Like many of the readers of this blog, I’ve been focused intensely on the media coverage regarding the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life at an outdoor campaign event in Pennsylvania. You may have also noticed that some of the early media reports about the attack have turned out to be wrong, incomplete or re-examined in some way that makes the earlier reports out-of-date; sometimes almost as soon as they are reported. For example, quickly after it was reported that Trump was shot in the ear, it was quickly changed to a story that the injury was caused by “shrapnel” from a teleprompter that had exploded when a bullet hit it. Then after TV coverage of the podium site clearly showed that neither teleprompter had been damaged, it was changed back to the original story that Trump was injured by a bullet. It wasn’t shrapnel that killed a rally attendee and seriously injured two others. It was bullets which hit the attendees. It was a bullet that hit Trump.
Another example of conflicting reports. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign complained that they had asked for greater Secret Service protection but had been turned down by the Secret Service Director. The Secret Service Director’s office denied that was true and even said they had reinforced the Secret Service detail appointed to guard Trump. As events unfolded, it was clear that the Secret Service detail appointed to safeguard Trump at that Pennsylvania rally was dramatically understaffed. Many officers from local law enforcement agencies were assigned protective duties due to the shortage of Secret Service personnel. That fact seems solidly established. Let’s look more closely at the Secret Service Director’s assertion that Trump’s detail had been reinforced. It may be true without being relevant. The Secret Service has other duties besides protecting VIPs, such as investigating counterfeiting activities. The Secret Service may have assigned office agents usually stationed only at desks in the anti-counterfeiting office to help with Trump’s Secret Service detail even though they were not really trained in protective duties. That possible explanation is supported by the oft-shown video clip of a female Secret Service agent by Trump’s “escape” vehicle having to try about a half-dozen times to successfully holster her pistol. She seemed to have no firearms skills. Therefore, Trump’s protective detail may have been “reinforced”, but not with agents trained in protective duties.
There are conflicting reports that the Secret Service and/or law enforcement agencies had the would-be assassin identified as a threat 30 minutes, a day or even three days before the event. Which report is correct? I don’t know, but a through investigation needs to get the answers. It seems reliably reported that the shooter was confronted by a law enforcement officer who had climbed the ladder to the roof of the building from which the shooter fired at Trump. He was confronted by the shooter so the officer retreated. I am mystified by one clear fact: Since that officer could see someone lying in a prone position with a rifle only a short distance from the podium, why didn’t he fire a couple shots in the air when he retreated below the roof line? That would have drawn the immediate attention of every Secret Service agent at that event, including the counter-snipers. That would-be assassin could have been neutralized by counter-snipers before he began shooting at Trump. Also, it seems reliably reported that some Secret Service agents were aware of the threat minutes before Trump walked up to the podium. Excuse me, but isn’t there a rule in the Secret Service’s protocols that if a known or possible threat to the protectee is known to exist at the site that the protectee will not be allowed to go to the podium till that threat is dealt with?
Also, why was that roof where the shooter stationed himself unwatched by any agent or surveillance drone? I’ve seen conflicting reports that there were law enforcement agents inside that building (what good would they do there?) or that agents were in the building next to the shooter’s location. The Secret Service Director said there were no agents on the shooter’s roof because of a “sloped roof.” That lacks any credibility. That sloped roof had a very gentle slope and was barely sloped at all. The sloped roofs behind the podium where the counter-snipers were stationed were on a roof with much more slope than on the shooter’s roof. There needs to be a very thorough investigation with witnesses and government employees placed under oath and, hopefully, wired to a polygraph when they speak. This is one of the most important investigations that will ever be done in US history.
Did the shooter act alone or did he have help? Just today as I write this post, a cable TV network reported that the shooter had encrypted overseas accounts. That fact (if true) strongly indicates he had sophisticated outside help and backers in doing what he was doing. In a link below, I offer a video-clip you likely have not seen on TV. It is a video taken by someone who was inside the ER at the hospital where Trump was taken for treatment of his bullet wound to the ear.
These facts are obvious: (A) there was no active surveillance of or protection on the would-be assassin’s building from which he shot at Trump, (B) the shooter was on an unguarded roof at a distance from the podium where it was a fairly easy shot to kill a speaker standing at the podium, (C) there was a road behind the building which someone could take to get to the shooter’s building unobserved and that road was unprotected by any law enforcement or Secret Service agents, (D) a ladder was placed at the building so the shooter could climb to the roof unchallenged. Someone in the Secret Service’s protective detail “left the door wide open” for the shooter to get to a fairly easy shooting position to kill Donald Trump. This firing position was left wide open as the Secret Service advance teams reportedly did not include that roof within the security perimeter for the event even though it was an obvious point of attack for any assassin. Either there was gross incompetence by the Secret Service at several levels or they made a conscious decision to not guard or secure the shooter’s roof. I don’t see a third alternative. To close this point, all commentators have observed that the inner ring of Secret Service agents who put Trump inside a “body wall” to protect him from additional bullets did an admirable job.
The above are just a few of the main points that investigatory processes must probe deeply to find the truth.
The immediate effect is that Trump’s courage and fortitude was displayed to the world when he fist-pumped the air and shouted “fight, fight, fight” to show his supporters he was still alive. That electrified the audience and many millions of people who saw that on TV (I was watching it live as it happened). The image of Trump fist-pumping the air while bloody-faced and with a huge American flag behind him is now an iconic photograph in American history, and it has made Trump a mythic hero to millions of people. It resulted in a highly-motivated and unified GOP Convention in Milwaukee and many speakers attested a belief that Trump was Divinely-spared from an ultra-close brush with death (a belief I share). While the GOP is unified and intensely motivated to elect Trump in November, the Democrats are deeply divided and are so disorganized they don’t even know who their nominees will be. Will Biden stubbornly stay in the race even though he clearly is in no cognitive condition to govern? Will there be an open Democratic Convention? Remember, the party leaders don’t pick the nominees. The delegates will select the nominees, and almost all of them were appointed to those roles because of their unquestioning loyalty to Biden. Some surprises may emerge, but with the entire Democrat primary season perhaps rendered meaningless, there are likely to be a lot of hard feelings after the Democratic nominees are chosen.
I’ve deliberately included only one link–one which I think most readers have not seen. I’m not including additional links in my “initial comments” on this critically-important matter because I’m sure readers are well-aware of the reporting and how quickly the narrative is changing each day. I don’t want to include links which contain information or opinions which are later shown to be in error. I’m sure I will be blogging on this topic later as the story develops, and then I may add links which I can be assured contain only accurate information. I am basing my comments on the facts as they currently known.
We are witnessing history!
