Recommendations in wake of Trump Butler rally shooting fall short
THE U.S. HOUSE of Representatives’ bipartisan Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump has released recommendations in a 180-page report. The task force, chaired by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Butler, was authorized in the aftermath of the July 13 shooting at Trump’s political rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds. The incident ended in Trump being wounded in the ear by a bullet. Buffalo Township firefighter Corey Comperatore was attending the rally. He was fatally struck by gunfire. Moon Township resident James Copenhaver and Plum resident David Dutch also were hospitalized with serious injuries. The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park was shot and killed by Secret Service snipers. The task force’s report, delivered Tuesday, addresses 25 “specific recommendations” and 11 that are more general. The specific recommendations could not be more general. “Consolidate all operations plans” is the first suggestion. It summarizes the fact that, while the Secret Service has the “ultimate responsibility for securing the site for every protectee visit,” on July 13, the agency failed to get copies of the plans for all of the various agencies involved. “Consider coverage inside and outside secured perimeter” is the second note, followed by “document all line of sight vulnerabilities.” These are of note because Crooks had a line of sight with his weapon from the roof of a building just outside the perimeter. The remaining recommendations are likewise a list of obvious holes in the protective net that should have been thrown over the event. There was no written policy for asset and resource approval. There was no counter-surveillance unit, which might have identified Crooks earlier. Relevant intelligence was not shared appropriately — not only with local and state law enforcement but also within the different personnel within the Secret Service. The report divides the problems neatly. There were failures in planning, failures in execution and failures in leadership. They were all contrasted just as neatly with a mere three-page assessment of the assassination attempt in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15. In that incident, no one was hurt. The would-be shooter was spotted while Trump was golfing about 1:30 p.m. The suspect fled but was apprehended by 2:14 p.m. There were recommendations for improvement, such as increasing use of K9 units. The report mentions “missteps” in Florida. It never uses the word “failure.” The report does not give some information that the public has been awaiting. It does not deliver an answer to perhaps the most key question about the Butler shooting: Why did Crooks do what he did? Why were four people shot? Why did Comperatore die?
