Law Enforcement Officials Testify About Aftermath Of Discovering Alleged Attempted Trump Assassin
Moving along faster than anticipated
Republican senator reminds Steve Deace about his 'friendly' subpoena of Kash Patel
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has consistently fought for transparency and answers for the American people. Johnson shared his latest push for transparency with Steve Deace on the "Steve Deace Show" Tuesday as he and many others across the country are still hungry for answers.
Over a year has passed since Thomas Matthew Crooks fired shots at former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, nearly assassinating the incoming leader of the free world. Despite the time that has elapsed, the American people still know little about the assassination attempt or the would-be assassin himself.
Johnson decided to take matters into his own hands.
"An awful lot of what we do know, my investigatory staff, just by calling local law enforcement shortly after Butler ... were able to develop a pretty detailed timeline," Johnson told Deace. "We published a preliminary report, laid out all of the failures of the security plan of the Secret Service in Butler. Then, within two weeks, the FBI pretty well took over the investigation, and everybody clammed up."
"I assumed when President Trump won the election that he would be appointing people that would dig into this, investigate it, and release that to the public," Johnson added. "All of a sudden, the one-year anniversary is upon us, and nothing has really been released."
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Johnson decided to take matters into his own hands by issuing what he called a "friendly subpoena" to FBI Director Kash Patel for all documents related to the Butler assassination attempt.
"I issued what I consider a friendly subpoena to Kash Patel, just basically reminding him, hey, the public has a right to know what happened in Butler," Johnson said. "They have a right to know what happened in West Palm Beach there, in terms of the second assassination attempt. ... There are an awful lot of unanswered questions here that deserve answers."
Johnson's subpoena does not address the second assassination attempt.
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"I understand the challenges," Johnson added. "But all that being said, I would still think this would be the priority of President Trump's administration to get to the bottom of the assassination and make everything they found out public."
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Journalist at Trump assassination attempt says he got PTSD — from Trump supporters
A journalist is facing ridicule from online critics after he admitted that the anger of Trump supporters led to him taking "trauma leave" after the attempted assassination of the president in Butler, Pennsylvania.
CBS News correspondent Scott MacFarlane told Chuck Todd that he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and had to miss work because of what he experienced on July 13, 2024.
'You saw it in the eyes. The reaction of the people. They were coming for us.'
"For those of us there, it was such a horror, because you saw an emerging America," said MacFarlane.
"And it wasn't the shooting, Chuck. I got diagnosed with PTSD within 48 hours. I got put on trauma leave, not because, I think, of the shooting, but because — you saw it in the eyes, the reaction of the people. They were coming for us!" he continued.
"If he didn't jump out with his fist, they were going to come kill us!" he added, referring to the president.
"I know," Todd responded.
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CBS News Correspondent says he was “diagnosed with PTSD and put on trauma leave” after Trump’s assassination attempt because the crowd blamed liberal media: “They were going to kill us!”
These people are pathetic 😂 pic.twitter.com/J6gWNJEjUn
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 17, 2025
Video of MacFarlane's comments were posted on social media, where they quickly went viral.
Many ridiculed MacFarlane for focusing on his own trauma rather than the tragedy of the innocent bystander who was killed or the attempt on the president's life.
"He's the real hero!" joked Greg Gutfeld about MacFarlane on his late night show.
"He is," responded panelist Joe DeVito. "And I hope he got some other good medical advice from his gynecologist!"
A government accountability report released by U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Saturday suggested that a campaign staffer compromised the president's safety in Butler when he or she made the Secret Service deviate from its security plan for the sake of optics.
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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."
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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."
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