Senate Report on 1st Trump Assassination Attempt Sheds Light on Secret Service Failures

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Newsbites

• Stat of the week: Global energy consumption over time.

  

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• Suicide Pod: The first known case of a suicide pod being used in Switzerland led to the arrests of multiple people. A UK company named Sarco makes the product, which is a 3D-printed pod that resembles a space capsule. According to the company’s website, the product was designed to “produce a rapid decrease in oxygen level, while maintaining a low CO2 level, (the conditions for a peaceful, even euphoric death).” Using the Sarco pod does not require access to drugs or medical intervention, and can be self-operated. Unlike most other European countries, assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, although it is closely regulated. Police were tipped off by a law firm about the incident, and found the body of the woman and the pod at a forest hut in a remote area bordering Germany. Several people were arrested on charges of inciting and abetting the suicide.

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• Boeing Cash Problems: The labor strike by over 30,000 Boeing manufacturing employees continues as the company and its labor union are stuck in negotiations. After union members rejected Boeing’s initial offer and went on strike on Sep. 13, the plane maker countered with its “best and final offer” that would raise wages 30% over four years, among other benefits. Amid the strike, production of the 737 jet has been fully halted. Union negotiations are just one of many problems facing Boeing, which is under multiple investigations for its manufacturing processes and safety of its planes. The company recently announced a hiring freeze, temporary furloughs, and a pause on non-essential travel to save cash.
  
  More: Before the strike began, Boeing was burning more than $1B of cash/month and risks having its credit downgraded to junk status. Boeing is the only U.S. manufacturer of large commercial jets.

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• Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested in New York on September 16 after a grand jury indicted him on charges of racketeering conspiracy and federal sex trafficking, dating to at least 2008. Combs, also known as P. Diddy, has been one of the most influential hip hop producers for decades. Since November 2023, he has faced a wave of lawsuits from women and others claiming he abused and trafficked them. The investigation is ongoing, and a trial date has not been set. More victims are expected to come forward. The charges were filed in the Southern District of New York, by US Attorney Damian Williams. A federal judge denied Combs’ bail, which was set at $50M.

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• Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah are engaged in an escalating conflict, as a series of Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon killed hundreds of people this week. Israel said the strikes targeted Hezbollah military infrastructure. In response, Hezbollah has launched missile attacks into northern Israel, as well as a single missile at the Mossad’s headquarters in Tel Aviv; that strike was intercepted by Israel’s air defense system. Despite calls for a ceasefire, Israel has said it will continue to pursue its goal of pushing back Hezbollah from its northern border, from which about 70,000 Israelis have been displaced since the start of the Gaza War. Around 100,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced since Monday, when Israel stepped up its attacks.
  
  More: A turning point in the conflict between the two countries happened on September 17-18 when hundreds of pagers and walkie talkies used by Hezbollah exploded, leading to dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries. The devices are presumed to have been planted by Israel’s intelligence operations.

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Senate Report on 1st Trump Assassination Attempt Sheds Light on Secret Service Failures

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs released a preliminary report detailing the failures of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) to protect Donald Trump during the July 13 rally in Butler, PA. The investigation remains ongoing, with the Committee noting that “Federal departments and agencies including DOJ and DHS have failed to provide complete responses.”

• Read the Executive Summary and Full Report (a timeline of events, including text messages exchanged between Secret Service agents and local law enforcement, can be read on pages 74-84). 

Key findings from the report include: 

1. Secret Service executives had “credible intelligence” of a threat before the rally but failed to communicate it: About a week before the rally, the USSS decided to assign a counter sniper team to the rally because they had received “credible intelligence” of a threat. However, the Secret Service agents at the Pittsburgh office assigned to the event said they had not been made aware of the threat beforehand.

2. Siloed communication between USSS and local law enforcement: “There were two separate communications centers at the July 13 rally – one run by USSS and one by local law enforcement…and the primary means of communication between the posts was by cell phone, not radio.” Some Secret Service agents were offered radios from local law enforcement, but did not take them. Thus, communication was not shared between the two groups in real time. This detail was important because roughly 20 seconds before the gunman fired, a local officer relayed a radio alert that the individual on the roof of the building was armed. However, this was not relayed to key Secret Service agents with whom the Committee spoke. Further, the communications that happened on local law enforcement radio channels were recorded, but Secret Service radio transmissions were not recorded. Secret Service officials told the Committee that radio transmissions “are often recorded at protective events, but that the recording capability was not available at the rally.”

3. Technical problems with equipment: The Secret Service’s Counter Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS), which is designed to detect and block drones flying over an airspace, experienced technical problems and was inoperable until 4:33PM, after the shooter flew his drone near the rally site. There was no C-UAS backup system, as “requests for additional C-UAS equipment and longer drone flight restrictions were denied.” Further, the “agent responsible for overseeing the C-UAS capabilities at the July 13 rally called a toll-free 888 tech support hotline “to start troubleshooting with the company,” which took several hours. That agent had only three months of experience working with that equipment and lacked knowledge about it.” The agent got a call back from the tech support hotline shortly after 4PM letting him know the solution for the problem. The shooter had started flying his drone around 3:51PM, and finished at 4:02PM. Multiple USSS agents also reported problems with their radios malfunctioning during the event.

4. Refusal to provide additional security: “USSS denied specific requests [from Trump’s security detail] for additional Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) capabilities and a Counter Assault Team liaison” that would have enhanced the security presence at the event. “The requests were denied, at times without explanation.”

5. Inaction to get Trump off stage: Moments before shots were fired, a Secret Service counter sniper spotted local law enforcement running toward the building with their guns drawn, but did not alert Trump’s bodyguards to take him off stage. The counter sniper “told the Committee that while seeing officers with their guns drawn “elevated” the threat level, the thought to notify someone to get Trump off the stage “did not cross [his] mind.””

6. Failure to define responsibilities and accept blame: Secret Service agents “denied that they were individually responsible for planning or security failures and deflected blame,” telling the Committee that “planning and security decisions were made jointly, with no specific individual responsible for approval.”

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Suspect in 2nd Trump Assassination Attempt Left a Hand-Written Note to the World

Ryan Routh, the suspect that has been charged with intending to assassinate Donald Trump while he was golfing on Sept. 15, left a hand-written note months before attempt. The note, which was addressed “Dear World,” said: 

“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you…It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job. Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a US president.”

Routh had put the note in a box, along with ammunition and other tools, and left the box at someone’s house months beforehand. Prosecutors said the individual that received it hadn’t opened the box and discovered the letter until after the assassination attempt. The Department of Justice released the hand-written note this week, a decision some people have criticized as an unnecessary publicization of Routh’s call for someone else to “complete the job.”

Routh indicted
A grand jury indicted 58-year-old Ryan Routh this week for attempting to assassinate former Donald Trump, a charge which could carry a life sentence in prison if convicted. In connection with the incident, Routh was also accused of illegally possessing a firearm.

Background of what happened
On Sunday September 15, Donald Trump was golfing at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. A US Secret Service (USSS) agent was doing a perimeter check when he noticed the half-hidden face of a man in the brush behind the fence line with a rifle barrel poking out. Upon seeing the barrel, the USSS agent fired shots. The suspect, Ryan Routh, promptly fled in his Nissan Xterra and was later apprehended on the interstate by authorities.

While Routh never fired a shot, he was about 300 yards away from where Trump was golfing, and had been stationed there waiting for about 12 hours.