Top 4 moments from Senate hearing with FBI, Secret Service over Trump assassination attempt
'You should revise your protocols'
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rowe also got into a heated exchange when Hawley grilled him regarding why no one had been relieved of duty after the critical lapses in security that allowed Trump to be shot.
Hawley, who said the FBI told him to leave when he visited the scene in Butler, Pennsylvania, days after the shooting, asked specifically why a countersniper was not positioned on the roof where Crooks was able to fire his rifle with a clear line of sight to Trump.
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Hawley also asked for the identity of the lead agent who made the call to leave the roof unguarded, and why that person had yet to be fired. He also wanted to know why those who allowed Trump to take the stage and remain there despite a known security situation had also not been relieved of duty.
Sen. Josh Hawley's went straight for Acting Director Ronald Howe's canned, pre-scripted answers that have never been good enough.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 30, 2024
Here's the full exchange. Watch.
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Rowe demurred in response, noting the ongoing nature of the investigation and his reluctance to "make a rush to judgment about somebody failing," which he said might lead to people being "unfairly persecuted."
"Unfairly persecuted? People are dead!" Hawley said as the two shouted over each other at one point.
Hawley later added that despite Rowe's talk of agency protocols, he does not "really care that much" about protocols if they allow a former president to be shot, an innocent American killed and others critically wounded.
"If that isn't a protocol violation, prima facie, you should revise your protocols," he added.
Rowe also denied a whistleblower's report to Hawley that he was personally involved in denying resources to Trump's detail, though he acknowledged that he had heard reports that law enforcement were supposed to be stationed on the roof, but abandoned the post to move inside "because it was too hot."
"I just want to express my frustration, director, that 17 days — or whatever it's been — that whistleblowers are telling us more than you are," Hawley said. "And you don't know, you haven't ascertained if there was supposed to be law enforcement on the roof. That seems like a pretty basic fact."
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
