Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) spoke to Breitbart News about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and how the Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation “owe the American people answers’ regarding what happened at the Trump rally.
Blackburn spoke about how Senators had a call with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and FBI Director Christopher Wray, and how there were still a bunch of unanswered questions in response to how 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to get onto a nearby roof with a direct line of sight to Trump.
“What I think is just so despicable, you have an assassination attempt, and even today, we have just had a call for senators with the Secret Service director and the FBI director. We still don’t know, how could they lose track of an individual with a backpack and a range finder,” Blackburn said. “How could they lose track of this person? How do they still not know how he got onto the roof?”
Blackburn added another question people want to know is “why” it took “two days for the Secret Service to start” revealing anything.
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C-SPAN“People want answers on this,” Blackburn continued. “People are upset about this. And, that Secret Service director should have been made to give answers on Saturday night, not waiting a day, or two days or three days.”
The Tennessee senator added that the Secret Service and FBI directors “owe not only senators” but the “American people answers on this.”
“Somebody tried to assassinate Donald Trump on Saturday, and we are grateful and we know that it was God’s hand that protected him and we deserve answers,” Blackburn added. “The American people deserve answers.”
While Blackburn did not reveal the details of what was discussed on the call, in a post on X, she wrote that she was “appalled to learn that the Secret Service” had knowledge of a “threat prior” to the former president taking the stage at his rally.
“I have no confidence in the leadership of Director Cheatle and believe it is in the best interest of our nation if she steps down from her position,” Blackburn wrote.
I just got off a briefing with the Secret Service and FBI. I am appalled to learn that the Secret Service knew about a threat prior to President Trump walking on stage.
I have no confidence in the leadership of Director Cheatle and believe it is in the best interest of our…
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) July 17, 2024
As Breitbart News has reported, there were various security failings that occurred that day, where several law enforcement officers reportedly saw Crooks and called him in as being a security threat. Two Butler Township police officers reportedly went up a ladder after Crooks, but retreated after they saw he had a gun.
Several rallygoers and law enforcement officers have also been reported to have alerted about Crooks. One officer reportedly “issued warnings to command” and saw Crooks using a range finder to calculate the distance between where Trump would be speaking from and where he was.
In an interview with ABC News, Cheatle explained that there had been no Secret Service agents on the roof that Crooks had been on because the building had “a sloped roof” and there was a “safety factor.”
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