Report: Secret Service is responsible for several security flaws in Trump attack on July 13

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was able to climb onto the roof that day and fire several shots, killing rally attendee Corey Comperatore and wounding others, including Trump. A Secret Service sniper stationed near Trump returned fire, killing Crooks.

The official report is a brief, five-page summary of the agency's previous internal investigations into corporate culture, leadership and personnel. The aim is to identify “potential causes” for the “failure” at the rally and to identify areas for improvement. Many of the results have already been made public through media reports or congressional hearings.

The report is the 60-day internal investigation that former director Kimberly Cheatle said was underway immediately after the shooting. She had refused to share details of the investigation with Congress early on, leading to frustrated lawmakers calling for her resignation and her resignation a few days later.

Her deputy, Ronald L. Rowe Jr., became acting director on July 23.

The investigation is separate from an investigation into a second possible assassination attempt on Trump on Sunday. A Secret Service agent saw an armed man on the sidelines of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach while Trump was golfing, and the agent fired shots. No one was injured and the suspect was later arrested. Rowe praised the agents for their planning and safety during that incident.

Rowe said the July 13 breach was not due to a lack of resources, but rather a lack of anticipation of a potential threat.

He said the Secret Service soon began making changes, including expanding security for Trump and others under the agency's protection. More than 40 officials, families and foreign dignitaries are under the agency's protection.

The July 13 report comes as the Secret Service and its oversight agency, the Department of Homeland Security, are negotiating with Congress over a dramatic increase in the agency's budget to increase the number of agents and investigators, upgrade equipment such as armored limousines and create more realistic training spaces at the agency's aging training center in Maryland.

Officials declined to comment on how much the agency, which costs $3 billion annually and employs more than 7,000 people, would expand by. But DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in an interview this week that the agency is seeking a “significant” budget increase.

Numerous other investigations into the shooting are currently underway, including by the FBI, Congress and the Inspector General of DHS, the agency's independent oversight agency.

President Biden also ordered a 45-day independent review of the Secret Service's preparation and conduct of the rally, as well as its overall policies and procedures. The results of the review are expected in early October, according to DHS.

The summary focuses largely on failures in the Secret Service advance team and its coordination with state and local law enforcement before the attack.

Agents from the Secret Service and state and local police used different radio frequencies and gathered in separate facilities, preventing them from sharing urgent information electronically or in person. The Secret Service had its own secure room, while Butler County Emergency Services had a separate command post.

As local authorities searched the crowd for crooks, some were unaware that the Secret Service was not directly intercepting their radio communications, the report said.

“If this information had been shared over Secret Service radio frequencies, it would have enabled (Trump's) bodyguards to decide whether to relocate their protection while the search for the suspected suspect was underway,” the report said.

Instead, this important warning was transmitted “in a delayed or fragmented manner” via mobile phones.

Secret Service agents and a local response team operating on the second floor of the American Glass Research building where Crooks climbed to the roof had not planned in advance to cover the building, even though there was a clear view of the podium where Trump spoke that day.

Internal investigators found that local snipers would have positioned themselves on that roof if asked.

Trump's security forces had a drone defense system in place during their visit to Butler, Pennsylvania, but technical problems arose and they did not use it.

“If this part of the operation had worked properly, the shooter might have been discovered flying his drone near the Butler Farm Show venue earlier in the day,” the report said.