The infamous sniper’s nest at the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach — the site of the second major assassination attempt against President-elect Donald Trump — was located near a known vulnerability on the grounds, a bipartisan House task force revealed in its final report released Tuesday.
Moreover, the report indicated that the Secret Service declined to deploy the “full scope” of their protective procedures for Trump, 78, that day on Sept. 15, due to the hasty nature of his golf outing.
“Despite the Trump International Golf Club being surrounded by public roads and protected only by a chain-link fence, trees, and brush, the Secret Service did not implement the full scope of [redacted] prior to former President Trump’s arrival on September 15,” the 180-page report said.
“Unfortunately, the property was subject to critical vulnerabilities, particularly related to its outer perimeter, which the Secret Service had previously identified as a favorable position for potential snipers,” the report noted, adding that it was “publicly reported” that the location of where the sniper’s nest got set up “was known by photographers.”
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe had said that the agency received short notice about the golf outing. The agency was notified at 2:30 a.m. that day of the president-elect’s intent to visit the golf course at roughly 12:30 p.m., according to the report.
However, Trump’s arrival at the golf course got bumped up about an hour, per the report.
Cell phone data indicated that the suspect waited around 12 hours prior to being identified by Secret Service, authorities previously revealed to the public in court documents. He was not believed to have had a clear line of sight on the president-elect at the time.
A Secret Service agent had spotted a sniper’s rifle protruding from the bushes some 90 yards (270 feet) from Trump and opened fire, scaring off suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, who was later detained by authorities.
In July, House leadership announced a bipartisan task force to investigate the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pa. in which a bullet grazed Trump’s right ear.
That panel released an interim 53-page report in October that didn’t delve into the golf course assassination attempt.
Like the interim version, the final report reached a damning conclusion that the events that unfolded on the day of the first major assassination attempt “were tragic and preventable, and the litany of related security failures are unacceptable.”
Here’s what we know about the assassination attempt on Trump in Florida:
- Former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach on Sept. 15, 2024.
- Trump sent out a statement to supporters soon after to report that he was “SAFE AND WELL.”
- The suspect — identified as Ryan Routh, 58, of Hawaii — was able to get within 300 to 500 yards of Trump at a chain link fence on the edge of the course, where he had an AK-47 and a GoPro camera set up, apparently to record the planned shooting.
- Routh has a history of supporting progressive causes online and has made 19 donations to Democratic candidates since 2019.
- A Secret Service agent spotted and opened fire on Routh as he put his gun through the fence. The suspect fled and was arrested on I-95 a short time later.
- According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Trump’s security detail was lighter because he isn’t a sitting president — despite the previous attempt on his life in July.
Much of the fresh details about the Sept. 15 attempt in the final report were redacted, but it indicated that there were certain assets or procedures the Secret Service did not use ahead of Trump’s arrival at the golf course.
The task force outlined over three dozen major recommendations in its final report, including three that directly pertained to the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach incident.
That includes: using a special vehicle (the specifics of which were redacted) on golf courses, examining its protocols for protecting golf courses and utilizing more K-9 sweeps.
Last week, the task force held a fiery hearing with Rowe to review its findings and brainstorm additional ideas for improving the Secret Service.
At one point, that hearing erupted into a screamfest after Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) knocked Rowe’s decision to personally attend and be prominently situated at a 9/11 memorial last September, eliciting the acting director’s fury.
During that hearing, Rowe indicated that the Secret Service could override a president or protectee at times when the agency believes a situation could pose tremendous dangers.
Trump has not announced his pick to helm the Secret Service under his incoming administration.
Follow the latest on the foiled assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Florida
- Trump ‘safe and well’ after being targeted by would-be assassin with AK-47 assault rifle for second time in 2 months
- Shots fired near Trump live updates: Would-be shooter was 300-500 yards away, came with scope and GoPro — ‘Intent on filming’
- Who is alleged would-be Trump assassin Ryan Wesley Routh?
- Trump assures he’s ‘SAFE AND WELL’ after Secret Service fires at man armed with assault rifle at president’s golf resort
- Trump’s security at golf course was lighter because he’s not sitting prez: official
- Demands mount for Trump to get same protection as Biden — after yet another assassination plot
Both Rowe and the task force’s report painted a picture of a Secret Service that had been overwhelmed by its responsibilities.
“We’ve increased our net, and we’ve been able to hang on to our veteran agents,” Rowe explained during his testimony last week. “Part of that is by giving them a retention incentive, which we just rolled out now, we’re able to easily hold on to them.”
But heightened concerns about morale at the protective agency still loom large.
Recently, agents groused over a “reply all” email that a supervisor at the Secret Service sent to subordinates chiding a request from a special agent on the Presidential Protective Division (PPD) to take time off for personal reasons.
“There’s a lot going on. Requesting leave or RDOs [rostered days off] for next week isn’t going to cut it …This is not just for this week only. I mean going forward until you have PPD. You need to manage your personal life and family expectations that unless your request is at least 2 weeks out, it isn’t happening, the email said, per RealClearPolitics.
“The ADLs work way too hard to make the schedule magic happen each week to have to change the entire thing due to the ripple effects of you wanting to have next Tuesday off so you can get your dog groomed.”
One source griped to RealClearPolitics, “And they wonder why people leave,” regarding the tone of the missive.
The Post contacted a Secret Service spokesperson for comment.
The task force also laid out numerous recommendations for Congress to shore up the Secret Service’s protective measures, including a more thorough review of its budget and retention, a slim down of the agency’s protectees, a consideration of kicking the agency outside of the Department of Homeland Security and a bolstering of Congress’ power to obtain sensitive documents from law enforcement.
The task force has until this Friday to officially file its public report and then is set to dissolve 10 days after doing so — ahead of the next Congress.
Still, many members of the panel have publicly contended that Congress has much more work to do and a top complaint is that the Justice Department and some of its key agencies such as the FBI “provided limited cooperation in certain areas of the Task Force’s investigation.”
The final report outlined a list of outstanding material that the soon-to-be-defunct task force is hoping members of Congress get access to from those agencies.
“It is now incumbent on Acting Director Ronald Rowe to enact as many of the 32 recommendations made by the Task Force as possible, and for Congress to review the five legislative recommendations,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a statement.
“Moving forward, Congress will work with the incoming Trump Administration to make these changes to significantly improve the security apparatus of the President, Vice President, and all its protectees. We can never again experience such a dangerous and deadly security failure.”
