The Wall Street Journal has released an exclusive report wherein audio captured in police bodycam footage indicated that a cop warned the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) that the warehouse where the would-be assassin of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump positioned himself to fire at the former POTUS should be guarded.
Had the USSS followed his advice days ahead of the Pennsylvania rally, the shooting could have been avoided, and a man would still be alive. But because they didn't, Thomas Matthew Crooks, the reported assassin, was able to fire eight shots from an AR-style assault rifle.
"I f**ing told them that they needed to post guys f**ing over here…I told them that f**ing Tuesday," said a Butler Township officer as captured on his body-worn camera. "I talked to the Secret Service guys. They're like, 'Yeah, no problem. We're going to post guys over here.'"
According to federal law-enforcement officials, the USSS thought local law-enforcement officers, including snipers from the Butler County Emergency Services Unit, were supposed to secure the building from which Crooks fired. But a local official involved in the event planning previously said the tactical team's heads told the USSS during the walk-through that its snipers would be inside the building on its second floor because of the extreme temperature outside. Also, the sloped roof would have obscured some of the snipers' vantage points, he said.
In one of the videos, a cop said that there was a suspicious individual who had been lost by authorities. The unidentified officer referred to "a gentleman with a flat face that we were looking for earlier. He was creeping people out."
"He was watching people out in the woods by the water tower. I'm not sure he is the gentleman down or not," the officer can be heard saying. Around 10 minutes after the shooting, another officer says "I thought you guys were on the roof. I thought it was you. I thought it was you." Someone else was heard saying, "No."
"What the fuck! Why were we not on the roof? Why weren't we?" the officer replies. (Related: Hit job cover-up? Secret Service had NO RADIOS operating with local police the day of Trump assassination attempt.)
Butler Township Police Department Lt. Matthew Pearson did not release the officers' identities as he claimed to be investigating which they are a part of. "Butler Township Police are cooperating with an internal Secret Service investigation so we cannot comment at this time," Pearson said.
Meanwhile, acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe admitted during a recent press conference that "we should have had more of a presence" at the building, which fell just outside the secure perimeter agents set up for the rally.
He admitted that this was a USSS failure, acknowledging the local cop's warning that that roofline should have been covered. "We should have had better eyes on that," he said.
Grassley demands USSS to explain Butler police's claim exposed in the newly released footage
In a letter addressed to Rowe, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Ia), demanded the Secret Service to explain what the Butler police officer is claiming related to his early warning to secure the warehouse roof prior to the Pennsylvania Republican rally. USSS disregarded the advice of caution from the local law enforcer.
Grassley is also demanding that the agency address Rowe's assertions at a recent Senate hearing about the line-of-sight local counter-snipers had on the day. Rowe, during the Senate testimony, provided an image containing a yellow marker depicting where Crooks was positioned and indicated that the counter-snipers had a clear view of him. However, Grassley said that local police disputed the angle of the picture, stating "The picture you [Rowe] provided neither accurately depicts their line of sight and coverage area from their position in the building nor their physical placement within the building."
The senator also called on Rowe to "describe in detail the 'Tuesday meeting' that occurred with [the] Secret Service? If so, did you review it in advance of your testimony?" he added. He also asked for the list of all local, state and federal personnel present at that meeting and to provide all records and precisely answer whether the statement from the Butler Township officer is an accurate representation of events.
According to Grassley, as of Aug. 9, Beaver County Emergency Services claimed that the Secret Service had not met with them to discuss the events of July 13.
"This type of meeting should be standard, even more so before you are sworn in and provide testimony to Congress," the letter read. "Unfortunately, this further points to the communications issues that are in part to blame for that day, that seemingly continue to plague the Secret Service."
The senator also wrote a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about Asif Merchant, a Pakistani man with ties to the Iranian government. Merchant is alleged to have sought to assassinate Trump, a case that was investigated weeks before the July 13 rally.
The suspect was arrested on July 12 while preparing to leave the U.S., authorities said, after Merchant allegedly tried to hire undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents as assassins.
Grassley is asking Mayorkas for the foreigner's immigration records, including where he was granted significant public benefit parole before or after being placed on the terrorist watchlist.
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