A source familiar with the situation confirmed to Scripps News that several Secret Service agents, including the special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office, have been placed on administrative leave in the wake of the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
Trump, who was wounded in his right ear in the attack, was addressing supporters when a gunman fired several rounds at him from a nearby rooftop.
The incident has placed intense scrutiny on the agency as questions have emerged on how a gunman was able to access the rooftop so close to the rally and get a direct shot at the former president before getting fatally wounded by Secret Service agents.
Kimberly Cheatle told Congress one day before resigning as Secret Service director that the incident was the Secret Service's "most significant operational failure" in decades.
"The U.S. Secret Service is committed to investigating the decisions and actions of personnel related to the event in Butler, Pennsylvania and the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump," said Anthony Guglielmi, U.S. Secret Service chief of communications. "The U.S. Secret Service’s mission assurance review is progressing, and we are examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure. The U.S. Secret Service holds our personnel to the highest professional standards, and any identified and substantiated violations of policy will be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility for potential disciplinary action."
The Department of Homeland Security said that it would conduct an independent 45-day review of the July 13 incident that left Trump wounded. One Trump supporter was also killed by the gunman, and two others were wounded. That review could be concluded in the coming weeks.
