On July 18, in Trump attempt: why didn’t they shoot?, I suggested the government, in its Secret Service (SS) pseudo-protection of Donald Trump, was creating security vulnerabilities with plausible deniability. Were those vulnerabilities due to Trump Derangement Syndrome? Were those creating them doing it purposely with the hope someone would exploit them and kill Trump? Were they simply practicing contemporary Democract/socialist/communist (D/s/c) politics, playing hardball, and doing all they could to harass and hamper Trump without necessarily hoping he’d be killed? Or was the 20-year-old a doomed patsy, manipulated from the beginning, part of an assassination plot that would allow plausible deniability? Cops hate to be called incompetent and will do virtually anything to avoid it—unless the alternative is worse.  Was someone willing to allow the SS to look like total idiots to rid themselves of Trump?

Because the FBI is saying virtually nothing, other than to contradict itself, conspiracy theories abound. Much of what seems credibly known comes from whistleblowers. We’re in the bizarre position of being unable to tell the difference between all but unbelievable incompetence and a malicious assassination plot. 

This seems to be the current state of knowledge:

*Local LE was supposedly assigned to secure the roof and single-story building from where the assassin fired, but either didn’t show up or left because it was too hot, leaving the building unsecured.

*There were supposedly 2-3 local LE, perhaps snipers (and spotters?), in the second story of an attached two-story building with a clear view of the lower building and rooftop and the open lane to the stage, but all left for various reasons, including looking for the assassin who was, at various times over as long as an hour, spotted with a rangefinder, backpack and perhaps a ladder. 

*The SS supervisor on the scene never noticed the building and roof were unsecured, or if s/he did, did nothing.  Perhaps s/he was busy trying to holster a handgun?

*No one ever found and questioned the assassin.

*Most local LE personnel were on traffic duty, and they even left their traffic posts to search for the assassin/suspicious person.

*By the time he gained the rooftop, reports suggest snipers were watching him for as long as 26 minutes and as short a time as three minutes.

*However long they watched him, they didn’t shoot until eight or nine rounds were fired, killing one and wounding three, including Donald Trump.

*In Congressional testimony, FBI Director Wray said the FBI wasn’t sure if Trump’s injury was due to a bullet or shrapnel, including glass.  He also said they found eight “cartridges” on the rooftop by the assassin. A “cartridge” is a complete, unfired cartridge.  Did Wray mean they found eight unfired cartridges or eight pieces of fired brass? The only possible glass would have been the teleprompter screens, but video shows them undamaged. There was nothing between the muzzle of the assassin’s rifle and Trump’s ear that could have caused the bullet to fragment, nor to in any way produce shrapnel, but who you gonna believe? The FBI director or your own lyin’ eyes?

Graphic: X Screenshot

*The FBI didn’t believe the FBI director. The next day they confirmed it was a bullet, but we still don’t know about the cartridges.

Graphic: X Screenshot

*The FBI also confirmed the assassin flew a drone over the area, perhaps more than once, either an hour or two hours before the speech, and they claim it was no closer than 200 yards to the stage, but if they didn’t see it in the first place, how could they possibly know that?

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*It’s also confirmed local LE offered the SS use of their drones, but the SS declined. There were no LE or SS drones flown, apparently before and during the speech.

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*Former SS Director Kim Cheatle told Congress virtually nothing, except that there were no recordings of SS radio traffic, which makes sense only if there was radio traffic—they routinely record it—that made the SS look very bad indeed and she wanted everyone to think there were no recordings.

*The SS claimed they never turned down requests to bolster Trump’s SS detail. They admitted they lied.

Conspiracy theories, such as audio indicating more than one assassin, the SS shot the assassin from nearly 450 yards, and there was another assassin on a nearby watertower, are flourishing.

Graphic: Screenshot from video provided by an anonymous reader

That screenshot from an equally blurry video obviously proves nothing.

What seems clear is too few SS agents led to a cascade of vulnerabilities and bizarre coincidences a 20-year-old with no tactical training or skill was able to exploit with murderous consequences. 

Because the FBI, and now the Secret Service, have thrown away their credibility, there can be no plausible deniability, and whatever report they produce will have no credibility. If America is to survive, we need to be able to believe our hired hands.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.