The Secret Service's move to put five agents on leave in connection with the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump is insufficient, as his life is "absolutely still in danger as we speak," particularly if foreign powers are involved, retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax Saturday.
"There is no question that there needs to be an independent investigation, independent of the Justice Department, independent of the Secret Service," Holt told Newsmax's "Saturday Report." "Five individuals were put on leave or fired or whatever. That's not nearly enough."
Friday, five members of the Secret Service's Pittsburgh field office were put on administrative leave, including the branch's director. Others involved in the security plan for the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was shot and a man was killed, remain on the job.
The agency is still investigating how the would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to get close enough to Trump to fire eight shots, including the one that grazed the GOP nominee's right ear.
"If it has foreign elements, foreign forces to this, like Iran, then we better get real interested in securing our elections with paper ballots," Holt added.
"[Hold a] one-day election, one-day count, and we better do that because it's not about red versus blue. It's about a foreign power wanting to interfere with our elections to the point that they might even assassinate a president."
Meanwhile, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, the president of Project Sentinel, was also on Saturday's program, where he discussed what he called the "platitudes" on Israel offered by Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris during her convention acceptance speech Thursday.
"This is platitudes and happy talk," Shaffer said. "I'm surprised she didn't offer backrubs for everybody who comes to the table."
In her speech, Harris said she "will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself."
However, she also spoke out against the destruction that has happened in Gaza since the Hamas attacks on Israel last October, and said that she and President Joe Biden are working on a cease-fire deal that will free hostages still being held by Hamas and working to help Palestinians "realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination."
"When is the last time you saw [Biden] address our hostages who are being held?" asked Shaffer.
"When the enemy sees, terrorists see this sort of thing, they know the United States is going to be absent," said Shaffer. "I don't even know what term to use to address this level of disconnect between what Kamala Harris and the Biden administration says."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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