The attorney for the victims of the Trump assassination attempt has reacted to the Secret Service agents being placed on administrative leave.
Pittsburgh Secret Service agents' thoughts on the situation are of interest to Pennsylvania victims and their attorney.
The attorney representing the two victims of the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump stated that they are "pleased to see some accountability" after U.S. Secret Service agents were placed on administrative leave following the shooting that resulted in one fatality.
At the rally, James Copenhaver, 74, and David Dutch, 57, were critically injured after being shot twice.
Joseph Feldman, an attorney at the Law Offices of Max C. Feldman, LLC, stated in a response to Fox's previous reporting that at least five USSS agents were placed on administrative leave, "We're happy to see some accountability. I think this is a step in the right direction for the federal government."
Feldman stated that he and his clients are unaware of the opinions of the agents in the Pittsburgh office regarding the situation.
Four members of the Secret Service's Pittsburgh Field Office, including the special agent in charge, and one member of Trump's personal protective team have been placed on administrative leave. They are still employed but are teleworking and are no longer allowed in the field. They are unable to perform any investigative work.
"Feldman pointed out that the blanket of statements coming directly from the top may not be as accurate as those coming from the officers and Secret Service agents involved in the incident. He suggested that the agents may have known what was going on that day and may have reported it, but the information may not have reached the top."
Through an internal Homeland Security investigation or an external congressional investigation, more information about the incident will be revealed. Additionally, a potential lawsuit could compel government officials to disclose more details to the public about what happened.
Anthony Guglielmi, the USSS chief of communications, stated that the U.S. Secret Service's mission assurance review is ongoing and we are examining the processes, procedures, and factors that led to the operational failure.
"Our personnel are held to the highest professional standards by the U.S. Secret Service, and any violations of policy will be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility for potential disciplinary action. As this is a personnel matter, we cannot provide further comment."
The task force of the House wants to hear from informants and whistleblowers to determine how the 20-year-old thief managed to climb the HVAC equipment and piping to reach the roof of the AGR building and hide there until he started shooting at 6:11 p.m.
During a July press call, the FBI stated that the suspect who entered the area of the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds, where Trump's campaign rally took place, had a DPMS AR-15-style gun with a collapsible stock.
On July 7, three days after the Trump campaign announced the Butler rally on July 3, Crooks traveled to the rally site and spent approximately 20 minutes in the area, according to the FBI. That same day, he researched how far Lee Harvey Oswald was from President Kennedy when Oswald assassinated him in 1963.
In 2023, a crook began taking shooting lessons and made 25 online gun-related purchases using an alias in the spring. His father legally purchased the AR-15-style rifle that the crook used at the rally and legally transferred it to him.
According to attendees at the rally, people were pointing to a person on the AGR roof before gunfire began. A video shared exclusively with Planet Chronicle Digital from Copenhaver's perspective at the rally shows a figure that appears to be Crooks clearly walking across the roof of the AGR building just three minutes before he began shooting.
"What is the job of snipers who are adjacent to people in an open field, with people yelling that someone is getting on a roof, and you don't see them until they pop off their first round?"
"Secret Service isn't there to listen to Donald Trump's speech or his stats on immigration." — Joseph Feldman
The FBI and Congress confirmed that authorities first spotted a suspicious person near the rally site an hour before the shooting began. Local law enforcement notified command about the suspicious person and received confirmation that the Secret Service was aware of his presence.
WATCH: ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT VICTIM'S POV
Trump spoke an hour after being noticed by law enforcement, despite the unclear manner in which Crooks evaded security.
Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old husband and father of two girls who served as a fire chief for the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department, was killed by Crooks 11 minutes later after he fired multiple rounds.
The FBI is investigating Crooks' motive for the assassination attempt and whether he had any accomplices, despite the agency stating that there is no evidence of others being involved.
Planet Chronicle' David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
us
You might also like
- Governor says Kentucky judge was shot and killed in his chambers.
- On a hot day, Texas law enforcement discovered 16 undocumented individuals concealed within a trailer's "false wall," prompting the arrest of the driver.
- The Kentucky couple who discovered the remains of the alleged interstate shooter claims they became 'bounty hunters'.
- A hiker in Yellowstone was airlifted to the hospital with severe burns after straying from the designated trail near Old Faithful.
- Two Massachusetts corrections officers were stabbed by inmates, prompting the union to claim that they are effectively running the asylum.