Sen. Rand Paul accused the Secret Service of a “cultural cover-up” and called for congressional oversight for what he called “critical security failures” that permitted the attempted assassination, Politico reported, one year after a shooter opened fire at a President Donald Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Sen. Rand Paul accused the Secret Service of a “cultural cover-up” and called for congressional oversight for what he called “critical security failures” that permitted the attempted assassination, Politico reported, one year after a shooter opened fire at a President Donald Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The U.S. Secret Service’s handling of security at the rally when a shooter wounded Trump and murdered one participant while hurting others was criticized by the Kentucky Republican on Sunday. Paul claims that the agency’s continuous disregard for calls for more protection before to the attack demonstrates a systemic failure.

“Somebody was begging” for security reinforcements in writing and over the phone, Paul said on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” but the Secret Service allegedly turned down the pleas. He went on to say, “They wanted to rule out any of their activities that might have caused this, and they didn’t want to assign responsibility or examine themselves. The director of the Secret Service could not have been unaware of the request.

Fire Chief Corey Comperatore was killed in the July 2024 shooting at the rally, while Trump suffered a minor ear injury. The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper after two others were injured. Former President Joe Biden demanded that the CIA be investigated at the time. Then-director Kimberly Cheatle was accused by congressional Republicans of lying under oath when she denied that security requests had been submitted, following an earlier investigation that revealed “deep flaws” in Secret Service procedures. On Sunday, Paul reiterated those accusations.

The Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee recently released a report that found the agency has “denied or left unfulfilled at least 10 requests” for more resources to defend Trump. In a statement released Sunday, Cheatle, who resigned in the wake of the incident and was replaced by Sean Curran, the former chief security officer for Trump, defended her record. “I agree mistakes were made and reform is needed,” she stated. She denied, however, that she had deceived Congress. “Any assertion or implication that I provided misleading testimony is patently false and does a disservice to those men and women on the front lines who have been unfairly disciplined for a team, rather than individual, failure,” she stated.

Events of this magnitude bring “extraordinary risk,” Paul underlined, irrespective of the party or candidate. He claimed that the Butler rally needed extensive preparation and responsibility, both of which were absent. “When individuals were subpoenaed, no one would actually admit to being in charge of security for Butler,” Paul stated. “No one was fired in the end, but they refused to reprimand anyone until I subpoenaed them and questioned what they had done. Even the Secret Service’s inquiry, in my opinion, was insufficient. Therefore, legislative monitoring is necessary.