This is going to be happening any moment now. A briefing, okay, from the Nations Agency that has been running this investigation into the first Assassination Attempt against former President Donald Trump. This is an important moment that is a live look in washington where it this all about to go down. Hello, everyone. Im Sandra Smith in new york. Hi john. John these things typically happen on time, have an early the last time so we expect the next few seconds or minutes or so. Im John Roberts in washington and this is america reports. This hour The Agency will also release a summary of its internal report examining the Security Failures that occurred on July 13th at that nowinfamous location in butler, pennsylvania, peered Fox News is told the final report will be released in the coming days, maybe a couple weeks, which wilo congress before it is made public. Sandra as the Secret Service continues its probe of what went wrong, so horribly wrong there in pennsylvania, critics are asking how a Security Lapse could happen again after a man armed with a gun comes within several hundred yards of the former president in florida. That briefing is now beginning in washington. Lets listen. Dynamic Threat Environment. The mission of the Secret Service is clear. We cannot afford to fail. After reviewing the planning, event details, and coordination with partner agencies regarding the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13th, our Mission Assurance Review is nearing its completion. As ive said, this was a failure on the part of the united states Secret Service. Its important that we hold ourselves accountable for the failures of July 13th. And that we use the lessons learned to make sure that we do not have another failure like this again. The findings of the Mission Assurance Review have prompted the Secret Service to move into the Accountability Phase of this process. The Office Of Professional Responsibility and the office of integrity are reviewing the findings. And as a result of these failures, what has become clear to me as we need a shift in paradigm in how we conduct our productive operations. As was demonstrated on sunday in West Palm beach, the Threat Level is evolving and requires this Paradigm Shift. But here are some of assurance review. With respect to Command And Control of the site in butler, pennsylvania, the Secret Service has the main responsibility of building the site plan. We cannot advocate or defer our responsibilities to others. Advance Team Personnel have an obligation to ensure that each site meets the protective requirements and principles of Secret Service methodologies. The Secret Service did not give clear Guidance Or Direction to our local Law Enforcement partners. There were communicatiOn Deficiencies between Law Enforcement personnel at the site. For example, the Secret Service did not colocate its Security Room with local Law Enforcement. There was an overreliance on mobile devices. Resulting in information being siloed. For example, at approximately 18 10 local time, secret Service Informed Personnel the local police were addressing an issue at the 3 00 of the outer perimeter. At approximately 18 10 local time, via Phone Call, the Secret Service Security Room calls the Counter Sniper Response agent reporting an individual on the roof of the Agr Building. That vital piece of information was not relayed over the Secret Service radio network. At approximately 18 10 and 54 seconds, verified through Body Camera Footage of local Law Enforcement, officers confront the assailant on the roof of the Agr Building. At 18 11 05, via Phone Call, the Site Agent calls the assistant Site Agent to find out what exactly is going on at the 3 00 and during that call shots ring out. At 18 11 32, verified through body camera portage, the first series of shots are fired by the assailant. At 18 11 36, again verified through Body Camera Footage, a second series of shots are fired by the assailant. At 18 11 47, through Body Camera Footage, secret Service Counter snipers neutralized the threat. With respect to diligence, line of sight issues were acknowledged, but not properly mitigated. Issues were encountered the day of the visit with respect to line of sight concerns, but they were not escalated to supervisors. While some members of the advanced team were very diligent, there was complacency on the part of others that lead to a breach of security protocols. With respect to accountability, the Mission Assurance Review has identified deficiencies in the advanced planning and its implementation by Secret Service personnel. These employees will be held accountable and this agency has among the most robust table of penalties in the entirety of the federal government. And these penalties will be administered according to our disciplinary process. Do to federal regulations, i cannot get into Personnel Matters as they are proceeding. With respect to a Paradigm Shift, we are at a pivotal moment in the history of the Secret Service and at a pivotal moment in the history of our country. And i have directed that the Secret Service embark on a significant Paradigm Shift that will redefine how we conduct protective operations. What occurred on sunday demonstrates that the Threat Environment in which the Secret Service operates is tremendous and under constant threat. And we have been in this heightened and increasingly dynamic Threat Environment since July 13th. This reality has necessitated that we significantly increase our protective footprint, and we have already begun to do so following the events of of July 13th. This increased operational tempo requires additional resources to not only account for costs being incurred today, but ensure we have the tools, the technology, and personnel needed to meet these new requirements and execute our mission going forward. The Paradigm Shift will be a Driving Force to move the Secret Service from a state of reaction to a state of readiness. The mission is for the Secret Service to be more agileo escalate protection to the highest levels for numerous protectees for undetermined periods of time. But in order to do this, we need additional personnel, technical assets, and equipment for the sustainment of immediate and future needs. Our personnel have been in a state of hypervigilance following July 13th. We are certainly working our people hard, and i have used this term publicly, redlining. This cannot be about working our people harder. So with respect to changes, the workforce, the american public, they can expect changes in our processes for advances. There will be an increased use of technology. Not only to assist in communications, but also situational awareness when we are doing our protective mission. There will be organizational changes. For example, ive already directed the creation of an applied Research And Development section to field to new technologies, leverage the research of other government agencies, and calibrate our technical Security Assets to stay ahead of Threat Vectors and technical collection impacting Secret Service equities. This will be an iterative process, meaning it will be constantly evaluated, validated, updated, and evolving. We cannot be stagnant. And we must be weaned off the reliance of partners within dhs to assist us during high operational times. The Secret Service should be selfreliant outside of national special Security Events. However, we recognize that we will always need assistance from our partners within the department of Homeland Security and our partners at the Department Of Defense. And i want to take this moment now also to thank you, to thank our workforce. I want to conclude by thanking the men and women of the Secret Service who are working tirelessly. This summer, we experienced an unprecedented operational tempo for our agency. Within a 45day period, the Secret Service successfully implement it are operational Security Planning at three national special Security Events. The nato summit, the republican national convention, and the democratic national convention. We success we protected both the the president of the bait in philadelphia and multiple protectee visits commemorating f his attempt 11th attacks. All of this took place while protecting major party candidates on the campaign tr trail. This high operational tempo continues as the Secret Service prepares for the United Nations General Assembly next week. Where we expect to protect more than 140 visiting World Leaders and heads of state. I am proud of all that we have accomplished in a very difficult and tumultuous time for The Agency. And i recognize and thank the men and women of the Secret Service and their families for continuing to make great sacrifices in support of our enduring mission. And with that, i will take questions. Reporter director, given all of the Tension And Risk routine a related to these evenn all the Attention And Scrutiny related to these events do you believe your highest level protectees will now need to campaign differently and how they organize their events an end how they live their daily lives . Things like trips to Golf Courses or recreational time . Will they have to live differently in order to be safe . Ultimately, kelly, its the responsibility of the Secret Service to make sure that we provide a secure environment for our protectees. We want them to make sure that they can live their lives with some type of normalcy, but they must do so with us providing the highest levels of protection, which we have been doing since July 13th. And so its ultimately our responsibility to make sure that wherever our protectees go, we are creating a safe environment, and that comes back to us being able to use our methodologies, to use our redundancies, our systems that we have in place to create those secure environments. Reporter outdoor events, that kind of thing . Director rowe so since July 13th we have been securing successfully outdoor events. And what you are seeing is an increased use of assets, increased use of ballistic glass, so we certainly make sure that when they are out there and at outdoor venue, we are using our protective methodologies to create that safe environment. Reporter hello, director. Thank you for taking the time. Could you just kind of go into a bit more detail about the conversations you had with the Trump Campaign Staff about selection of the Butler Site . The report says that Secret Service agents saw it as a Challenge And Staff wanted to have the rally there. Did the staff go against your recommendation . Can you speak to exactly what was said and what the outcome was . Director rowe so, listen, the staff chooses a site, and ultimately it is on the Secret Service to secure it. So when the site was selected, the Advance Team went about identifying areas of concern. The Agr Building was one of those hazards that was identified. But let me just be clear, maria. Ultimately, it is the secret Services Responsibility to secure a site. We certainly have conversations, and it doesnt matter whether it is a Campaign Staff or White House staff, we have conversations, and we have very good working relationships with those staffs. But ultimately it is the secret Services Responsibility to secure a site. Reporter director, thank you. Based on your review and analysis, what is the reason whats the best explanation for why there was not Law Enforcement personnel covering the roof, physically on the roof itself, or making sure someone could not get on top of the roof . And the Followup Question would be, how disappointed are you in what you described as deficiencies in diligence . Director rowe sure. So ultimately, we have to be very direct and clear when we are talking to our state and local counterparts. With respect to butler, i think what the Mission Assurance Review has identified is that there was that lack of clarity. And i can tell you, since July 13th, when i have been out On The Road and i have watched Field Offices, and i gave guidance upon becoming the acting director to The Field, we have to be very clear when we are talking to our state and local partners, we value those relationships with them. We need them to be assisting us and be shoulder to shoulder with us. And it appears that there was that lack of clarity with respect with respect to butler. And go again with your foll followup. Reporter so there was a lack of clarity, that roof should be secured . Director rowe there was discussion about how the roof was going to be secured, and i think what it came back to his we should have challenged what that, how that mechanism was being implemented, meaning we should have been more direct. We cannot be too we cannot be overly deferential to the state and local Law Enforcement. Ultimately, its our responsibility, so we just have to be very clear when we are asking them for our support. They want to help us, and what we found is that, in this, they in the Mission Assurance interviews, it became apparent, in comparison to prior visits to that area, there was one prior visit in 2020, that there was a lack of assertion with respect to what exactly state and locals would have to require or would be required to support that advance. Reporter how disappointed are you when you see that this report states that some personnel did not follow Secret Service protocols . Director rowe well, not going to get into employee disciplinary matters, but what i can tell you is the men and women of the Secret Service are dedicated professionals. And so while July 13th is a failure, we are not proud of it, but we certainly have been rising to this moment. The men and women in The Field are rising to this moment. They are working tirelessly to make sure that the people we protract are safe. So i will never be disappointed in our folks. I am proud of this agency. I am proud of our people. Reporter thanks so much for doing this. On the question of the Agr Buildings, is there a process that is standard for the day of the event that somebody from the Secret Service looks around and makes sure all of the assets are where they are . And since the roof of the Agr Building was such a glaring omission, why didnt anybody raise that issue at the time or, secondly, in the Security Room, look and say i dont see any local police in here, how are we going to hear them . Director rowe i think that was a failure to challenge our assumption, the assumption that local police were going to have a more presence in that Agr Building. Going back to your question, there is that diligence that has to be done by the Site Agents to make sure that hey, all of the assets are in place, and so there was an assumption that they had it covered, but there clearly was not that followup to make sure. Reporter but is there a process, a checklist . Director rowe it is part of the principles of our advance and our protective methodologies. Reporter matt to followup on the campaign question, you said it is ultimately the secret Services Responsibility, so when there is disagreement between the campaign and the Secret Service on a security issue, was the last word . Director rowe it is not about disagreement, it is about a note to go sheesh in. They certainly dont want any harm to come to their principal so they respect us. Usually what it boils down to is escalating up to a supervisor and a senior staff level. What i can tell you is if there were discrepancies, and there were, how the site was supposed to a bench occurred, supervisors were briefed, and supervisors reported in their Mission Assurance interviews, they envision harder assets to be able to secure that line of sight, to be able to mitigate anything that might have been looking in or created openness on the site at the butler farm show. And so on the morning of, if there were those deficiencies, they were never escalated up to the supervisors to be able to resolve. Reporter thank you, sir. I have two questions. They are related. The first is looking forward. The house just voted within the last couple of hours unanimously from those that were present in the chamber to give President Ial candidates the exact same secret Service Protection as sitting President S. My first question is, can you handle that . Director rowe weve been doing that since July 13th, david. Reporter so what is the purpose of the bill . Director rowe i dont know, you have to ask members of congress that. When i say the highest levels of secret Service Protection, the former president is getting tactical assets. He is getting everything that the former president im sorry, that the current president has with respect to Secret Service assets. Reporter that was my second question. Can you explain that president , former President Trump is getting the same protection as President Biden and Vice President harris . Because a lot of numbers of congress on Capitol Hill are skeptical about that. There is a lot of talk saying clearly he didnt have the same protection because if he did, the Golf Course would have been secure in West Palm beach. Can you tell people whats going on with that .