Sen. Hawley Demands Answers After Shocking Whistleblower Testimony Reveals Secret Service Told Agents To Not Request Backup At Butler Rally

On Friday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) sent a letter to acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. demanding answers after a whistleblower revealed to the Missouri senator that agents at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally on July 13 were requested to not ask for additional manpower and that any such requests would be denied. The news comes after Director Rowe put several Secret Service agents responsible for protecting Trump on leave.

"Whistleblower says Secret Service HQ told agents working the Butler PA event NOT to request additional manpower resources for the rally & warned any such requests would be denied," Hawley wrote on X. "Contradicts Director Rowe testimony, who said no resources were ever denied."

Sen. Hawley explained in his letter to the acting director that if true, the whistleblower's testimony constitutes an informal denial of resources to the Butler team, which contradicts Director Rowe's testimony before Congress earlier this month. 

"According to the whistleblower, the lead advance agent for a protectee trip typically submits a 'manpower request' to the local field office. This normally includes the number of personnel and other security assets needed for the event and is submitted to the U.S. Secret Service's Office of Protective Operations...for final approval," Hawley explained. "According to the allegations, officials within this office preemptively informed the Pittsburgh field office that the Butler rally was not going to receive additional security resources because Trump is a former president and not the incumbent President or Vice President."

The whistleblower went on to explain that the request for more agents didn't include "extra security resources" because they had been directed not to ask for more agents by the Secret Service headquarters. The revelations exposed by Sen. Hawley came after multiple Secret Service agents in the field were put on leave by the agency on Friday, including one member of Trump's protective team and four members of the Secret Service's Pittsburgh Field Office. Despite these actions, the Missouri Republican demanded more action from Director Rowe.

"Your actions to place some field agents on leave are not enough. These serious allegations suggest that the failures to protect the former president extended to top officials at the agency," Hawley stated, adding that Rowe answered several questions and provided documentary evidence for the manpower requests submitted to the Office of Protective Operations.

While the Secret Service director who was in charge of the agency when the attempt on Trump's life took place has resigned, the Secret Service still seems to have been actively working to obfuscate their failure by leaving out key information in Congressional testimony and being unwilling to be fully transparent with the American people and those that represent them. 

Read Sen. Hawley's letter to Director Rowe below:

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