Secret service director says Trump assassination attempt a ‘failure’ for agency

Acting Director of the U.S. Secret Service Ronald Lowe said the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in July was a "failure" on the part of the agency. He also said the agency needs additional personnel and equipment in order to keep candidates and elected officials safe.

Lowe spoke at a press briefing on Friday in Washington, D.C., where he was giving an update on the investigation of the attempt on Trump's life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.

"It is important that we hold ourselves accountable for the failures of July 13, and that we use the lessons learned to make sure we do not have another failure like this again," Lowe said.

Lowe said that the Mission Assurance Review for the incident is reaching completion.

Once the report is complete, Lowe said the Secret Service will move into the accountability phase of the process. The Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of Integrity are reviewing the findings.

"The mission of the secret service is clear," Lowe said. "We cannot afford to fail."

The findings of the Mission Assurance Review for July 13 Lowe reviewed the findings of the Mission Assurance Review and addressed the agency's failures identified in the review.

"The Secret Service has the main responsibility of building the site plan, we cannot abdicate or defer our responsibility to others," Lowe said.

He said the agency did not give clear guidance or instruction to the local law enforcement partners.

There were also communication deficiencies between law enforcement personnel at the site and the Secret Service, including an over reliance on mobile devices. Local law enforcement were not in the Secret Service security room, he said.

Line of sight issues were acknowledged but were not escalated to supervisors, he said, and there was complacency among some members of the advance team which led to a breach in security protocols.

There have also been deficiencies identified in the advance planning and the implementation of plans 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," Lowe said, but said he would not discuss current personnel matters.

How the Secret Service is making a 'paradigm shift' "As a result of these failures what has become clear to me is that we need a shift in paradigm in how we conduct our protective operations," Lowe said.

Lowe said the Secret Service needs additional personnel, technical assets and equipment in order to fulfill their mission, as well as additional investment in research and development to look at the technologies being used so they can stay ahead of threats.

The agency will also decrease its dependence on other federal agencies such as The Department of Homeland Security, he said.

Lowe said the Secret Service, "Should be self reliant 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."