Secret Service responsible for security failure at rally while trying to blame local police, says district attorney

A local district attorney said that the U.S. Secret Service is trying to pass the buck on security failures during the assassination attempt even though it was responsible.

'It was unacceptable, and it's something that shouldn't happen again.'

Butler County district attorney Richard Goldinger made the claim in an interview with the Washington Post. Goldinger said that the SWAT teams in his jurisdiction were located within the secure perimeter while it was the responsibility of the Secret Service to secure the area outside of that perimeter.

“Secret Service was in charge, and so it was their responsibility to make sure that the venue and the surrounding area was secure," he explained.

“That’s common sense I think. That’s their job," Goldinger continued. “For them to blame local law enforcement is them passing the blame when they hold the blame, in my opinion.”

Goldinger was responding to a Secret Service source telling the Post that there was a local county's SWAT team of snipers inside the building that the alleged shooter climbed in order to attack former President Donald Trump.

The Secret Service told the Post that a counter-sniper fired at the shooter as soon as he saw him lift his weapon but that he had already shot at Trump by the time he was killed.

Also on Tuesday, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle claimed ultimate responsibility for the failures was borne by the Secret Service, but she refused to step down from her position.

"The Secret Service is responsible for the protection of the former president," said Cheatle in the interview. "The buck stops with me, I am the director of the Secret Service. It was unacceptable, and it's something that shouldn't happen again."

Some blamed the failure of the Secret Service on Cheatle's determination to implement diversity and inclusion practices at the organization.

Monday evening the former president made his first public appearance since the shooting. He walked into the hall of the Republican National Convention to thunderous applause from supporters. He had a bandage on his ear and appeared to be humble according to some viewers.

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