(NewsNation) — The U.S. Secret Service has placed several members of its Pittsburgh field office on administrative leave in the wake of the July 13 shooting at a rally for former President Donald Trump, according to multiple reports.
Three unnamed “sources in the Secret Service community” told RealClear Politics that members of the Pittsburgh office are on leave, while agents who were part of Trump’s permanent security detail remain on the job.
At least five U.S. Secret Service officials involved in planning the rally are now on leave, ABC reported, citing two unnamed sources. The officials are still working but in a different capacity that does not include security planning, according to ABC.
CBS also reported the agents’ leave, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.
“This is not all that surprising,” former Secret Service agent Donald Lane told NewsNation. “I would have expected this at some point during an ongoing investigation. … It’s not uncommon to put folks on leave while you delve through various issues with those individuals.”
U.S. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi did not confirm the details of the administrative actions to NewsNation but provided the following statement:
“The U.S. Secret Service is committed to investigating the decisions and actions of personnel related to the event in Butler, Pennsylvania and the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The U.S. Secret Service’s mission assurance review is progressing, and we are examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure. The U.S. Secret Service holds our personnel to the highest professional standards, and any identified and substantiated violations of policy will be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility for potential disciplinary action. Given this is a personnel matter, we are not in a position to comment further.”
The agency has faced scrutiny since a gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. Trump suffered a graze wound to his ear. One rally attendee died and at least two others were seriously injured. A Secret Service countersniper shot and killed the gunman.
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned about a week after the shooting amid calls for her step down. She testified publicly in front of the House Oversight Committee in July and said the agency “failed.” She went on to take full responsibility for any security lapse the day of the shooting.
In her stead, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appointed 23-year Secret Service veteran Deputy Director Ronald Rowe as acting director.
Rowe has criticized local authorities for a communications breakdown between agencies tasked with protecting the former president.
They were the ones assigned to cover the building where the gunman was stationed, a U.S. Secret Service source told NewsNation. The source said it’s standard for local police to handle areas outside the perimeter of an event because they know them better. The shooter was set up on a building some 130 yards away from Trump’s stage.
However, Pat Young, the chief of detectives for Beaver County who was tasked with securing the area around Trump’s rally, said his personnel had no communication with the federal authorities that day.
Young said his team spotted the shooter roughly an hour before the gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop. After sending it up the chain of command, any decisions beyond that point were up to the Secret Service, he said.
“Somehow, that we should have had a line of sight on not only the crowd but the area to the side of the building where the shooter was eventually located is kind of ridiculous,” Young told NewsNation. “The ability to redeploy to another area is also kind of this ridiculous notion that’s out there that somehow our guys, despite guidance from Secret Service, could somehow relocate to a better vantage point is almost laughable in some regards.”
