How many times since July 13 have you wondered why the would-be assassin of former President Trump had a drone but not the Secret Service? Perhaps that’s why Ronald Rowe, the Acting Secret Service director, testified at Tuesday’s hearing of the joint Senate committee that the attack was a result of the Secret Service’s lack of imagination.
The real answer is not a matter of imagination. In Realville, all the answers given to the question as to why the Secret Service did not fly a drone above the site were wrong.
The person who is responsible for overseeing security at the Butler, Pa. rally, but whose identity has been concealed, stated that they did not approve the use of a riot shield.
To coin a phrase, the decision to not have someone buy one at Costco or Walmart is a failure in imagination. In the days before the attempted assassination, no one had come up with this idea.
Even if the Secret Service had a drone, it would have been impossible to operate one due to poor connectivity. This is because so many people were using their cell phones on the site. There was no way to guarantee that the Secret Service could run the drone and its communications on a site outside the Beltway. It seems like this is also a failure in imagination.
The worst of all bad and incorrect answers to why the Secret Service did not have overwatch by drone was this: local law enforcement offered to run drones for the feds, but the Secret Service – ahem – turned it down.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee held a joint hearing on Tuesday.
Josh Hawley (Republican from Realville) of Missouri, who was speaking with Rowe at the time, delved into the subject.
Hawley: Did you know that someone was supposed to be posted on the roof of the ARG Building? […] Did someone get posted on the roof?
Rowe: That is not a fact.
Hawley: Could I ask why you don’t understand that?
Rowe: Senator, again, we’re looking into this. They should have been up on the roof, and I still don’t understand why they were inside the building.
Hawley: Whistleblowers tell us more than you do, and you still haven’t confirmed if law enforcement was supposed to be on the roof. This seems like a very obvious fact.
It is either a case of utter stupidity by the Secret Service or a deliberate attempt to confuse Senators such as Lindsey Graham (“Do You Need More Money? “).
The drone question is now raised.
Hawley: Also, I was told that local law-enforcement suppliers offered Secret Service drones but you refused them. That’s true, right?
Rowe: Senator, first, I have been transparent and forthcoming.
Hawley: The agency hasn’t been transparent or forthcoming. Please, don’t go there.
Rowe: Sir, I have been forthcoming.
Hawley: It remains to be determined. You’ve only been on the job for a few short days. You haven’t fired anyone yet. The drones. Did you get drones as a gift?
Rowe: On that particular day, there was a proposal to fly a UAV.
Hawley: Why did you deny it?
Rowe: Again, I believe the local law enforcement’s ability to provide an asset is something we should have embraced… if they offered it.
If it was offered. Former Obama and Biden appointees just can’t admit a fact he has already admitted.
It’s not clear why the Secret Service rejected it, but based on its results, wasn’t it the worst answer of all?
