‘Two Different Americas’: SBA-Pro Life President Lays Out What’s Next In Fight For Life
Marjorie Dannenfelser laid out the movement's wins and losses post-Dobbs at the annual Iowa Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines. Marjorie Dannenfelser laid out the movement's wins and losses post-Dobbs at the annual Iowa Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines.Secret Service suspends 6 agents over Trump assassination attempt — but some argue the real story is who didn't get punished
Nearly a year after the assassination attempt against President Donald Trump at the infamous campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, six U.S. Secret Service agents have been suspended. However, some are saying that the real story is who in the Secret Service didn't face any consequences over the fatal fiasco.
Matt Quinn, the deputy director of the Secret Service, told CBS News that six agents had been suspended without pay. The suspensions range from 10 to 42 days as punishment for the egregious failures during the assassination attempt against Trump on July 13, 2024.
'We were all sitting ducks that day. Our blood is all over their hands. I am angry.'
The news outlet noted that the Secret Service employees would be placed on restricted duty or roles with less operational responsibility when they return to work.
"We are laser-focused on fixing the root cause of the problem," Quinn stated on Wednesday.
Quinn defended the decision not to terminate any of the agents by saying, "We aren't going to fire our way out of this. We're going to focus on the root cause and fix the deficiencies that put us in that situation."
"Secret Service is totally accountable for Butler," Quinn confessed. "Butler was an operational failure, and we are focused today on ensuring that it never happens again."
The Secret Service has faced significant criticism for allowing gunman Thomas Crooks to open fire on the stage of the rally from a rooftop a short distance away.
A Secret Service sniper killed Crooks, but not before he was able to fire multiple rounds toward the rally stage, where Trump was speaking.
One of the bullets grazed Trump's ear, which caused blood to stream down his face. Corey Comperatore — a 50-year-old firefighter, father, and devoted husband — was fatally shot while attending the Trump rally. Two other rallygoers were wounded during the deadly shooting.
Helen Comperatore, the widow of Corey Comperatore, told Fox News in an interview that aired on Thursday, "We were all sitting ducks that day. Our blood is all over their hands. I am angry. I lost the love of my life. They screwed up."
The widow continued by listing several security lapses by the Secret Service, "Why Butler? Why was that such a failure? Why weren't they paying attention? Why did they think that that roof didn't need to be covered? I want to sit down and talk to them. I have the right to. They need to listen to me."
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said of the suspensions, "Given the shocking security failures that day, this is the absolute bare minimum."
RELATED: Holy shot: Did Trump's assassination attempt survival prove miracles are real?
Susan Crabtree, a national political correspondent for RealClearPolitics, revealed the identities of the six agents who were suspended without pay. Crabtree also noted two Secret Service supervisors who played significant roles at the Butler rally and later received promotions.
Citing multiple sources in the Secret Service community, Crabtree reported that the agents who were suspended are:
- Myosoty Perez, an "inexperienced" site agent.
- Dana DuBrey, a mid-level agent and Perez’s local counterpart agent.
- Meredith Bank, the "lead advance agent charged with coordinating security" with local aw enforcement, according to RCP.
- Tim Burke, the Secret Service's special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh Field Office.
- Brian Pardini, second in charge of the Pittsburgh Field Office.
- John Marciniak, the agency's lead counter-sniper at the Butler rally.
RELATED: Reporter who attended Butler rally REVEALS what President Trump said BEFORE 'Fight, fight, fight!'
However, some are pointing out that the higher-ups responsible for the Butler rally’s security not only dodged consequences — they got promoted.
Crabtree wrote on the X social media platform that there is a "big contingent in the Secret Service that believes the Pittsburgh office is unfairly taking the fall" for the Trump rally debacle.
Crabtree reported that two key Secret Service supervisors who "signed off on the Butler security plan and two who were on the final walkthroughs before the J13 rally" were never disciplined, yet did receive "big promotions."
Crabtree noted, "One of those supervisors on the final walkthroughs, Nick Menster, was assigned this year as the No. 2 in charge of the Lara and Eric Trump protective detail."
Crabtree continued, "The other, Nick Olszewski, ironically, became the chief (special agent in charge) of the Inspection Division, which is responsible for ensuring the accountability and integrity of the agency’s personnel and operations."
Larry Berger, an attorney for several of the suspended Secret Service agents, hinted that legal action could be taken against the agency.
"We avoided more severe sanctions, and now we’re assessing the next steps," Berger told Crabtree.
Two weeks after the assassination attempt against President Trump, then-Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned following bipartisan pressure. Cheatle was replaced after Trump's inauguration by Sean Curran, who was on stage with Trump during the attempt on his life.
Blaze News reached out to the Secret Service for comment, and the agency did not confirm or deny the identities of the agents who were suspended.
On Thursday, the Secret Service announced new organizational reforms for the agency following the conclusion of investigations into the failures during the attempted assassination of President Trump.
The Secret Service noted that it has implemented 21 recommendations made by congressional oversight bodies and that 16 more are in the process of being enacted.
Curran said in a statement on Thursday, "Since President Trump appointed me as director of the United States Secret Service, I have kept my experience on July 13 top of mind, and the agency has taken many steps to ensure such an event can never be repeated in the future. Nothing is more important to the Secret Service than the safety and security of our protectees. As director, I am committed to ensuring our agency is fully equipped, resourced, and aligned to carry out our important mission each and every day."
RELATED: Dan Bongino’s warning: Trump is NOT safe
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Magistrate: Trial Should Go On For WI Judge Accused Of Helping Illegal Alien Flee
U.S. Magistrate Nancy Joseph found Judge Hannah Dugan’s arguments to dismiss her federal criminal case 'unconvincing.'Immigrant claims to be a changed man after murder, pleads with ICE to stay
Everyone makes mistakes, but the mistakes immigrant Justin Chung made are a little worse than going 80 in a 55.
Chung, 35, a Korean American man in Los Angeles, immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 2. At the age of 16, he was involved in gang-related activity and was convicted of murder and attempted murder.
After serving 14 years of an 82-year sentence, he was released early — but he’s now been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while preparing for a voluntary departure.
“A Korean immigrant facing deportation in Orange County is pleading for a pardon after turning his life around. Justin Chung immigrated to the U.S. as a baby and admits that he did make some mistakes,” a reporter on KTLA said, painting Chung as a changed man.
“After serving 14 years behind bars, he says ICE now wants to send him back to a country he doesn’t know,” the reporter continued.
“Listen to the spin on this story,” BlazeTV host Pat Gray comments. “All he did was make a bad choice of killing someone and attempting to kill someone else. So it was murder and attempted murder. A bad choice.”
“When I was 16 years old, I was involved in the wrong crowd, and I was involved in a gang-related shooting. Unfortunately, somebody did die. And that’s something I live with,” Chung said in an interview on KTLA.
“Well,” Gray comments skeptically, “It was because he shot them.”
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Ryan Routh's former employee pleads guilty to helping arm Trump's alleged would-be assassin
Ryan Wesley Routh, a cheerleader for a Ukrainian brigade associated with neo-Nazis since its inception, allegedly attempted to assassinate the president at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15.
On that day, Routh — who made around 20 small donations to Democrats through ActBlue between 2019 and 2020 and whom the Biden Department of Homeland Security declined to investigate despite previous complaints — allegedly took aim at a U.S. Secret Service agent conducting a security sweep with an SKS semiautomatic 7.62x39 caliber rifle with a scope attached and an extended magazine.
One of the two individuals arrested in April and accused by the Department of Justice of selling Routh the same Chinese-made weapon pleaded guilty to firearm trafficking on Monday.
Acting U.S. Attorney Randall Galyon of the Middle District of North Carolina alleged in a pair of court filings — one in May and another last week — that Tina Brown Cooper, who ultimately entered the guilty plea, agreed and conspired with Ronnie Jay Oxendine, her former employer, to "sell and dispose of a firearm to a prohibited person (Routh)."
Cooper set up the deal despite knowing that Routh had previously been charged with multiple felonies after threatening to blow up a police station.
In a Sept. 22 interview with FBI agents, Oxendine allegedly indicated that he met Routh in the 1990s, when they both owned roofing companies, and that they periodically crossed paths at hardware supply stores. Cooper separately indicated that she had known Routh since approximately 1999 and had worked for his company, United Roofing.
Around mid-July 2024, Cooper asked her then-employer, Oxendine, whether he had any guns for sale, then later informed him in a July 27 text message that Routh was making his way to Greensboro, North Carolina, and wanted to meet, court documents said.
Cooper allegedly told federal agents that Routh called her in July 2024 and indicated he wanted to acquire the weapon for his son to use as protection. When Cooper supposedly suggested Routh just acquire one from a pawnshop, Routh indicated he was unable to do so because he was a convicted felon.
According to the court filing, Cooper asked Oxendine if he had an AK-47 for sale. Oxendine allegedly agreed to sell an SKS rifle, which, while chambered in 7.62x39mm, was not similarly fully automatic.
On Aug. 2, Oxendine allegedly confirmed to Cooper over the phone that he was at his place of business, Oxendine and Son Roofing Company, and had the SKS rifle with him. Cooper turned up with her adult daughter and Routh, the latter of whom allegedly paid Oxendine $350 in cash for the rifle and Cooper $100 for arranging the sale.
Cooper set up the deal despite knowing that Routh had previously been charged with multiple felonies after threatening to blow up a police station, court documents said. The alleged would-be assassin was convicted in 2002 on a possession of a weapon of mass destruction charge, North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records showed.
RELATED: Alleged attempted Trump assassin's political rant revealed in prison letter
Cooper — who was apparently chatting with Routh on Facebook Messenger from January 2014 until January 2022 — told FBI agents that upon learning of the alleged assassination attempt on Sept. 15, she deleted the contents of her phone to avoid any traces of involvement.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice asked the federal court in Florida overseeing Routh's case to admit non-hearsay statements by Cooper as they relate to her alleged efforts to obtain firearms on Routh's behalf.
In the filing, the DOJ also claimed that the trio not only discussed the rifle's serial numbers post-sale, but discussed the matter of possibly also acquiring a .50-caliber rifle for Routh.
Routh filed a motion of his own on Tuesday, requesting a new defense team for his case.
He was charged last year with attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. If convicted, Routh could spend the rest of his life in prison.
H/T: Headline USA
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One SIMPLE reason why Musk's 'America Party' may already be doomed
Elon Musk claimed in a post on X Saturday that he formed the America Party “to give you back your freedom.”
Musk had been threatening the move if “this insane spending bill passes” Congress and appears to be focusing on the national debt as a major issue.
“There is a precedent for what Musk is talking about. What he’s doing takes on a different form, but we have seen a very well-known billionaire decide he’s going to take it upon himself to disrupt the system. We’ve seen this. It’s what Donald Trump did with MAGA,” BlazeTV host Steve Deace says on the “Steve Deace Show.”
“And in the middle of competing with him every day on the Cruz campaign, I remember saying during one of our strategy sessions, ‘I think the secret to Trump’s sauce is he is creating a third party within the Republican party,’” he continues.
What Trump also did was focus on immigration as his main issue, which Deace believes catapulted him to the top.
“Musk needs an issue. Do not underestimate him as a person. He’s one of the most brilliant men who’s ever lived. He’s one of the most successful men who’s ever lived,” Deace says.
“That being said, if he wants to be anything aspirational, if he’s just pissed off and wants to be an agent of chaos, then nothing I’m about to say matters,” he continues. “Elon Musk is going to need a message. He’s going to need an issue right now. His issue seems to be too much debt. That ain’t going to work.”
“We don’t have too much debt because a bunch of swamp creatures are screwing over the American people. That’s not why we have too much debt,” he explains. “It ain’t the system; it’s the people. Almost half of all federal spending goes to so-called entitlements. And there’s nothing after that.”
Deace notes that 14% of our debt comes from the military-industrial complex. If the interest was paid down, it would be 10%.
“Pennies on the dollar compared to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and now Obamacare,” Deace says, adding that when he asked Grok, Elon’s own AI, how much in government subsidies Elon Musk has received, the answer was a whopping $38 billion.
“The guy who got $38 billion in subsidies is going to turn around and say, ‘We gotta get rid of Grandma’s Social Security check.’ To quote Lucius Fox in 'The Dark Knight,' ‘Good luck,’” he adds.
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‘It’s Despicable’: Democrats Won’t Condemn Ambush Attacks On ICE
As attacks on immigration law enforcers escalate, are ICE-bashing Democrats stoking the flames of violence with their incendiary rhetoric?Interview with Joe Exotic's deported husband goes OFF THE RAILS
Joe Exotic of “Tiger King” fame isn’t known just for his love of big cats, but also for his love of romance, which he found once again inside a federal lockup in Fort Worth, Texas.
It was there that he met his husband, Jorge Flores Maldonado — but their time together was short-lived. That’s because Maldonado, 33, was deported on May 17 after allegedly driving a car containing six other undocumented immigrants across the U.S.-Mexican border.
The two were married in a prison ceremony last November.
Despite his predicament, Maldonado has found time for an interview from lockup with BlazeTV host Alex Stein of “Prime Time with Alex Stein” and tells him that while he and other inmates were aware of Exotic’s fame, he did not have to compete for his love.
“Did Joe Exotic have a lot of men trying to date him?” Stein asks, while his producer, JVT, translates.
“He said they were trying to get money out of Joe,” JVT says, adding that Maldonado says Exotic’s “health is doing bad” and “he needs a blood transfusion.”
While Maldonado tells Stein that he’s not angry with President Donald Trump or border czar Tom Homan for his deportation, he does believe that he should be legally allowed back into the country.
He also believes Joe Exotic needs to be pardoned, telling Stein that Exotic is not only a “good kisser” but a “great person” who “has cancer.”
However, when asked in 2020 whether he planned to pardon Joe Exotic, Trump explained he didn’t know anything about the case but would “take a look.”
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Despicable Dems Campaign On Texas Flood Victims, Blame Trump
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the Democrats’ latest nasty gambit a 'depraved lie.'Today's top stories
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