Secret Service Says It Was Stretched Thin During Trump Rally Because of NATO Conference

The Secret Service says it was stretched thin at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania where he was shot because of the NATO summit, which finished two days prior, according to a letter obtained by Punchbowl News on Thursday.

“The USSS Special Agent in Charge Tim Burke reportedly told law enforcement partners that the USSS had limited resources that week because the agency was covering the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Washington, D.C. FBI personnel were present at those briefings,” the letter from the House Judiciary Committee reads.

The letter added that the whistleblowers informed the committee that the Secret Service held briefings on the rally days before.

“Whistleblowers have disclosed to the Committee that the USSS led two briefings regarding the July 13 campaign rally on July 8, 2024, with the Western Pennsylvania Fusion Center (WPFC) and other stakeholders, to discuss the upcoming, unrelated visits by President Trump and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden,” the letter added.

The letter, directed to FBI Director Christopher Wray, by the committee’s ranking members, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-WI) and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), also asked 16 questions to the agency.

The FBI will testify in front of the committee on July 24 and is required to submit the aforementioned resources the day before.

The newest set of revelations come after sources who attended a Senate briefing on the assassination attempt on Wednesday told Punchbowl that the Secret Service was aware of Thomas Matthew Crooks’ presence an hour before he opened fire, and that snipers had spotted him 20 minutes before he started shooting.

Read more at The Daily Beast.