Trump Assassination Attempt: New Report Raises More Questions Than Answers
Secret Service Security Failures Led to Near-Fatal Trump Assassination Attempt, New Reports Reveal
Multiple investigations find "preventable" security lapses allowed gunman clear shot at former president
WASHINGTON — One year after a 20-year-old gunman came within inches of killing then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, multiple damning reports reveal a cascade of Secret Service failures that nearly resulted in a successful assassination.
Key Security Failures Exposed
A comprehensive Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released July 12, 2025, reveals that Secret Service officials received classified intelligence about a threat to Trump's life ten days before the July 13, 2024 rally but failed to share this critical information with local law enforcement or Trump's protective detail.
"Once those officials reviewed the intelligence, they could have then requested that personnel within their chain of command be briefed on the specific information," the GAO report states. Instead, the information remained siloed within high-level Secret Service leadership, leaving federal and local law enforcement entities "unaware of the active threat."
Local law enforcement officials told GAO investigators they would have requested additional security assets for the Butler rally had they been informed of the threat.
The Attack That Changed Everything
On July 13, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired eight shots from an AR-15-style rifle while perched on a nearby rooftop during Trump's campaign rally. The attack killed 50-year-old firefighter Corey Comperatore and critically injured two other attendees. Trump was grazed by a bullet that struck his upper right ear.
Crooks was killed by Secret Service counter-snipers 12 seconds after he began firing. Investigators later found bomb-making materials in his vehicle and at his residence, along with a remote detonator on his body.
Critical Security Lapses
The GAO's year-long investigation identified multiple systemic failures:
Inexperienced Personnel: The Secret Service agent responsible for identifying site vulnerabilities was new to her role, with the Butler event being "her first time planning and securing a large outdoor event as the site agent."
Resource Denial: Secret Service officials initially denied Trump's protective division's request for enhanced counter-unmanned aerial surveillance equipment, claiming resources "had already been allocated for the Republican and Democratic National Conventions."
Communication Breakdown: Four law enforcement agencies operated on different radio frequencies during the event. Local agencies and Pennsylvania State Police could not communicate directly with each other.
No Unified Command: There was no unified command post in the security room, and state and local law enforcement officials testified they didn't recall being invited to join the Secret Service's security room.
Life-Saving Last-Minute Decision
Perhaps most alarmingly, Trump "would likely not have received the counter sniper assets that ultimately took out [Crooks]" had senior officials not made a last-minute, "inconsistent" decision to approve counter-sniper teams for the rally, according to the GAO report.
Congressional Investigation Findings
A bipartisan House task force that conducted 46 interviews and reviewed nearly 20,000 pages of documents concluded in its December 2024 final report that the assassination attempt was "preventable and should not have happened."
The 180-page House report identified "significant failures in the planning, execution, and leadership of the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners" and made 37 actionable recommendations for preventing future security failures.
Systemic Failures, Limited Accountability
Despite the severity of the security failures and clear evidence of systemic breakdowns at multiple levels, accountability has been strikingly limited. Only six Secret Service agents received suspensions without pay, ranging from 10 to 42 days. No one has been fired.
The disparity between the scale of the failures and the consequences is stark. High-level officials who received classified threat intelligence but failed to share it with the Trump protective detail or local law enforcement have faced no apparent disciplinary action. The agent responsible for site vulnerability assessment—despite being inexperienced for such a critical assignment—has not been publicly identified as facing consequences.
"Not a single person has been fired," the Senate Homeland Security Committee report emphasizes. "The Committee believes more than six individuals should have received disciplinary action as a result of their action (or inaction) on July 13, 2024."
The majority of those disciplined were reportedly from the Pittsburgh field office, leading some within the Secret Service to believe the office was scapegoated while higher-level leadership escaped accountability. The GAO report reveals decision-making failures that went well beyond local implementation, including the withholding of critical threat intelligence and resource allocation decisions that nearly proved fatal.
Congressional investigators have expressed frustration with what they see as insufficient consequences for failures that brought the nation within inches of losing a presidential candidate. The limited disciplinary action raises questions about whether the underlying culture and decision-making processes that enabled the security breakdown have truly been addressed.
Ongoing Investigation
The FBI continues to investigate the shooting as both an assassination attempt and potential domestic terrorism. Investigators found that Crooks had searched online for information about Trump, President Biden, and other public figures, including researching "how far was Oswald from Kennedy" in reference to President John F. Kennedy's assassination.
Despite extensive investigation, Crooks' motive remains unknown. Reports suggest he experienced a "descent into madness" in the months before the attack, with his father telling investigators he had observed his son talking to himself and displaying concerning behavior.
Reforms Implemented
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe has announced various reforms in response to the assassination attempt, including enhanced technical assets, expanded staffing, improved retention efforts, and the appointment of a "chief wellness officer" to support mental health.
However, some current and former Secret Service officials told CNN they believe "the Secret Service is in a worse position now than they were before Butler" regarding preparedness for another assassination attempt.
Second Attempt Prevented
The House task force praised the Secret Service's response to a second assassination attempt against Trump on September 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida, crediting it for demonstrating "how properly executed protective measures can foil an attempted assassination."
Political Implications
The assassination attempt occurred just two days before the Republican National Convention and briefly appeared to reshape the 2024 presidential race. Trump ultimately won the election in November 2024 and was inaugurated as the 47th president on January 20, 2025.
"One year ago, a series of bad decisions and bureaucratic handicaps led to one of the most shocking moments in political history," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who requested the GAO investigation.
The multiple investigations underscore how close the United States came to experiencing its first successful presidential assassination since President Kennedy's death in 1963, and raise serious questions about the Secret Service's ability to protect the nation's highest-ranking officials in an increasingly dangerous political environment.
Sources
- Government Accountability Office. "Report on Secret Service Security Failures at Butler, Pennsylvania Rally." July 12, 2025. https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/gao_usss_report_released_by_chairman_grassley.pdf
- U.S. House of Representatives Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump. "Final Report of Findings and Recommendations." December 10, 2024. https://taskforce.house.gov/
- U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. "Report on Trump Assassination Attempt." July 13, 2025.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Butler Investigation Updates." https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/butler-investigation-updates
- Fox News. "Critical security lapses by Secret Service exposed in new report on Trump assassination attempt." July 12, 2025. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/critical-security-lapses-secret-service-exposed-new-report-trump-assassination-attempt
- NBC News. "New Senate report on Trump assassination attempt calls for more severe disciplinary action." July 13, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/new-senate-report-trump-assassination-attempt-calls-severe-disciplinar-rcna218501
- CNN. "How the near assassination of Trump led to a search for accountability in the Secret Service." July 12, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/12/politics/secret-service-trump-assassination-attempt
- CBS News. "House task force holds final hearing on Trump assassination attempts." December 5, 2024. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-assassination-attempts-hearing-house-task-force/
- Department of Homeland Security. "Statement from Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas on the Independent Review Panel Report." October 17, 2024. https://www.dhs.gov/archive/news/2024/10/17/statement-secretary-alejandro-n-mayorkas-independent-review-panel-report-july-13
- FBI. "FBI Statement on Incident in Butler, Pennsylvania." July 16, 2024. https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-statement-on-incident-in-butler-pennsylvania
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