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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said during a Tuesday interview that some federal agents assigned to protect President Donald Trump only received two hours of online training.
The Missouri senator shared the shocking details during a conversation on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Prime Time” on Tuesday.
“Think about this: This former president of the US…is sent out on stage, most of the people there are not trained, they’re not qualified. They only got a webinar training and even that didn’t work,” Hawley told Watters.
The interview follows a letter Hawley sent to Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe last month to express concerns about the investigation into the assassination attempt against Trump that killed one man and injured two others. The shooter also grazed Trump’s ear during the shooting.
Hawley’s letter arose following reports of whistleblower allegations that claimed several agents were under-prepared to serve at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally in July.
“[O]fficials at Secret Service headquarters encouraged agents in charge of the trip not to request any additional security assets in its formal manpower request—effectively denying these assets through informal means,” Hawley wrote on Aug. 23.
“These new allegations suggest that CSD personnel, counter-sniper teams, and other critical security assets were not included in the manpower request for the Butler trip because Secret Service officials told the requesting agents that they would be denied. […] Yet you have repeatedly suggested that no security assets had been denied for the Butler event. You must explain this apparent contradiction immediately,” he continued.
Hawley’s press statement also revealed that as a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, he has been actively investigating the attempted assassination of Trump. He has conducted a personal inspection of the Butler site and has brought several whistleblower claims to light.
These claims include reports of inadequate security at the Trump rally, abandoned posts on the roof where the shooter was positioned and reduced security measures attributed to decisions made by Acting Director Rowe. Hawley has called for the suspension of the lead site agent responsible for the event.
The senator has also called for any additional whistleblowers to submit testimony to his office.