America has been wondering how it’s possible the vaunted Secret Service (SS), the self-billed greatest protective agency on the planet managed to be utterly defeated by a 20-year-old apparent nerd with no known tactical training or skills, a kid who couldn’t make his high school rifle team because he was an unbelievably awful shot. How is it possible this kid was under occasional observation for up to an hour and was, according to a variety of sources, labeled as suspicious no less than three times, seen with a rangefinder, a ladder and a backpack, yet not one SS agent or assisting law enforcement officer was ever able to find the elusive bad shot.  Not, that is, until he mounted a roof above the very heads of at least three other SS counter snipers, and fired eight or nine shots at Donald Trump.

Then they finally spotted and kept eyes on him and did what counter snipers do.

It now appears we’re getting closer to understanding why the assassin was so slippery.  Fox News reports before he mounted the roof, he hid his rifle, though there is no inkling or where or how he did that. The article notes they didn’t really see him until he was on the roof with the rifle, and various other sources suggest SS or other agency counter snipers had him in their sights, or at least their spotting scopes, for from three to 20 minutes before they fired—after he already fired three shots, killing one, and injuring three, including Trump.  Oh yes, it’s worse:

‘We went from golf range finder to AR-15, and now we have to fill in the gap,’ the source told Fox News.

Yah think?

When authorities first observed Crooks carrying a golf range finder Saturday, he was perceived as a “person of interest” but not a "threat," authorities said Thursday.

Range finders were not banned from rally events at the time, but authorities are expected to review the list of items that are not allowed.

What?!

He did not become an official threat until he was seen with a weapon.

Are there, to the SS’s way of thinking, “unofficial threats?” What would comprise such a threat? If that’s the standard, the SS is going to be able to transfer much of its training budget to DEI recruiting. If the SS can wait until a gun comes out before recognizing a threat, they won’t need agents to contact anyone making threats beforehand, nor will they need advance teams for site visits and organization. Think of all the drag queen shows for SS Headquarters that kind of savings could fund!

During the several occasions I helped the Secret Service, though I was but a lowly local cop with no advanced SS training, if I saw someone using a rangefinder I would have not only called it out on the radio net, I would have immediately intercepted them and held them until the SS could deal with them. So would any other cop I ever knew. What possible legitimate use could anyone have for a rangefinder under those circumstances?

Graphic: X Screenshot

Perhaps when the Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle appears before Congress sometime this coming week, a senator or congressman could ask that question, among others.

Then and now, seeing anyone with a rangefinder, I would have thought they were setting up a shot for themselves, or scouting for someone else. How can it be the SS, and every other local cop present, didn’t have those same thoughts, and if they did, apparently didn’t act on them then and there?

I’ve previously suggested it appears the SS, whether purely internally or with orders from above, has been creating security vulnerabilities with plausible deniability, vulnerabilities they hoped someone might exploit to kill Trump. Jill Biden was doing an event at the same time, so agents were drawn away from Trump.  Sources reported the SS couldn’t adequately staff Trump’s event because of the NATO conference, which ended two days earlier.

Perhaps those vulnerabilities were created merely out of political spite, because of Trump Derangement Syndrome, because they refused to do anything Trump wanted or from which he might benefit. But if that’s the case, we’re back to the option of unbelievable SS incompetence. They’re supposed to be the world experts at predicating, identifying and dealing with risks. They couldn’t predict short-staffing Trump would create dangerous vulnerabilities?

And the hits just keep on coming. On Laura Ingraham’s July 19 show, she reported there was at least one drone in the air that day: the assassin flew one, obviously doing the reconnaissance the SS wouldn’t or couldn’t.

In these situations, much that is initially reported is wrong in ways small and large. Working primarily from media sources mistakes are inevitable, and when—if—entirely reliable information is available, we’ll correct the record.

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.