‘I Am Committed to Pursuing Accountability’: Acting Secret Service Director Vows Post-Trump Shooting
On Friday, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe held a press conference about the assassination attempt against former President Trump.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Afternoon, everyone.
00:13The assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump was a dark day for our country.
00:18I again extend my deepest sympathies to the family of Corey Comparatore and sincere wishes
00:25for a swift recovery for Mr. Copenhaver and Mr. Dutch.
00:30The Secret Service takes full responsibility for the tragic events of July 13th.
00:36This was a mission failure.
00:39The sole responsibility of our agency is to make sure our protectees are never put in
00:44danger.
00:46We fell short of that in Butler, and I'm working to make sure that this failure does not happen
00:52again.
00:53I'm focused on ensuring that the full resources of the Secret Service are utilized to safeguard
01:00our protectees, and I've implemented and will continue to implement changes to ensure that
01:05that happens.
01:08We are, and we will continue to cooperate with pending oversight investigations of the
01:12July 13th failure being done now by Congress, the Department of Homeland Security's Office
01:18of the Inspector General, and the independent review directed by President Biden.
01:24Additionally, the Secret Service's Office of Professional Responsibility is currently
01:30conducting a mission assurance review.
01:33As I stated, I am not waiting for the completion of those reports, and I've directed the Secret
01:40Service to take immediate steps to ensure our protectees are indeed safe.
01:46And I will summarize those steps in a moment.
01:49I am committed to pursuing accountability for the Secret Service's failure in Butler,
01:54Pennsylvania.
01:55But let me be clear.
01:57If policy violations by Secret Service personnel are identified by the agency's mission assurance
02:02review, those individuals will be held accountable.
02:07And they will be held accountable to our fair and thorough disciplinary process.
02:12The first part of that process is an investigation to identify whether policy violations occurred.
02:19Potential policy violations are referred to our Office of Integrity, and appropriate discipline
02:24is administered under our table of penalties.
02:28The facts will drive the outcomes of those investigations, and I promise accountability.
02:34And I will not rush to judgment nor ignore due process.
02:38Every single person within the Secret Service feels the weight of what happened.
02:43We are in an unprecedented threat environment and a high operational tempo during this presidential
02:49campaign.
02:51The men and women of the Secret Service are working incredibly hard and doing their jobs
02:56under difficult circumstances.
02:58They need to focus on their work, and they need to know that I have their backs.
03:03And that is my commitment to them.
03:06I want to thank our state and local partners.
03:09The Secret Service relies on local law enforcement for every protective event.
03:13Those valiant men and women work tirelessly protecting their communities.
03:18They know the people, places, and terrain that we operate in.
03:23We owe them our thanks, and simply put, we cannot do our jobs without them.
03:29And I know how important this relationship is.
03:32I spent four years in local law enforcement before joining the Secret Service.
03:37I know the long hours these men and women put in and the professionalism they bring
03:41to this partnership.
03:43And in that capacity, I was always proud to support the Secret Service's protective mission
03:48when called upon as a municipal police officer.
03:53In no way should any state or local agency supporting us in Butler on July 13th be held
03:59responsible for a Secret Service failure.
04:02Typically, the Secret Service refrains from commenting on ongoing investigations, but
04:08we know these are extraordinary circumstances.
04:11So please understand that the information provided today is based on what I know now
04:17to a degree of certainty.
04:19We will learn more as interviews are completed and further evidence is gathered and analyzed,
04:24and I will share more information as it becomes available.
04:28But I can say without a doubt that heroism was present that day.
04:33Secret Service agents rushed to the stage to shield the former president with their
04:37bodies within three seconds of bullets ringing out in an unflinching act of bravery.
04:44The Secret Service counter-sniper who neutralized the threat with a single shot undoubtedly
04:49saved countless lives.
04:52We're in a high operational tempo, and I need and I want our Secret Service workforce,
04:59the dedicated men and women of the Secret Service.
05:02I want to know and I want to make sure that they are uplifted so they can focus on carrying
05:07out the mission.
05:09They are worthy of trust and confidence, and they deserve your support.
05:14And let me take a moment to speak to the American people that are counting on us to do our job,
05:21to protect their ability to cast a vote for the candidate of their choice.
05:26The Secret Service's successes are largely unknown.
05:31You only know of our failures, and those have been documented, and all of them are undeniably
05:37dark days in our nation's history.
05:41But let me tell you about the dedicated patriots of the Secret Service.
05:45These public servants are the quiet professionals working in the background, day in and day
05:51out.
05:52They are standing the watch, providing a blanket of protection to the people that work in the
05:57White House, to the thousands of people who attend political rallies and nominating conventions,
06:04to the thousands of American citizens who line Pennsylvania Avenue every four years
06:08on inauguration day to see the new president and the new vice president.
06:13And they are out there right now doing this mission.
06:17They are focused, and they live their professional lives committed to the values of this agency
06:22– justice, duty, loyalty, courage, and honesty.
06:29This is who we are, and this is what we do, and we will earn back your trust.