As frustration continues to mount about the pace of investigation regarding the assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump last month, there has finally been at least a small step toward possible accountability for those responsible for the security lapses that fateful day in Pennsylvania.
The New York Post reports that the head of the Pittsburgh field office of the U.S. Secret Service has been placed on leave along with a handful of other agents, a decision made as part of its inquiry into the failure to protect Trump at his July 13 rally in Butler.
The employment actions against the agents were first reported by CBS News on Friday, and they were taken amid a continuing probe of the incident which left Trump injured, two spectators seriously wounded, and another rally attendee dead.
Internal affairs staff within the agency are working to unravel the decision-making processes and failures that allowed a 20-year-old gunman to open fire on the outdoor rally crowd.
The outlet reported that one agent working directly on Trump's security detail is among those placed on leave, though it remained unclear whether all those impacted were facing disciplinary actions or were on leave for a number of other possible reasons.
Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service spokesman, would not confirm details of the reported leave, declaring it an internal personnel matter.
He did, however, attempt to persuade Americans that the agency's “mission assurance review is progressing,” adding that the agency will continue “examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure.”
Not everyone is pleased with the pace of the probe or with the seeming delay in employment-related actions against those who may have been derelict in their duty to safeguard Trump.
According to the president of Empower Oversight Whistleblowers & Research, Tristan Leavitt, the actions taken last week should have been done almost immediately after the shooting itself, or those involved should have at least been put on investigative leave at that time.
Leavitt continued, “If paid leave, the Secret Service has to abide by the 2016 law we passed that requires them to fish or cut bait: finish your investigation and propose a personnel action or put them back to work on admin duties.”
“Don't waste taxpayer dollars just giving them a paid vacation,” Leavitt added.
As CBS News further noted, numerous levels of discipline are possible in the Secret Service context, with anyone on administrative leave still likely collecting paychecks and performing paperwork or other duties inside an office.
As the Secret Service and congressional panels continue to pursue answers as to what went so terribly wrong in Butler, Pennsylvania last month, Trump is resuming the sort of large-scale event he loves most, seemingly as confident as he can be with the increased measures taken for his protection.
Just this week, the former president appeared at an outdoor rally in North Carolina, though the dais from which he spoke featured newly introduced bulletproof glass panels as an added element of security that could clearly be seen by all.
