Before Trump Shooting, a Communication Failure

Communication breakdowns with local law enforcement hampered the Secret Service's performance ahead of a July assassination attempt on Donald Trump, according to a new internal report. A five-page document summarizing the Secret Service report's key conclusions finds fault with both local and federal law enforcement, underscoring the cascading and wide-ranging failings that preceded the July 13 shooting at a Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally, per the AP. The report's executive summary doesn't ID specific individuals who may be to blame. The AP previously reported that at least five Secret Service agents were placed on modified duty over the shooting.

• The report details a series of "communications deficiencies" before the shooting by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was shot by a Secret Service sniper after firing eight rounds in Trump's direction from the roof of a building less than 150 yards from where Trump was speaking.
• Among the problems: Some local police at the site were unaware of the existence of two communications centers on the grounds, meaning officers didn't know that the Secret Service officials weren't receiving their radio transmissions. That breakdown was especially problematic for Trump's protective detail, "who were not apprised of how focused state and local law enforcement were in the minutes leading up to the attack on locating the suspicious subject."
• The report raises more serious questions about why no law enforcement were stationed on the roof Crooks climbed onto before opening fire. A local tactical team was stationed on the second floor of a building in the complex from which Crooks fired. Multiple law enforcement entities questioned the effectiveness of the team's position, "yet there was no follow-up discussion" about changing it, the report says. And there was no discussion with Secret Service about putting a team on the roof.
• The tactical team operating on the second floor of the building had no contact with Secret Service before the rally. That team was brought in by a local police department to help with the event, without Secret Service's knowledge, the report says.
• The Secret Service understood in advance that the rally site, selected by Trump's staff because it better accommodated the "large number of desired attendees," was a security challenge because of lines of sight that could be exploited by a would-be attacker. And yet, the report said, no security measures were taken on July 13 to remove those concerns and the Secret Service lacked detailed knowledge about the local law enforcement support that would even be in place.

(More assassination attempt stories.)