about all the seeming obfuscation that he eventually quipped, “So, it is a room that makes the decision?”
Rowe’s refusal to identify the personnel responsible for making decisions regarding security at Trump rallies also seemed to contradict his opening statement, during which he pledged to hold “accountable” any of his employees who “violated agency protocols.”
In fact, Sen. Hawley managed to get Rowe to admit that not a single agent affiliated with securing the July 13 rally had yet been fired. “I will tell you, Senator, that I will not rush to judgment,” Rowe stubbornly insisted, “that people will be held accountable, and I will do so with integrity and not rush to judgment and put people unfairly persecuted.”
“I have been forthcoming, sir,” Rowe later added.
“That remains to be seen,” Hawley shot back. “You’ve been on the job a few days so far. You fired nobody.”
Rowe became acting director of the Secret Service after former Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned last week.
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Assassination attempt, Trump shooting, Ronald rowe, Josh hawley, Roger marshall, Politics
