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Gunfire Reported Overnight Near White House

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The Secret Service launched an investigation after shots rang out near the White House late Saturday night while President Donald Trump was inside the executive mansion for the Easter weekend.

Officers rushed to the area surrounding Lafayette Park just after midnight on Sunday following reports of gunfire, the Secret Service said in a statement obtained by CBS News. A sweep of the park and nearby streets turned up no suspect, and no one was injured, the agency said. Investigators are now hunting for a vehicle and a person of interest while coordinating with U.S. Park Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

Trump was at the White House overnight per his official schedule, WTOP reported. The agency’s chief of communications, Anthony Guglielmi, said in an X post that security around the executive mansion had been reinforced, but day-to-day operations continued without interruption. Several blocks in Northwest D.C. were temporarily sealed off, including portions of H Street, I Street, and 16th Street, according to WTOP. Those restrictions were lifted before 8:30 a.m.

(Read more from “Gunfire Reported Overnight Near White House” HERE)

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Numerous Secret Service Agents Suspended for Conduct During Trump Assassination Attempt

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By Breitbart. As many as six U.S. Secret Service agents have been suspended for conduct during the assassination attempt on President Trump.

A U.S. Secret Service official confirmed the suspensions to ABC News, noting that they came just four days shy of the one-year anniversary on July 13. On that fateful day, the bullet fired by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks grazed the president’s ear. Firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed in the attack, while others were injured.

Following the shooting, an independent review by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) determined that the U.S. Secret Service made mistakes that left the president vulnerable to assassination[.] (Read more from “Numerous Secret Service Agents Suspended for Conduct During Trump Assassination Attempt” HERE)
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Americans need full answers on the Secret Service’s Trump assassination-attempt failures

By NY Post Editorial Board. The timeline of what went wrong that day is damning: Crooks, armed with a rifle, was somehow able to get onto the roof of the the AGR building just 400 feet from the stage from where Trump would speak — a building the Secret Service had already identified as a security concern, yet somehow failed to secure.

Nearly 30 minutes before the shooting, local cops raised alarms that a suspicious man with a rangefinder was spotted hanging around the building. And two minutes before, the Secret Service Security Room was told that someone was on the roof.

Yet with all of that information, agents failed to act in time to stop Comperatore from being killed and Trump from very nearly being killed.

This was no run-of-the-mill ball-dropping by one or two agents, but deadly incompetence on every level. . .

Getting to the facts is no impossible task; it starts with grilling each and every agent on duty that day, and the chain of command above them about each of their decisions: Give the public a complete accounting of who left the security team so undermanned; exactly how communications failed so badly; why information about a clear threat didn’t bring the appropriate response. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Secret Service Whistleblower Said Biden Would ‘Get Lost in His Closet’ at the White House: Sen. Josh Hawley

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A Secret Service whistleblower claims that former President Joe Biden was so out of it at the White House that he would “get lost in his closet,” Sen. Josh Hawley revealed Friday.

The stunning level of disorientation is an example of why the Democratic cover-up of Biden’s mental decline is one of the biggest scandals in presidential history, Hawley argued.

“This Secret Service whistleblower actually was assigned to Biden,” the Missouri Republican told Fox News host Sean Hannity.

“He told me that Biden used to get lost in his closet in the mornings at the White House,” Hawley claimed, noting that he spoke to numerous Secret Service agents while investigating the assassination attempts against President Trump.

“I mean, the guy literally stumbling around in the White House residence couldn’t find his way out of his own closet,” Hawley continued. “The president of the United States.

“This is outrageous. We were lied to.” (Read more from “Secret Service Whistleblower Said Biden Would ‘Get Lost in His Closet’ at the White House: Sen. Josh Hawley” HERE)

U.S. Secret Service Shoots Armed Man Near White House After Confrontation

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An adult male brandishing a firearm was shot by U.S. Secret Service officers near the White House in Washington, DC, shortly after midnight on Sunday.

The agency said the encounter happened near the intersection of 17th and F Streets NW.

NPR reports local police had earlier reported a “suicidal individual” possibly traveling to D.C. from Indiana, the agency added.

Secret Service personnel located the individual’s vehicle and spotted a person on foot who matched the description.

“As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm, and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel,” the Secret Service detailed in a statement shared on X by spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

The full statement by the Secret Service is below:

“On Sunday March 9th, an adult male was shot by U.S. Secret Service personnel following an armed confrontation with law enforcement in Washington DC.

Earlier on Saturday, local police shared information about a suicidal individual who may be traveling to Washington DC from Indiana. Around midnight, members of the Secret Service encountered the individual’s parked vehicle near 17th and F Streets, NW. They also saw an individual on foot matching the description nearby.

As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel.

The suspect was transported to an area hospital and his condition is unknown. There were no reported injuries to Secret Service personnel.

The incident is under investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department Internal Affairs Division’s Force Investigations Team, which investigates all law enforcement officer involved shootings in the District of Columbia.”

(Read more from “U.S. Secret Service Shoots Armed Man Near White House After Confrontation” HERE)

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John Bolton Stripped of Secret Service Detail After Being Stripped of Security Clearance

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Former National Security Adviser John Bolton was stripped of his Secret Service detail on the same day that President Donald Trump stripped him of his security clearance, according to several reports.

CNN reported that Bolton had confirmed that “within hours” of Trump taking office, the president terminated the Secret Service detail that had been assigned to Bolton.

Several sources also informed CBS News that the decision to terminate Bolton’s Secret Service detail had been made “in the past 24 hours.”

In a statement on X, Bolton expressed that he was “disappointed but not surprised that President Trump” had terminated his Secret Service detail. Bolton added that despite his “criticisms” of former President Joe Biden’s national security policies, Biden “made the decision to extend” Bolton’s Secret Service detail protection.

“I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has decided to terminate the protection previously provided by the United States Secret Service,” Bolton wrote. “Notwithstanding my criticisms of President Biden’s national-security policies, he nonetheless made the decision to extend that protection to me in 2021.”

(Read more from “John Bolton Stripped of Secret Service Detail After Being Stripped of Security Clearance” HERE)

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Ex-Secret Service Agent Warns He ‘Certainly Can See’ Trump Being Attacked Again Before Inauguration Day

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Former Secret Service agent Richard Staropoli warned Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump could soon face an attack that his former agency is unprepared to prevent.

The president-elect faced two assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential campaign, including one where a 20-year-old named Thomas Matthew Crooks got within rifle range of Trump by climbing to the top of a building near his rally. Starapoli, on “America Reports,” suggested Trump could face a threat “of a much bigger magnitude” than Crooks before he takes office in January.

“I’m not highly confident at all. The Secret Service that you see out there today is not the Secret Service of yesteryear. Somewhere along the line they’ve completely dropped the ball. That testimony that you saw today was purely a smokescreen to cover up the shortcomings of a politically compromised agency. It should never have gotten to that point,” Starapoli said. “This whole talk about all these drones and these UAVs, hey, that’s all great, but you need to get back to the basics. What made the Secret Service great was its ability to put human intelligence, manpower on the streets and effectively secure the environment to make it safe for the president of the United States. I don’t see that here.”

“As a matter of fact, I don’t think I’d be alone in saying that I certainly can see something happening between now and inauguration day,” he continued. “And it’s not going to be some 20-year-old kid on the roof of a building that’s allowed to get within 100 yards. It’s going to be something of a much bigger magnitude and I don’t think the Secret Service is anywhere equipped to handle that situation.” (Read more from “Ex-Secret Service Agent Warns He ‘Certainly Can See’ Trump Being Attacked Again Before Inauguration Day” HERE)

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Despite Skyrocketing Budget, Secret Service Can’t Seem To Find The Money To Protect The President

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The U.S. Secret Service’s budget has increased by nearly $1 billion since 2014, but only $200 million of that has gone to protective operations, according to the agency’s budget.

The agency, which is set to get an additional $231 million in funding from Speaker Mike Johnson’s government funding bill, appears to have funneled more resources into administrative personnel than into protective operations, according to budget documents.

The agency’s total approved budget for the fiscal year 2024 is just under $2.8 billion, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget document. Approximately $1.15 billion of that was allocated for “Protective Operations.”

That’s up from a $1.8 billion total budget in 2014, according to NBC News. Of that $1.8 billion, $924 million went to “Protection,” according to a 2014 DHS budget.

The relatively small increase in protection funds — less than $200 million — is dwarfed by the total budget increase, much of which has gone to line items like Professional Development, Professional Training Programs and “Human Capital Strategic Plan Growth,” which had a $42 million outlay in the Secret Service’s 2023 budget. (Read more from “Despite Skyrocketing Budget, Secret Service Can’t Seem To Find The Money To Protect The President” HERE)

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Trump Reportedly Forced to Cancel Events Leading Up to Assassination Attempt Due to Secret Service Shortcomings

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Former President Donald Trump’s campaign was forced to cancel several events and rallies leading up to the failed assassination attempt because the Secret Service had failed to properly secure the area, aides told The Washington Post.

In the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Trump, concerns about the Secret Service’s ability to protect the former president have come to light and eventually forced Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle to resign. The Trump campaign previously requested additional precautions but were denied “additional protection” including “more snipers, bomb-sniffing dogs, magnetometers and specialty teams” ahead of the assassination attempt because Secret Service officials said the resources weren’t available, aides told The Washington Post.

The Secret Service has stepped up protection so much since the assassination attempt that Trump aides have said it feels like the former president is in office again, sources told the outlet.

“We live in a military encampment again,” one source told The Washington Post of the increased security at events and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago.

Secret Service agents told the outlet that its manual for protecting former presidents doesn’t take into account his bid for reelection, his “unusually high profile and pace of public events.” (Read more from “Trump Reportedly Forced to Cancel Events Leading Up to Assassination Attempt Due to Secret Service Shortcomings” HERE)

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Secret Service Leaves Trump Vulnerable Once Again After Female Agent Abandons Post to Breastfeed: Report

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The U.S. Secret Service once again left former President Donald Trump vulnerable to attack after a female agent reportedly abandoned her post to breastfeed her child during a event in Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday.

Shortly before Trump’s motorcade was set to arrive in the area, the site agent in charge of overseeing all security for the event took one final sweep of the walking route, according to a report from Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics citing “three sources in the Secret Service community.”

During this last-minute security check, the site agent found a female Secret Service agent breastfeeding her child in a room reserved for “important Secret Service official work,” including a possible emergency involving the president, Crabtree said.

Secret Service agents on duty are prohibited from bringing their children to a protective assignment, Crabtree added.

Not only had the female agent apparently violated that restriction, but she was also accompanied by two members of her family who may have been unvetted. (Read more from “Secret Service Leaves Trump Vulnerable Once Again After Female Agent Abandons Post to Breastfeed: Report” HERE)

Insane: Secret Service Apologizes to Salon Owner Over Break-In, Bathroom Use During Kamala Harris Event

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By New York Post. . .The Secret Service apologized to a salon owner in Massachusetts who alleged that individuals broke into her business to use the bathroom during the agency’s security work for a nearby Veep Kamala Harris fundraiser.

Berkshires businesswoman Alicia Powers says someone picked the lock and broke into her store for the bathroom — after a Secret Service officer covered a camera outside her salon with tape.

The people who proceeded to use the bathroom included a pair in emergency medical uniforms, a person in camouflage law-enforcement gear and someone in a dark suit and white shirt similar to a Secret Service officer who guarded the door, Powers said, citing footage.

A Secret Service rep was adamant that agents would not break into buildings like that — but did not deny that an officer covered her camera with tape, an act that was captured by surveillance footage, and appeared to cop some sort of mea culpa in a statement.

“The Secret Service has since communicated with the affected business owner. We hold these relationships in the highest regard and our personnel would not enter, or instruct our partners to enter, a business without the owner’s permission,” Secret Service spokesperson Melissa McKenzie said. (Read more from “Secret Service Apologizes to Salon Owner Over Break-In, Bathroom Use During Kamala Harris Event” HERE)

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Reports: Secret Service Broke Into Salon, Used Bathroom During Harris Campaign Stop in Pittsfield

By Ross Cristantiello. When Vice President Kamala Harris stopped by Pittsfield last month for a campaign event, Secret Service agents reportedly taped over a security camera at a nearby salon and broke in to use a bathroom.

The incident surprised the salon’s owner, who told local news outlet iBerkshires that agents caused the business’s alarm to go off for hours and left a mess in their wake.

Four One Three Salon is situated very close to the Colonial Theatre, where Harris held her campaign event. Alicia Powers, the salon’s owner, said that security ramped up well before the event. The business was the subject of bomb sweeps, and she decided to keep it closed on the day of the Harris event, per iBerkshires.

That morning, Powers saw security footage of someone placing tape over an outside security camera. Later on, she saw through other cameras that the business was being used by Secret Service agents and EMS workers.

Powers had reportedly left her business locked, but the Secret Service were able to gain access anyway. (Read more from “Reports: Secret Service Broke Into Salon, Used Bathroom During Harris Campaign Stop in Pittsfield” HERE)

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