Senator Grassley asked the Secret Service director to explain why his account of the positioning of local police snipers is contradicted by the police themselves
Sen. Charles Grassley has sent a letter to the acting Secret Service director demanding answers about whether local Butler snipers had a direct line of sight on the man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump, after the director blamed law enforcement for allowing the would-be assassin to gain access to the roof and shoot at the former president.
In a letter sent to Ronald Rowe Jr. on Friday, Grassley asked the Secret Service director to explain why he presented photographs to Congress that showed law enforcement snipers had a full view of the rooftop used by Thomas Matthew Crooks, but local officers who were present on the day say that the snipers were in a different position.
“Local law enforcement dispute the angle of the picture that you provided during your testimony,” wrote the senator.
In testimony before Congress, Rowe used a photograph taken from within an adjoining building to suggest that local law enforcement was to blame for Crooks being able to access and use the rooftop to shoot at the former president.
“This point of view, is the point of view where the counter sniper team, locally, was posted, the gold arrow indicates where the shooter fired from,” Rowe told Congress.
“Why was the assailant not seen? We were told that building was going to be covered. That there had been a face-to-face that afternoon. Our team leads met.”
In his letter, Grassley claims to have received new testimony and photos from law enforcement that contradict Rowe’s claims.
According to Grassley, this testimony states that the picture Rowe used at the hearing “neither accurately depicts their line of sight and coverage area from their position in the building nor their physical placement within the building.”
Grassley has demanded that Rowe provide further information to help reconcile the contradictory evidence. In particular, he asked for all records about the positioning of local law-enforcement snipers and about how the building used by Crooks was intended to be covered, including a clear diagram showing “where all local and federal law enforcement counter snipers were positioned and their assigned coverage areas, along with the shooter’s positions throughout the day.”
The Senator has also asked for further details about communications between Secret Service and law enforcement during the lead-up to the failed assassination.
