The agency had one job—and failed.
President Joe Biden has now promised a full accounting of how a 20-year-old man was nearly able to assassinate former President Donald Trump. This will be an “independent review”—as it must be, since the United States Secret Service cannot possibly judge itself. Congressional hearings will also occur. Both forms of inquiry will require a serious account of all that transpired, or didn’t. The agency had one job—to protect a major political figure from physical harm—and failed.
Five questions must guide these reviews:
Why was the gunman’s position outside the security perimeter?
The building used by the shooter seems awfully close to Trump’s podium, and a would-be assassin’s line of sight from the roof was surprisingly clear. Security perimeters are typically established for crowd containment; if you are inside the perimeter, you will be subject to additional scrutiny, including as was the case Saturday, for weapon detection. Threats outside the security perimeter exist. Somehow a gunman with an AR-style weapon was able to get within 150 yards of the protectee. Investigators and the American public need to understand the qualifications of the agent who picked that site’s perimeter, including whether he or she was a local Secret Service agent out of Pittsburgh or a member of the presidential detail. (Local agents know the terrain better; members of the presidential detail have far more practice.
