Inspector general J6 report unmasks 'culture of failure' at US Secret Service, lawmaker says

The U.S. Secret Service failed to do a canine sweep of the bushes at the Democratic National Committee building on Jan. 6, 2021, did not have an explosives ordnance disposal team on site, and failed to use two “key explosive-detection capabilities for the security sweep,” a Department of Homeland Security inspector general report concludes.

The long-awaited, 82-page report by Joseph Cuffari is a stinging new indictment of the Secret Service that comes fresh on the heels of the agency’s historic security failure that led to the near-assassination of former President Donald J. Trump on July 13.

Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump in the ear, killed retired fire chief Corey Comperatore, and seriously wounded James Copenhaver and David Dutch. The rooftop he used as his sniper nest wasn’t guarded by police before Trump’s speech began just after 6 p.m. on July 13.

“Inspector General Cuffari’s report is damning and reveals a culture of failure at the Secret Service," said U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), whose office has conducted an extensive investigation of the Jan. 6 pipe bombs.

"The Secret Service’s inability to spot the pipe bomb on January 6th is part of the same pattern of incompetence that nearly led to the assassination of President Trump," Massie said. "The agency needs serious reform before another one of its protectees pays the ultimate price for its ongoing negligence.”

Two pipe bombs were discovered in Washington on Jan. 6: one in an alley between the Capitol Hill Club and the Republican National Committee building and the other in the bushes on the southwest side of the DNC headquarters. Despite a 43-month federal investigation and a $500,000 reward, no arrests have been made.

Cuffari submitted the report to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in April after it was reviewed by then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned her post on July 23. Cuffari's investigation began in February 2021.

Congressional sources told Blaze News both Mayorkas and Cheatle sought to suppress the report in its entirety. Blaze Media asked the Secret Service and DHS for comments on the report — and the allegation they sought to suppress it — but did not receive a reply before press time.

Among the biggest mistakes cited in the redacted report was what the Secret Service failed to do.

"The area where the pipe bomb was located should have been swept, given its proximity to the garage driveway ramp," the report said.

Ronald L. Rowe Jr., acting director of the U.S. Secret Service, did not mention the OIG report during an Aug. 2 press briefing, nor was he asked about it by reporters.

Kamala Harris was at DNC when "Explosive Device" Discovered. Why? | The Truth About January 6thyoutu.be

Delivered to House and Senate oversight committees on Aug. 1, the report said Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris' motorcade drove within feet of the pipe bomb that had been placed in the bushes alongside the DNC building.

Harris arrived at 11:25 a.m. Jan. 6 and remained in the building for 1 hour and 50 minutes — nearly 10 minutes after the bomb was discovered by U.S. Capitol Police.

The OIG report said Harris' trip to the DNC was put on the schedule two days prior, on Jan. 4, 2021. It does not identify the subject of Harris' meeting or mention others in attendance.

“The officer responsible for sweeping exterior areas said that the exterior sweep included the garage entrance ramp and some other areas near the garage entrance, including a storm drain, but did not include the bushes where the pipe bomb was located.”

The report said the Secret Service did not use two "key" explosive detection capabilities on Jan. 6. The agency didn't have a specialized site coordinator available, a person whose job is to manage technical assets and bomb countermeasures. Nor did it have an explosives ordnance disposal team at the DNC.

The agency told the inspector general it believed it needed to abide by a 72-hour notice when requesting an EOD team for a security sweep. Cuffari wrote that he found no evidence of such a requirement.

Revelations loom large

The shocking revelation that two Secret Service teams with bomb-sniffing dogs failed to find the DNC bomb and prevent Harris from entering a building that was ostensibly at risk of a catastrophic explosion looms even larger in light of the July 13 Trump assassination attempt at a fairground in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Multiple investigations have been launched to determine how 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to climb to the roof of the American Glass Research Building 6 without being stopped and get off eight shots from an AR-15 before being killed by a law enforcement counter-sniper.

Jan. 6, 2021 DNC Pipe Bomb Discoveryyoutu.be

The Secret Service violated policy by not designating the evacuation of the building where Harris was located on Jan. 6 as an "Unusual Protective Event," the OIG report said. An Unusual Protective Event is defined as "any occurrence, episode or incident that interrupts the normal protective activities of the Secret Service."

Cheatle told the inspector general that Harris' evacuation from the DNC was "without question" an Unusual Protective Event and should have been so designated.

Massie disclosed in January that the DNC bomb was discovered by a plainclothes Capitol Police officer at 1:05 p.m. on Jan. 6, confirming the story Blaze News first broke Jan. 17.

Massie released Capitol Police security video in July 2023 showing the nonchalant reaction of Secret Service agents after the discovery of the pipe bomb. Their demeanor was puzzling, considering the FBI considers pipe bombs to be weapons of mass destruction.

Politico first reported in January 2022 that Harris was at the DNC when the bomb was discovered. In the intervening months, Harris has never been asked by the media for her reaction to what could be considered an assassination attempt. Harris has also never addressed the topic publicly.

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