The attempt, which came within inches of assassinating former President Trump, reveals the intelligence community’s inability to prevent even the most amateurish attempts to kill a presidential candidate.
Despite the heroism of the agents near Trump when he was wounded, no armed gunman should have been allowed near a building within line of sight of the speaker. Yet this 20-year-old was able to fire multiple shots with a large rifle. Every security agency should know that all buildings within firing range and line of sight must be cleared before allowing a security guard onto the platform.
The main role of the secret service is prevention. Its reactive role only comes into play when it fails in its main role, which was clearly the case here. One does not have to be a law enforcement expert to criticise this most obvious and easily preventable security breach.
This could have been the most catastrophic event in modern political history. Had the likely Republican presidential nominee been assassinated, this nation and the world would be in turmoil. There is no telling what would have happened in the streets if half of America had been deprived of their preferred candidate. The danger of potential mass violence cannot be overstated.
The question now is whether there is enough time to correct this incompetence as we head into an election that will see numerous outdoor rallies that could see similar assassination attempts by lone gunmen or conspirators emboldened by this highly publicized failure.
There is no sugarcoating this. We love our brave law enforcement officers, and for good reason. But the intelligence community failed us. Action must be taken today, not tomorrow, to prevent a repeat. It will not be easy to immediately replace the failed leaders without increasing the risks we currently face. But this is an emergency, and immediate action must be taken to prevent a repeat of this potential disaster.
A group of leading experts – current and former – from the FBI, CIA, State Department protective services, and other relevant agencies must monitor the agency and ensure that it takes all necessary steps to protect candidates in the future. The public should no longer trust the agency’s current leadership to carry out this important task alone. The stakes are too high to risk a repeat of the incompetence that nearly led to this assassination.
Trump wasn’t the only one to dodge a bullet. The entire nation did. And it was all the fault of the secret service.
Alan Dershowitz is Professor Emeritus at Harvard Law School
The secret service is to blame for Trump’s near death
The attempt, which came within inches of assassinating former President Trump, reveals the intelligence community’s inability to prevent even the most amateurish attempts to kill a presidential candidate.
Despite the heroism of the agents near Trump when he was wounded, no armed gunman should have been allowed near a building within line of sight of the speaker. Yet this 20-year-old was able to fire multiple shots with a large rifle. Every security agency should know that all buildings within firing range and line of sight must be cleared before allowing a security guard onto the platform.
The main role of the secret service is prevention. Its reactive role only comes into play when it fails in its main role, which was clearly the case here. One does not have to be a law enforcement expert to criticise this most obvious and easily preventable security breach.
This could have been the most catastrophic event in modern political history. Had the likely Republican presidential nominee been assassinated, this nation and the world would be in turmoil. There is no telling what would have happened in the streets if half of America had been deprived of their preferred candidate. The danger of potential mass violence cannot be overstated.
The question now is whether there is enough time to correct this incompetence as we head into an election that will see numerous outdoor rallies that could see similar assassination attempts by lone gunmen or conspirators emboldened by this highly publicized failure.
There is no sugarcoating this. We love our brave law enforcement officers, and for good reason. But the intelligence community failed us. Action must be taken today, not tomorrow, to prevent a repeat. It will not be easy to immediately replace the failed leaders without increasing the risks we currently face. But this is an emergency, and immediate action must be taken to prevent a repeat of this potential disaster.
A group of leading experts – current and former – from the FBI, CIA, State Department protective services, and other relevant agencies must monitor the agency and ensure that it takes all necessary steps to protect candidates in the future. The public should no longer trust the agency’s current leadership to carry out this important task alone. The stakes are too high to risk a repeat of the incompetence that nearly led to this assassination.
Trump wasn’t the only one to dodge a bullet. The entire nation did. And it was all the fault of the secret service.
Alan Dershowitz is Professor Emeritus at Harvard Law School
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