We Now Know Why Secret Service Resources Were Redirected From Trump Rally

There are so many questions about how it was possible for a gunman to nearly assassinate former President Donald Trump late Saturday afternoon. Questions have been raised over who has jurisdiction over the building that the shooter was perched on, but it is widely agreed that there weren't enough Secret Service resources protecting President Trump. This failure will be subjected to intense scrutiny for many, many months.

But we are starting to get more details that explain how such an obvious vulnerability wasn't secured. According to Susan Crabtree of Real Clear Politics, sources within the Secret Service say that resources were diverted from the Trump rally... for Jill Biden.

"Secret Services resources were diverted to Jill Biden's event and away from Trump's because they followed agency protocol applying to Trump as a former president, according to two sources within the Secret Service community," Crabtree reports in a post on X.

"But Trump is not just a former president -- he is the first in modern history to have run for president again -- and he has been the focus of several prosecutions and controversies (understatement intentional)," she wrote. "Who made the decision to divert the resources to Jill Biden's event?"

According to the local CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, First Lady Jill Biden was indeed in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

It's going to be a busy political day in western Pennsylvania with both former President Donald Trump and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden in town this afternoon.
The former president will be campaigning in Butler County today - holding a rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds. That will be at 5 p.m. on Evans City Road in Butler.
Then, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will be in Pittsburgh with the White House announcing on Wednesday she will speak at an Italian Sons and Daughters dinner. That will also be at 5 p.m. She's expected to arrive at Pittsburgh International Airport an hour before the event.
This marks the First Lady's third visit to Pittsburgh this summer.

But that's not the only problem with Trump's security detail that day. Another source at the Secret Service told Crabtree that Trump's usual protective detail has been overworked, with agents working seven days a week without days off. Due to the strain, many agents assigned to Trump's detail on Saturday were temporary replacements from different field offices, and there were only two snipers.

🚨New info from a source in the Secret Service community — Trump’s usual protective Secret Service detail was worked so hard (working 7 days a week with no days off) that many of agents assigned Saturday were temporary replacements from different field offices.

This is not the…
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) July 14, 2024

“Trump has a permanent detail, however it’s much smaller in the amount of bodies,” the source explained. “His detail has been worked so hard with all the travel that they’re working 7 days a week with shift changes. so HQ sends in temp agents to supplement - not a good scenario. Mission Failure, IMHO.”

Only one agent from Trump's permanent security detail was reportedly present.

"The Pittsburgh USSS Field Office had a Jill Biden visit and designated a lot of resources to her."

“That is f***ing unbelievable to me,” the source told Crabtree.