Acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe said on Friday that numerous communication defects between his department and local law enforcement were to blame for the security lapses that led to the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump.
"It is plainly obvious to me that we were not, we did not have access to certain information not by anybody’s fault … there might have been radio traffic that we missed," Rowe said during a press conference. "What happened before the assailant opened fire? There were clearly radio transmissions that may have happened on that local radio net that we did not have."
The missed "radio traffic" was responsible for the 30-second break in the timeline where local officials knew of the armed shooter on the roof and the Secret Service finding out about the threat. Local law enforcement communicated through their radio about the gunman while federal agents were unintentionally kept in the dark.
Friday’s press conference comes as the Secret Service and FBI continue to investigate the attempted assassination of Trump that led to the death of one rally attendee. Former Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle resigned in disgrace after lawmakers grilled her during a House hearing last month, admitting the security breach was "the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades."
Rowe also confirmed that the Secret Service did not have a drone on sight at the July 13 rally and that his agency denied an offer from a local agency "to fly a drone on that day." He continued to explain that the Secret Service is now reconsidering its approach to unmanned aerial systems to improve its security protocols, saying, "We should have had better line of sight on some of those high ground concerns."
Rowe told reporters that the Secret Service counter-snipers did not have radio communications with local law enforcement that day. Rowe now says everyone should be using the radio net so that all Secret Service members have direct connections with local officials. It was the first time Secret Service snipers were deployed to support Trump’s detail.
Local Pennsylvania officials also said there was poor communication between their agencies and the Secret Service and that, although they accept some responsibility, the Secret Service was "ultimately responsible" for the security lapses at the event.
Rowe acknowledged the Butler, Pa., rally was a "Secret Service failure" and that the agency was "not trying to shift blame" onto local law enforcement.
"The sole responsibility of our agency is to make sure our protectees are never put in danger. We fell short of that in Butler," Rowe added. "I am working to make sure that this failure does not happen again."