First Lady Jill Biden was receiving four times the “post-presidency” Secret Service security that former President Donald Trump received on the day he was nearly assassinated, according to emails released by a whistleblower.
The Secret Service deployed 12 security guards to a dinner for the first lady at a Pittsburgh casino on July 13, but just three to a July 13 rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, where 20-year-old Thomas Crooks plotted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, according to emails obtained by Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and South Carolina Republican Rep. William Timmons. grill Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle decried the security inconsistencies in congressional testimony on Monday.
Asked by Timmons why the first lady had more permanent staff assigned to her than the former president, Cheatle said, “The number of personnel assigned to both events was comparable to the risk to both events.” (Related article: Secret Service gives conflicting explanations for security lapses ahead of assassination attempt on Trump)
The Secret Service typically has agents stationed at posts within the inner perimeter during events. according to According to Real Clear Politics, “poststanders” are dispatched from local Secret Service field offices and are responsible for security in a specific area.
“So you're saying a 400-person ballroom in a Pittsburgh casino, accessed perhaps through a heavily secured parking lot, is four times more dangerous than a rally of 20,000 people with a former president in a field?” Timmons countered.
Senator Grassley has requested a list of federal agents who were at Trump's rally on the day of the assassination attempt. The Secret Service team guarding Trump on July 13 included: Sniper With several agents on the rooftop overlooking the venue and near the president's stage Panic to cover him after gunfire rang out.
One of the emails shared by Senator Grassley, titled “203.080 First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to Pittsburgh, PA,” states, “The following 12 staff members have been selected for temporary assignment as advocates for First Lady Dr. Jill Biden in Pittsburgh, PA on July 13, 2024,” and lists the names of the staff members who have been assigned. The other email, titled “203.080 Candidate Donald Trump to Pittsburgh, PA,” states, “The following 3 staff members have been selected for temporary assignment as advocates for Candidate Donald Trump in Pittsburgh, PA on July 13, 2024.”
“We would welcome any additional information you can provide regarding these communications and the total number of federal employees who were present that day,” Grassley wrote.
The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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