Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has raised concerns with both U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe and Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari regarding new whistleblower allegations that claim Secret Service leadership is preventing government auditors from accessing key events. According to the whistleblower, this is part of an effort to hide the fact that President Trump is not receiving the highest level of protection.
In his letter to Acting Director Rowe, Hawley highlighted the contradiction between Rowe’s public statements and the new allegations. “You of course have publicly stated that President Trump is receiving ‘the highest level of Secret Service protection’ and that ‘he’s getting everything,’” Hawley wrote. “This new whistleblower information troublingly contradicts your public statements.” The senator also submitted several questions to Rowe, requesting prompt responses from the agency.
In a separate letter to Inspector General Cuffari, Hawley noted:
“According to new whistleblower allegations, Secret Service headquarters blocked several of your auditors from accessing recent Trump campaign events. The whistleblower alleges that the denial was in order to hide the fact that the former president is not receiving a consistent level of protective assets for all of his engagements. […] You should be aware of these allegations, which indicate that the Secret Service is not in fact cooperating with your auditors and is instead painting a false picture.”
Senator Hawley has been at the forefront of efforts to expose failures by the Secret Service regarding assassination attempts on President Trump. As part of an ongoing investigation into security lapses at a July 13 rally in Butler, Pa., Hawley released a whistleblower report detailing these failures by both DHS and the Secret Service.
In recent weeks, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) unanimously passed Hawley’s legislation requiring DHS to submit all relevant information related to the July 13 and September 15 assassination attempts to the committee.
Whistleblowers with additional information are encouraged to contact Senator Hawley’s office via email at tips@hawley.senate.gov or by phone at (202) 224-6154. Whistleblower identities will be protected in accordance with the Whistleblower Protection Act (5 U.S.C. § 2302).
