First Lady Jill Biden received quadruple the “post-standing” Secret Service security that former President Donald Trump got on the day he was nearly assassinated, emails released by whistleblowers indicate.
The Secret Service assigned 12 personnel for “post-standing” security for a dinner event attended by the first lady in a Pittsburgh casino on July 13, and just three such personnel for the July 13 rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, where 20-year-old Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, according to emails obtained by Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley. Republican South Carolina Rep. William Timmons grilled Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle over the security discrepancy during her congressional testimony on Monday.
“The number of personnel that were allocated to both of those events were comparable to the risk at both of those events,” Cheatle said, after being questioned by Timmons on why more post-standing personnel were assigned to the first lady than the former president.
The Secret Service usually assigns agents to posts inside an inner perimeter during an event, according to Real Clear Politics. “Post-standers,” meanwhile, are pulled from local Secret Service field offices and assigned to handle security in specific areas.
“So you think that the Pittsburgh casino 400 person ballroom with ingress egress through probably a very well guarded parking garage was four times more dangerous than a 20,000 person rally in an open field with the former president?” Timmons shot back at Cheatle.
Grassley has requested a list of personnel from all federal agencies that were present at the Trump rally the day of the assassination attempt. The Secret Service team protecting Trump on July 13 also included snipers on the rooftop overlooking the venue and several agents who were near the president’s stage and rushed in to cover him after shots rang out.
One of the emails shared by Grassley, titled “203.080 First Lady Dr. Jill Bident to Pittsburgh, PA,” says that the “following 12 personnel have been selected for a temporary assignment as post-standers in support of the First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to Pittsburgh, PA on July 13, 2024,” and lists the names of the personnel who were assigned. The other email, titled “203.080 Candidate Donald Trump to Pittsburgh, PA,” notes that “the following 3 personnel have been selected for a temporary assignment as post-standers in support of candidate Donald Trump to Pittsburgh, Pa on July 13, 2024.”
“I welcome any additional information you can provide relating to these communications and the total number of federal employees that were present that day,” Grassley wrote.
The Secret Service did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
(Featured image credit: Screenshot/US House Oversight Committee hearing)
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