When asked if the multiple failures of the Secret Service on the day of former President Donald Trump’s assassination attempt could be chalked up to mere incompetence, former United States Secret Service Special Agent Dan Bongino said that “layered incompetence always means intent.”
“The key question is whether this was your run-of-the-mill incompetence” or whether this was “something darker and more devious,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said in the forum at The Heritage Foundation.
The forum was led by Reps. Cory Mills, R-Fla., and Eli Crane, R-Ariz., on Aug. 26 as part of their independent investigation. Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Chip Roy, R-Texas, joined Crane and Mills. The witnesses, Dan Bongino (former United States Secret Service special agent), Erik Prince (former United States Navy SEAL officer), and Ben Shaffer (Washington Regional SWAT operator), answered questions concerning the recent assassination attempt of Donald Trump.
Ben Shaffer revealed that the Secret Service not only failed to meet basic protective measures but turned down several resources offered to them.
“The form of communications would have been some type of encrypted law enforcement-style radio,” said Shaffer. He explained how the Secret Service was offered radios to relay information between the on-site officers and the command center that they turned down, choosing to use cell phones instead. According to Ben Shaffer, there is also normally an officer who is physically present to make quick decisions so there is no delay or risk of technical difficulties, but this was not the case
