The United States Secret Service leadership are the "kings of cover-up," an inside source claims.
A veteran agent of the United States Secret Service (USSS) spoke with Fox News Digital about the management of the agency and what he sees as the source of its failures to prevent the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
"The three things that failed us in Butler were lack of communication, which is a leadership issue, lack of personnel, which is a leadership issue, and lack of use of technology, which is also a leadership issue."
The agent, who spoke with Fox News Digital on the condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation from his superiors, defended the USSS personnel on the ground in Butler, saying that "the people that need to be fired are the people in leadership."
Acting USSS Director Ronald Rowe, during his Capitol Hill testimony on Tuesday, appeared to blame local police for not seeing Crooks on top of the building from which he ultimately fired from. However, on Wednesday, the district attorney of Butler County disputed Rowe’s account and told Fox News that local snipers were not responsible for monitoring that rooftop.
"I think they’re looking for a scapegoat," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told The Washington Times following Rowe’s testimony.
"This has a lot of CYA [cover your a--] feel to it," added Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
The veteran agent told Fox News Digital that the agency is experiencing serious recruitment problems, calling the USSS "horrible at retention and horrible at hiring."
He said, "We have people on the job capable of doing it, but they want to do things their ignorant ways. There’s a bit of cockiness to it, if you will."
A new poll has revealed that most Americans don’t trust the Secret Service to keep presidential candidates safe from violence in the wake of the Trump rally shooting in Pennsylvania three weeks ago.
The survey, by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that about seven in 10 Americans think the Secret Service bears at least a moderate amount of responsibility for the assassination attempt, while half of Americans think local law enforcement in Pennsylvania had at least a moderate amount of responsibility, according to the poll.
Only about one-third of Americans said they are extremely or very confident that the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, will conduct a full and fair investigation of the Trump assassination attempt.
Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this report.
