Transcripts For MSNBC Chris Jansing Reports 20240921

Called Martin Luther King jr. On steroids and whether his stumbles could help harris win a state that democrats have claimed just once in the past 40 years . And israel says it struck a major blow against hezbollah, taking out the commander of an elite unit and his lieutenants just as they were planning a new october 7thstyle attack. What it means for the war going forward coming up. But we begin 46 days from Election Day with Pressure Building to keep the candidates safe and ongoing questions about the secret Services Ability to do it. New today, the Acting Director tells the Washington Post hes desperate, saying The Agency needs, quote, More Countersnipers and investigators, upgraded armored limousines for motorcades, and a greater supply of ballistic glass to fend off the unprecedented threats against those running for office. We will hear from Ronald Roe in a briefing at any minute now where were expected to get an update on the attempted assassination of Formerpresident Trump in july. Lets listen. So in todays hyperdynamic 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 Formerpresident 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. It is 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. As a result of these failures, what has become clear to me is we need a shift in paradigm in how we conduct our protective operations. As was demonstrated on sunday in West Palm beach, the Threat Level is evolving and requires this findings from this Mission 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 abdicate 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 methodology. The Secret Service did not give clear direction to the local partners. There was miscommunication with personnel at the tight. For example, the second at approximately 1810 local time, secret Service Informed Personnel that local police were addressing an issue at the 3 00 of the outer perimeter. At approximately 1810 local time, via phone call, the secret Service Security Room calls the Countersniper 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 1810 and 54 seconds, verified through Body Camera Footage of local Law Enforcement, officers confront the assailant on the roof of the Agr Building. At 1811. 05, via phone call, a Site Agent calls the assistant Site Agent to find out what exactly is going on at the 3 00, and during that call shots rang out. At 1811. 32, verified through Body Camera Footage, the first series of shots are fired by the assailant. At 1811. 36, again verified through Body Camera Footage, a second series of shots are fired by the assailant. At 1811. 47 through Body Camera Footage Secret Service countersnipers 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 lineofsight concerns but they were not escalated to supervisors. While some members of the advance time were very diligent, there was complacency on the part of others that led to a breach of security protocols. With respect to accountability, the Mission Assurance Review has identified deficiencies in the Advance Planning and its implementation by Secret Service personnel. These employees will be held accountable and this agency has among the most robust stable of penalties in the entirety of the federal government. These penalties will be administered according to our disciplinary process. Due 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 Pivot 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 weve been in this heightened and increasingly heightened Threat Environment since July 13th. This reality has necessitated that we significantly increase our protective footprint and we have already done to do so following the events of July 13th. This increased operational tempo requires additional resources to not only account for costs being incurred today, but insure 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, and the vision is for the Secret Service to be more agile with the ability to 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, red lining. 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 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. We must be weaned off the reliance of partners within dhs to assist us during highoperational 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. I want to take this moment now also to thank you though 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 implemented our operational Security Planning at three national special security events, the nato summit, the Republican National Convention and the democratic national convention. We successfully protected both the president ial debate in philadelphia and multiple protectee visits commemorating the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. All of this took place while protecting major party candidates on the campaign 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 weve 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. With that, i will take questions. Reporter director, given all of the Attention And Scrutiny related to these events, sir. Given all of the Attention And Scrutiny related to these events do you believe your highest level of protectees need to campaign differently in how they organize their Eye Vents and how they live their daily lives, things like trips to Golf Courses or recreational time . Will they have to live differently to be safe . Ultimately, kelly, it is 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 it is 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 do they need to campaign differently, sir . I reporter organized, set up outdoor events, that kind of thing . 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. We certainly make sure when they are out there at an outdoor venue that 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 Trump Campaign Staff about the 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 . 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 advanced 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 er 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, what is 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 . The Followup Question would be how disappointed are you in what you described as deficiencies in diligence . Sure. So ultimately, pierre, 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 ive 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 to with respect to butler. And go again with your followup, pierre . Reporter so there was a lack of clarity that that roof should be secure, period, full stop . There was discussion about how the roof was going to be secured, and i think what it came back to is 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 state and local Law Enforcement. Ultimately, it is our responsibility and so we have to be very clear when we are asking them for support. They want to help us, and what we found is that in this they they in the Mission Assurance interviews, it became apparent that 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 Second Question, simply, how disappointed are you when you see that as the report states that some personnel did not follow Secret Service protocols . Well, im 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, were 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 protect are safe. And so i will never be disappointed in our folks. I am proud of this agency. I am proud of our people. Reporter hi. Thanks so much for doing this. On the question of the Agr Buildings, is there a process thats 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 . Right. I think it was a failure to challenge our assumptions, the assumption local police would have more of a presence in that Agr Building. Getting 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 you look around, like a Punch List and check it off . It is part of our the principles of our advance and our protective methodologies. Okay. Secondly to follow up on the campaign question, you said it is ultimately the secret Services Responsibility. So when theres a disagreement between the campaign and the Secret Service on a security issue, who has the last word . So it is not about disagreement. It is about a negotiation. They certainly dont want any harm to come to their principal, and so they respect us. Usually what it boils down to is escalating it up to a supervisor and a senior staff level. What i can tell you is if there were discrepancies, and there were, regarding how the site was supposed to have been secured, how supervisors were briefed and supervisors reported in their Mission Assurance interviews that they envisioned harder assets to be able to secure that line of sight, to be able to mitigate anything that might have been looking in or would have created an openness on the site at the butler farm show. 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. Theyre 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 . Weve been doing that since July 13th, david. Reporter so what is the purpose of the bill . I dont know. You would have to ask members of congress that. What i can tell you is 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 and that was my Second Question. Can you explain that president , Formerpresident Trump is getting the same protection as President Biden and Vice President harris . Because a lot of members of congress on Capitol Hill are skeptical about that. Theres 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 what is going on with that . So with respect to West Palm beach, what i can tell you without getting into our techniques, practices or procedures, what i can tell you is on that day there were countersniper elements that were present with the former president on the Golf Course, in proximity. There was an entire Counterassault Team that was there in proximity. There wa a Jump Team in proximity. The Advance Agent who was part of the first element, whose goal was to sweep ahead did his job. That young man is a very young agent, early in his career. His vigilance, his reaction is exactly how we trained and exactly what we want our personnel to do. He identified a threat, an individual with a long gun, and he made swift decisions and took a swift action to be able to mitigate that. No shot was fired at the former president. The former president was not exposed to where he was on the Golf Course, and what ive said and i said this monday that the procedures work. The redundancies work so that high level of protection is working. Reporter Acting Director, thank you very much for doing this. Two questions. Just one on West Palm beach. The busy public road that is adjacent to that 6th Hole where the suspect was hiding is a wellknown Blind Spot on that specific Golf Course. Why did no one within the u. S. Secret Service Sweep behind that Fence Line for threats . They were sweeping they were sweeping ahead, nicolle. What i just explained is that element, that lead element was going ahead sweeping. Reporter but was there anyone behind the fence where the road was, sweeping there to see if anyone was in the bushes . Having been there and seen the vantage point, whether they were on the public side or the private side, the Bottom Line is the individual was detected. Reporter on butler, you testified before congress that all assets requested for the Butler Rally by Trumps Detail were approved, but there are Secret Service assets that may have prevented the tragedy on July 13th, most notably a counterassault Advance Team that would have surveyed the site ahead of time or enhanced Counterdrone Protection that might have prevented the tragedy. Were those specific assets requested by Trumps Detail . If they were, were they denied . If they werent, why werent they requested. The Counterassault Team had an element that was there embedded with local Law Enforcement. The Counterassault Leader that day had been in direct contact in the days heading to July 13th ahead of the elements. Reporter to be clear, did the Trump Detail ask for additional resources denied by the Secret Service . Based on the asset, based on the information i have right now, the asset request, all of the assets that were asked for were approved. So what were looking at now is were there any additional ones that came in through other chance, so but what i can tell you, based on the information i have now, the assets were approved. Reporter two questions. When we are talking about florida and the idea that this was the Secret Service working as it should, does this mean that no security will change for trump when he goes golfing again . Well, i think what we try to do, holmes, after every incident we look at it, what could we have done better. We look at everything, and it doesnt matter whether there was a critical incident that occurred. So we are looking and we are reevaluating to look at do we need. I had conversations with Sheriff Bradshaw in Palm Beach county, and so i will leave it to the local Field Office to carry on those conversations about making changes. Thats where i will leave that. Reporter and then on butler, if we can drill down on the specific timeline a little bit. At 6 08 we know a local Radio Call went out that a man was on the roof. Now, my understanding is that the State Police were in a separate area with locals and were their job was to communicate any local chatter to the Secret Service. Why was that 6 08 Radio Call not communicated to Secret Service or was it via the State Police . So the information i had is we had a member of the pennsylvania State Police in our Security Room and thats what spurs that Pho Call to the Countersniper Response Agent at 1810. Reporter and so the State Police never communicated a local Radio Call at 6 08 to the Secret Service . What im saying is the personnel in the Security Room passed that information, and that triggers the 1810 phone call. Reporter okay. Go to rebecca with the hill. Reporter hi. I know congress has sounded a little resistant lately in terms of what it might do for funding for the Secret Service. Given the sort of Paradigm Shift that you have laid out today, im curious what you will be looking for from Congress And Sort of what you are seeking from lawmakers to carry that out. We have been briefing, we have been providing information. Right now i do think that you know, congress has questions, were responding to those questions and providing them information. But at The End of the day, i think everybody wants a strong Secret Service, and thats what im working towards. Thats what members are working towards, and so well continue to have those conversations. We will go to claudia with univision. Reporter hi. Thank you for doing this. Republicans in congress want the same level of security as the president for the candidates. How realistic is really that . Can you be more specific on that . I know you answered that question, but can you just can a candidate have the same level of security of a sitting president . And, also, what changes are we expecting in the Security Area after, you know, where most of the incidents happened . So how i approach that, claudia, is this. The way the Secret Service is structured, the President Of The United States has the highest level of protection of any World Leader, period, The End. The number of assets that the Secret Service provides and the Department Of Defense provides is at the highest levels. Those same highest levels with respect to the Secret Service are being provided to the former president s detail. And so when it comes to maintaining this, where were at right now is we have finite resources. The way we are structured with some of our classified assets, with some of our personnel and with some of our the president weve now expanded that to include the former president. So while we can do this, it is certainly we are burning through a lot of assets and resources, and thats the argument that weve been trying to show. This isnt this isnt some Pie In The Sky trying to say, hey, we want this now. We are not capitalizing on a crisis. We are showing the math. We have finite resources, and we are stretching those resources to their maximum right now, which is going to require us to replace these assets. It is going to require us to also adjust, to look at this and evaluate, that if we have to do this again or do it because of some other situation that we have no other control of, we have to be able to sustain that for an indefinite period of time. So im hopeful and i am certainly engaged in these discussions, and i feel like at The End we will get there because we have no other choice. Reporter what changes are you going to make outside of the secure area, that zone where everything happened . The outer perimeter . Reporter yeah. Thats where we have to be direct and clear with our state and local partners as to what were asking of them. Reporter joe of univision. Thank you, Acting Director. Reporter i have two questions. The first, it is our understanding it takes anywhere from four to ten years for an agent to go through the training that rises them up to a president Ial Detail level. Youve described a Manpower Issue. Given that, do you think that training time frame might change so you can expedite getting more officers to a president Ial Detail should you need that . So were not going to drop standards, joe. We have not dropped standards. You do need to develop those agents, and when agents start we dont you cannot put them on the highest level of protection, protecting a protectee. When they graduate from our training facility, they go to a field. They do advances. They do criminal investigations. The importance of having that, what we call phase one, thats where those agents that are doing federal investigations, that are interfacing with local Law Enforcement, those are skills that they learn, analytic skills, how to conduct a federal investigation, how to interact with a u. S. Attorney, how to interact with a state or local agency. And all the while theyre doing that, theyre also popping in and out doing protection, whether theyre doing it in new York City for a United Nations General Assembly or theyre doing an advance for a visiting Head Of State or World Leader that comes into their Field Office district. Thats where they cultivate and sharpen those skills, and it will take them up until probably four years. Ideally the Sweet Spot is between the fourth and fifth year where we send them off to a permanent detail. That is where we are getting to as far as the career path, so it is critically important that we make sure that we still develop people. Being on the president ial protective division or Vice President Ial Detail, it is a very, very highpressure situation. It requires a lot of maturity. It requires decisionmaking, analytic skills, and the ability to problem solve. It takes time to develop those skills even though weve put you through training. The more seasoning you have in The Field, the better off you are going to be as far as being a protection agent. So then how do you address the Manpower Issue quickly . So right now we are weve had robust hiring this year. By the time we close out the fiscal year, we are going to hire more than 400 Special Agents this year. Right now it looks like we will have a net gain in the hundreds, triple digit net gains, something we have not seen in a little while. I can tell you that applications right now are at an alltime high for applicants seeking employment with the united states Secret Service. So i do believe that we are going to meet this. We have no choice. We have the 2028 Summer Olympics ahead of us in los angeles. The Secret Service will be responsible for the Security Planning of that. That is going to require a tremendous amount of personnel, a tremendous amount of resources, and a tremendous amount of collaboration with state and local and other federal partners. We are going to get there. We are getting there now. We have filled all of our Training Classes going into this next fiscal year. So were getting there. We have turned the corner. We are showing those metrics to congress, and i think thats the question that theyve had and we are going to show them that we can deliver on this. Reporter and just Second Question is Formerpresident Trump has said he is going to the Alabamageorgia Football Game this weekend. Are those kind of events, particularly concerning given he could be around tens if not hundreds of thousands of people . So im not going to comment on protectees schedule. I will tell you each event is complex and each advance is different. Those Advance Teams, they know what they have to do to make a secure environment for our protectees. Reporter thank you for doing this. You said we were now moving into the Accountability Phase of this butler investigation. You did not want to discuss names of who might be punished so to speak, but can you give us more detail, at least maybe how many people would face punishment or repercussions for what happened in butler . At what levels of the organization those people represent and what level of punishment again they may face . Again, i Cant Comment on this. This is a Personnel Matter that is still pending. What i will tell you is that i have not asked for anybody to retire. That was not i know some of that was reported. That is false. And with respect to the disciplinary process, it will be handled in accordance with our table of penalties that will be led by the office of integrity in coordination with our Office Of Professional Responsibility. Reporter and then one followup as well. All of this talk about making things more robust, more agents in The Field, this type of thing, this is not the first president ial election you guys have had to secure. So why werent all of those moves put in place prior to this Years Election . So the former president has had robust security around him since he left office, more robust than prior former President S. Reporter thank you, Acting Director. Jackson richmond, Epoch Times has florida security been adjusted after according to Congressman Matt gates a Dhs Official has warned there are five teams targeting Formerpresident Trump, and there is not enough of a level to deal with the threat . Are you aware of this assessment and what is the Secret Service doing to respond . I will tell you we are evaluating coming out of West Palm beach and having the conversations with state and locals. I will not talk about unnamed sourcing on the report you mentioned. Im not familiar with that. Reporter and local Law Enforcement doesnt have the same training that Secret Service agents do. Will the Secret Service be training local Law Enforcement ahead of events as to prevent another butler . So right now we are actually having some very good discussions with the federal Law Enforcement Training Center about developing a curriculum to assist our state and local partners, and, you know, what ill say is some of the things that weve been talking about, our state and local partners while and i know people have said theyre not trained like the Secret Service. Men and women of Law Enforcement protect their communities every day. They understand how to handle a crisis situation. They understand how to respond to a violent felony in progress. They know what their jobs are. We certainly when we ask them and enlist their assistance, you know, we are relying on them. So i think it is important that we always try to give back to them, whether it is through training or forensic support or investigative support, and so one of the things that were contemplating now is partnering with the federal Law Enforcement Training Center to develop not only a Law Enforcement guide but also develop a Training Curriculum through fletc with a cadre of Secret Service personnel to be able to train them in the principles of advance. That will only help them when dignitaries come to their district or perhaps when they are protecting a mayor local official. Were all about giving back to them. Next month we will unveil a guide on how to come up with a multiple disciplinary Threat Assessment Team led by our national threat assessment center. We are very in tune with what our state and local partners, how they support us, and were constantly evaluating not only what we can do to bolster the relationships but give back to them. Reporter thank you. Reporter wow, you guys have covered a lot of ground and questions. I guess i would just ask guys, i dont know. You guys have really covered it. Im sorry. Im going to hand my question to someone else. You only get one. Reporter rebecca with the associated press. Reporter im going to go back to the line of sight issues and the roof issues. Can you just layout very clearly, who was responsible for security on those roofs . Was it the locals . What was the plan and how did it fail . Also, secondly, you keep talking about a Paradigm Shift, but what does that mean . Can you kind of detail what you mean by that . Sure. With respect to the Agr Building, and thats where youre going for, right . When we construct a site, not only are we worried about, you know, who can get into a site but also who can look into that site. There should have been clear direction about what we needed done at the Agr Building. That was discussed during the advance, but i think there was a lack of follow through based on the information i have now and what im seeing. There should have been better follow through about that, about access to that property, about Access Control to the Collateral Party of the Agr Building. So it was about not giving the state and locals clear directions on what we needed done. With respect to the Paradigm Shift, this is about looking at the organization wholistically. For example, the communications issue. Communications were problematic, and i think where im looking at is we need to have communications that are more closely aligned to the operations. So coming out of July 13th, what ive seen and the direction i gave is we have to be very we have to be very efficient with where were putting our Security Rooms. Recently i was on a visit where, again, similar to butler where there was a unified Command Post just as there was in butler. There was one in this location where not only did you have Emergency Services insofar as fire, life safety, but you had Emergency Management officials. You had the Highway Patrol and the State Police in that room. You had local Law Enforcement in that room. You had Secret Service agents in that Room Monitoring frequencies and listening to what was going on those state and local networks. In addition to that, the locals were flying a drone in proximity to the site. That Drone Feed was being beamed into that unified Command Post and our agents had total Domain And Awareness about what was going on. Also, they had Traffic Cams. They were able to pipe in the Traffic Cams into that unified Command Post. That is the model by which our field, theyve taken it to heart and the Special Agents in The Field are now having those conversations and they are directing exactly what we need, and theyre posting our people exactly where we need to be so that when our protectees are in a site we have total awareness of what is going on around us, and we have total awareness of what is being communicated on those local networks. Reporter and if i could just follow up with one question. Down in West Palm beach on the evening of the attempted assassination down there, the local chief i believe bradshaw had said during when trump was president there would have been a lot more security around the perimeter, but basically now the Secret Service does the best that they can. Can you but you have said he has the highest level of security now. Can you compare and contrast . Is it the same now as he would have been getting while he was the sitting president . What i will say is the former president has the highest levels of secret Service Protection, and i think the sheriff actually went back and clarified his statements. So i would point you to that. I believe he did that on monday. Reporter thank you, director. I wanted to ask about Sundays Incident as well. Is it your view i know you have talked about the procedures working as intended. Is it your view there wasnt any type of Security Lapse that allowed that armed individual to get within a few hundred yards of the former president . Well, i can tell you that were looking at it from an after action report, looking at reviewing that. But what i think it goes to show is that thats why we have trip wires, thats why we have systems out there, thats why we have redundancies built into our protective model and thats what was demonstrated on sunday. Reporter in terms of the report, i mean what specifically will be different on the ground now . For instance, are you, you know, mandating that Command Post have both Secret Service and local Law Enforcement in them, will Law Enforcement have to communicate on the same frequencies . Are there any sort of practical changes that you made that are in effect based on the report . So Security Room location, right, being where local Law Enforcement is, right, the broad use of technical Security Assets, ballistic glass, leveraging partnerships with the Department Of Defense to be able to move materials, move personnel across the country in support of a nominee. So those are things that we have been doing postjuly 14th, and those are things that are going to probably be in existence in perpetuity moving forward. Reporter usa today. Reporter i also had a question about florida. Can you say whether theres any indication that this suspect might have surveilled Golf Courses any time before sunday or what led him to choose that day to be there for maybe 12 hours . So, it is an active investigation. So i would refer you to the fbi for that. Reporter and can you say anything more about Golf Courses are sprawling, open places, anything that would be publicly visible that you could say, here is how we are beefing up protection when a protectee is on a Golf Course . So, again, our what i have said and i will continue to do this, and i have to be very mindful of our techniques, our tactics and our providers. It is probably not good to continuously not only talk about Secret Service procedures, because were telegraphing to adversaries. We are telegraphing to people who probably would intend to do harm to our protectees. But what i will tell you is that our model, our protective model consists of multiple layers and redundancies, the outer, the middle, the inner. Those are the layers. Then we have redundancies built into that. With respect to Golf Courses or any open venue, we apply those methodologies. Reporter Allan Kilmer with bloomberg will be next. Thanks, Acting Director. Reporter with regard to your conversations on Capitol Hill, can you talk about for resources, do you need to have a specific Dollar Amount included in an upcoming cr to make things work or would the Anomaly Language that the administration had previously requested, is that is that something you can live with . Im not going to get into specifics because were having those conversations and out of respect for the confidentiality of those discussions im not going to disclose a number. What i will tell you is that weve made several presentations. We are working at the staff level, and were having those conversations and theyre ongoing. Reporter and related to that, you mentioned earlier you want Secret Service to wean itself from relying on other components of dhs in its protective mission. Is that contingent on getting those additional resources, either right now or at some point in the Appropriations Process . I dont want to rule out we will never have to enlist the assistance of other through requests for assistance and we do those memorandums, and we did it back for several president Ial Campaign cycles. But i think the importance here is we have to be able to at a moments notice surge people to where they need to go, and if were going to be having to mitigate and thats what we do. Were in the risk mitigation business. We are not in the risk elimination business. So we have to be able to have the personnel, the assets and be able to spread those out for an indefinite period of time in the event that another situation, a geopolitical conflict or some other tension requires us to do so. Ashley with the examiner. Reporter thank you. You have addressed the Golf Course incident in great detail, but i just wanted to ask, are you fully satisfied with the way the Secret Service managed the Florida Incident on the Golf Course or would you change anything . Can you answer the question that way . I would say based on the information i have right now, i would say that that situation was managed according to our training. You know, those as soon as it was as soon as our agent discovered the individual, took swift action and took steps to neutralize the threat. Immediately upon doing so he communicated over the radio. There was a communication of shots fired, which immediately not only did our personnel assigned to the close protection of the president , of the former president hear the shots, they immediately went into action. The Counterassault Team went into action. The countersnipers went into action. Supervisors and Shift Personnel immediately evacuated the president , took the most expedient route to where he needed to shelter in place. He had ballistic protection around him. They sheltered in place until they could determine was this just the first wave of an attack. Immediately, local Law Enforcement assets responded to the scene. Local tactical assets that were partnered with our Counterassault Team were also present, immediately responded. So that barrier, those layers of protection, those redundancies, the redundancy was the agent that first discovered followed by another set of agents that also set up that middle perimeter around the shift that was evacuating. And so in the case of West Palm beach, based on the information i have now and, again, we will review it, it appears that those agents, those supervisors made swift decisions and made correct decisions. Elise of scripps. Reporter thank you. Hi, Acting Director. I want to drill down on this issue of resources. You sent a letter to Senator Murphy and to Senator Britt on September 5th and it became public, and it said in the letter, you wrote, we do not believe that the Security Failures of July 13th, 2024 was the result of a lack of resources. Im hearing you talk over and over again, and it says here at the bottom of this Press Release you guys have today, The Agency must increase its protective footprint including personnel, assets and protective equipment. How do you square those two things . How do you ask congress for more money when you yourself determined what happened on July 13th was not a lack of resources . So how i square that is as follows. Following July 13th, we immediately took steps to elevate the Vice President , the former president to the highest levels of secret Service Protection. We also took steps to elevate the protection of Senator Vance and eventually Governor Walz to high levels of secret Service Protection. What i was talking about is the way we are structured, and i go back to this, the President Of The United States of is the most highly protected individual on the face of the world. That is how the Secret Service is built, that is what we are primarily focused on, and then once you have those assets and resources, they are also committed to the Vice President. So how i square this is as follows. Following July 13th when now we are in because of this hyper dynamic threat and the operational environment at which we find ourselves in, we only have so much of those assets to go around. So while we are providing them to the former president , we are providing them to the president , to the Vice President , to other protectees, and so at this point what im Telling Congress is we can do this and we will do this, but there has to be a replacement. There has to be Life Cycle Replacement on this. There has to be if were going to be called upon to do this again or do this now, because the threat is not weaning. The threat is not going to evaporate any time soon. So we have to be prepared for this, and that is the argument that weve been making, and we have certainly made some in roads and were having these productive conversations with the hill. Reporter can i just ask you also, will the Secret Service have the resources to protect the capitol that is Acting Director of the Secret Service Ronald Roe stating unequivocally that what happened in butler, pennsylvania, on July 13th when a bullet went by the head of Formerpresident Donald Trump, bringing blood from his ear, was in his words a failure on the part of the u. S. Secret service. Thats a conclusion as they near The End of whats called a Mission Assurance Review. But bigger picture, you just heard him talk about the challenges facing the Secret Service, saying this is a pivotal moment in the history of the Secret Service and the country, that there is a tremendous and constant Threat Environment that has stretched resources to the max. Lets take a quick listen to what he said just a short time ago. The Threat Environment in which the Secret Service operates is tremendous and under constant threat, and weve been in this heightened and increasingly dynamic Threat Environment since July 13th. This reality has necessitated that we significantly increase our protective footprint, and weve already begun to do so following the events of July 13th. This increased operational tempo requires additional resources. I want to bring in nbc News Justice and Intelligence Correspondent Ken Dilanian who is in washington, d. C. Every pomporus is a former Secret Service special agent, national Security Journalist and msnbc Law Enforcement analyst. Jim kavanaugh is a retired Atf Agent in Charge And Hostage Neglector And Msnbc contributor. Theres two big parts to this if we put them in buckets, and we see the Press Conference is ending after about 50 minutes, ken. Let me start with what happened on July 13th. That had been deconstructed in the days and weeks following it, but what new did we learn here . I think two main never cohe instructed local Law Enforcement how they were supposed to protect that building, which the sniper ultimately used to get up on the Roof And Fire those shots. They never explained how theyre supposed to do it. They never checked to make sure it was being done. That was a glaring failure. We knew the roof was unprotected. Theres a dispute about who told what to who. There was body cam, i told the Secret Service the roof was unprotected. As it turns out, the Secret Service folks who did advanced planning never had a plan for the roof, never communicated it to local Law Enforcement. It wasnt protected. Secondly, the big glaring error is because there were no local Law Enforcement officers in the Secret Service command center, when they saw there was a man with a gun on the roof and put that on the radio, that never reached the Secret Service. There were Phone Calls made. One Secret Service agent according to what we heard got news on the phone but never passed that on to the rest of the detail. The detail on the stage protecting Donald Trump never knew that 30 seconds before the shots were fired, the police had discovered someone with a gun. Had they known that, they could have tackled Donald Trump to try to get him to cover, you know, everyone would have known there was a threat. That did not happen. Those seem to be the two most glaring failures he identified, chris. You compare that with what happened on the Golf Course in florida. Hes very pleased with the way the response went through. Obviously no one was hurt. The gunman was spotted. He is in custody. Having said that, when he did the interview, and he reflected this in the Press Conference. Were at a level of hyper vigilance thats unsustainable. We are running at levels. We are burning everything hot right now. As someone who has been in the middle of protecting high level people, whos been in the detail of a President Of The United States, did what you just heard from the Acting Director allay some of the fears that maybe you have about what theyre facing and how theyre responding to it. Theres so many things here. First, i have never seen an acting Director Or Director of the Secret Service come out and do a Press Conference like this. For almost an hour. Yes, kudos to him. He came front and center, taking ownership. He gave a lot of information. In one sense, it makes me a little bit sad. He did say one thing. Hes like, im trying to give you as much information as i can. At the same time, i know bad actors are listening, taking notes, and you dont want to give that information away. To take out the President Of The United States is a huge deal. Its just symbolic. At the same time, im listening to him and im cringing at the same time, but he has no choice but to be transparent to share information. Lets put that aside. Lets look at, first, butler. What hes saying about the failure of butler. Just because ive been a side agent, and i have done this. When you go out there and you are a Site Agent, you have to work with locals, and you work with local Police Departments all across the country. Sometimes you work with people older than you, much more seasoned than you. You are working with locals who have done this before. I cannot tell you how many times i would go and instructions and i was told by locals, i have done this before. I know what were doing. And so what happens over times, because you want to protect those relationships, you are a bit almost like You Tippi Toe around telling them what to do. Its a federal agent versus the local psyche. This is our town, dont tell us what to do but i have to tell you what to do. I am responsible, and its happened to me multiple multiple times where i would try to convey, this is what i need, and i would get pushback. Yes, we know. And thats a bit problematic when youre a field agent. When Im Hearing this, what Im Hearing is u. S. Secret service agents are so accustomed to this, when hes saying Clarity Wasnt there, they had this discussion. What im surmising is The Agency deferred. He said, we defer, thats what happens, they have done this before. I dont want to step on toes, so The Field agents defer. Local Police Department saying you werent clear with what you wanted and this is why this happened. Hes saying our agents have to be it came out, he said, we have to be more assertive with our counter parts, and what typically happens is were not as assertive. So that leads us, jim, to where we are now, and the fact that we heard unequivocally, again, from director roe, that this is a problem that they have. They are running their people ragged, essentially. 400 more coming online, but he also said it could be four or five years before they are trained up. That doesnt help between now and Election Day. Top republican leaders say this is not a money issue. It could be a Resource Allocation or a Training Issue or maybe even what he points out, this communication issue. What do you see as the issue, and what answers did you get at this Press Conference . I see it differently. I see the issue being the instant problem, which i feel i like the Acting Director, hes a plain talker, just like all the Secret Service agents, like ev and all the great people. Theyre dedicated and want to do the right thing. He does too. His head is full of all the things the service needs. He needs more counter sniper training. Those are all good things. Thats not the instant problem. As a leader, he needs to focus right now between now and the inauguration day. Thats four months. Thats the heightened time, so lets not talk about it takes five years to train an agent. Thats a different problem. Were looking at the failures of two perimeters. The threat here from these last two events is in the bushes and on a barn roof. Were not talking about vector from kinetic things going on. We need to focus right here. Now, let me just put this in perspective, and evie will tell you, the core people around the protected person they call the shift, thats all Secret Service. Thats not outside officers or other federal agents. Thats the Secret Service. Theyre extremely trained. The next level normally is the Secret Service but can also be, you know, 70 Secret Service, sprinkled with other federal agents or local police. And the third perimeter, which is whats larger, can be Law Enforcement, which is 10 Secret Service, managing that perimeter. The department of Homeland Security, chris, has 80,000, 80,000 Law Enforcement officers. Now, youve got Donald Trump at maralago who frequently were almost out of time. So your suggestion is . Im just saying, they need to sweep those agents in. If they need to put A Hundred at the Golf Course for the next four months or whatever Golf Course or whatever perimeters they need to secure because the killer at butler broke the aura of the Secret Service. He broke the aura, and thats why we got this shooter in West Palm beach. He saw when crooks penetrated the security easily. They did a great job by stopping him. The failure was he was 12 hours in the bushes and if he was a real sniper, he would have never been found. He would have looked like a bush, and nobody would have seen him. Scores of public events between now and Election Day for both of the president ial candidates scores more for the Vice President ial nominees. I have to leave it there. Jim cavanaugh, Ken Dilanian, eddie, thank you very much. Coming up, israel just claimed it killed a top Hezbollah Leader and his deputies, what it could mean for fears of a wider war in the region. More Chris Jansing reports right after this. Chris jansin right after this recipes that are more than their ingredients. [smoke alarm] recipes written by hand and lost to time. Can now be analyzed and restored using the power of dell ai. Preserving memories and helping to write new ones. Type 2 diabetes . Discover the ozempic® trizone. I got the power of 3. I lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. In studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. Im under 7. Ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. Im lowering my risk. Adults lost up to 14 pounds. I lost some weight. Ozempic® isnt for people with type 1 diabetes. Dont share needles or pens, or reuse needles. 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