Americans deserve a thorough federal investigation into the Secret Service security failures that led up to the shooting of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania last month, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax, Friday.
In an appearance on "The Chris Salcedo Show," Holt and retired Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer discussed whether the problems were the result of incompetence related to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies or something more sinister.
Shaffer said Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., attended a Trump rally in Virginia a few weeks before the July 13 assassination attempt, and at that event, "they had layers of overlapping and continuous security-controlled corridors for people to move, and nobody was allowed to wander around. So then, yeah, how is it that even with DEI in mind, they go from an efficient, well-organized, well-wired machine to like, Oh, did we forget to check that building? So, no, this goes beyond DEI."
At least five Secret Service agents have been placed on modified duty after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in July, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Friday.
"And don't be distracted by these five being laid off. They're trying to do the same thing with [former Secret Service Director Kim] Cheatle. Like they're trying to start sacrificing people. Don't be distracted."
Holt said there is more to the story, and there should be an investigation to discover what really happened.
He said before the Trump rally, Pennsylvania law enforcement told him: "They knocked out the dog team. They got rid of the drone team. They took the CERT [community emergency response team] emergency response — elite guys from Pennsylvania — and took them from 25 down to five."
Holt noted that there are citizen journalists investigating, but said, "This needs to now be championed by a proper, thorough federal investigation, one that [Attorney General] Merrick Garland doesn't run, one that [FBI] Director [Christopher] Wray can't touch."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
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