Secret Service agents are "scared to do their job" to a certain extent and that was evident during the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, former Secret Service agent Scott Bryson told Newsmax on Thursday.
When asked on "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE" if there was hesitance within the ranks to take the shot to bring down Trump's would-be assassin, Bryson said, "I would say yes and no.
"The countersniper guys do not work off of a green-light system, and I think they probably were ready to take the shot as soon as they could get it," he said. "The problem is they have been armchair-quarterbacked for many, many years — agents and uniformed division guys.
"And so, yes, to your point, they are scared to do their job to a degree because they're going to get ridiculed if they make the wrong decision, so to speak."
An internal investigation conducted by the Secret Service revealed that the agency failed to implement critical safeguards at Trump's July rally, including obstructing the line of sight to the stage, which allowed 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks to fire into the crowd, grazing the former president's right ear and killing a former fire chief. Two others were also critically wounded in the attack.
In addition to questioning whether leadership will have agents' backs, Bryson said, agents need to be able to meet the Secret Service's standards.
"I said last time I was on here, 'The standard is the standard,'" he said. "And if you can't meet it, you can't be on the team.
"We've got to get away with some of the old methodology, like we're spreading ourselves too thin. We got INV [investigations], we've got protection. I say go full on protection. And the guys that aren't on a mission, they're training, and they're shooting.
"You got to be in tip-top shape. You have to have the best shooters available," Bryson said. "And then some of this white-collar crime can go to some people that want to do that, but it shouldn't be cookie-cutter."
According to the agency, the Secret Service investigates crimes involving counterfeiting, credit card fraud, wire and bank fraud, computer network breaches, ransomware, and other cyber-enabled financial crimes.
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Nicole Wells ✉
Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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