(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump’s campaign was forced to cancel an outdoor rally set for the key battleground state of Wisconsin on Saturday after the Secret Service denied him resources to secure the event. Instead, Trump will reportedly speak at a smaller indoor venue.
According to a Secret Service whistleblower, the agency recently told the Trump campaign that it lacked sufficient assets to secure a potential campaign rally in Wisconsin for the former president.
Other whistleblowers allege that failure to provide protection for a major public event is highly unusual, and that a sitting president would never be denied resources in this way, according to a Tuesday letter from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., to Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe.
The cancellation follows Rowe’s press conference last week, where he told reporters that Trump is receiving “the highest level of Secret Service protection” and that “he’s getting everything” that “the current president has with respect to Secret Service assets.” On the same night of Rowe’s remarks, his Secret Service secured a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Madison, Wisconsin.
In his letter to Rowe, Hawley accused the Secret Service of election interference.
“Did the Secret Service ever tell former President Trump, his campaign, or any related business entities that the agency could not secure a rally event in Wisconsin? Has the Secret Service ever told President Biden or Vice President Harris that the agency could not secure a campaign event of their choosing?” Hawley asked Rowe.
After Hawley’s letter went public, the senator said Rowe called him.
I just had an extraordinary conversation with Director Rowe at the Secret Service, who called me personally to dispute a whistleblower allegation – but refuses to respond in writing. Just as he has declined to respond substantively to ANY of the whistleblowers’ allegations
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 25, 2024
“I just had an extraordinary conversation with Director Rowe at the Secret Service, who called me personally to dispute a whistleblower allegation—but refuses to respond in writing. Just as he has declined to respond substantively to ANY of the whistleblowers’ allegations,” Hawley said Thursday.
According to Hawley, Rowe complained about whistleblowers and about the senator’s requests for information based on whistleblower reports.
“I informed him it is his JOB to provide the facts to the public & Congress. Stonewalling must stop. And I reminded him whistleblowers are protected under federal law,” Hawley said.
“I emphasized to Rowe that it is indefensible that his agency has not cooperated fully with congressional investigators – to the point that today the Homeland Security Committee again adopted my legislation to COMPEL Secret Service & DHS to cooperate,” he said, referring to his legislation requiring the Department of Homeland Security to provide any and all info pertaining to both the July 13 and September 15 Trump assassination attempts.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
