Wally Amos, literacy advocate and founder of the Famous Amos cookie brand, died Wednesday at this home, ABC News reported. He was 88 and suffered from complications due to dementia before his passing.
Born Wallace Amos, Jr., the cookie entrepreneur forged a path to success nearly 50 years ago. Amos began his life in Tallahassee, Florida, but would build the brand that would make him famous with his first shop in 1975 in Hollywood, California.
As People reported, Amos made $300,000 in the company's first year and would reach $12 million by year five. In making his cookies free of preservatives and all-natural, Amos was ahead of his time.
Amos would become known not only for his confections but also for community outreach. In 1981, Amos became a spokesman for the Literacy Volunteers of America to inspire people with his passion for reading and writing.
Amos was a beloved icon in business and culture not only because of his cookies but also for his public service and quirky persona. After his passing, Ferrero Group, which now owns the Famous Amos brand, shared a tribute to the late cookie mogul on Instagram.
"Ferrero and the Famous Amos team are saddened by the loss of Wally Amos and our thoughts are with his family. He brought joy to millions with his cookies and is an inspiration to generations of entrepreneurs," the company wrote.
"We will continue to work to honor his legacy," the post added. After selling his brand to the company in the 1980s amid financial difficulties, Amos would later become a pitchman for the company.
Amos' children also shared fond remembrances of their late father, whom they said died "peacefully" at home. "Our dad inspired a generation of entrepreneurs," they told CBS News.
"With his Panama hat, kazoo, and boundless optimism, Famous Amos was a great American success story, and a source of Black pride. It's also part of our family story for which we will forever be grateful and proud." Amos has four grown children: Michael Amos, Gregory Amos, Sarah Amos, and Shawn Amos.
Wally Amos got his start as a talent agent. He signed acts like the Supremes and Simon and Garfunkel when they were still unknown. However, he would find that his most profound passion was for baking.
"I began to bake as a hobby; it was a kind of therapy. I'd go to meetings with record company or movie people and bring along some cookies, and pretty soon everybody was asking for them," Amos recalled in a 1975 interview.
Eventually, Amos would start his cookie enterprise with the help of music greats Helen Reddy and Marvin Gaye. They gave him $25,000 to start the business that would become Amos' most successful endeavor.
Amos would contribute to the culture with his book The Path to Success is Paved with Positive Thinking and cookbook The Cookie Never Crumbles. These works combined Amos' favorite hobbies and cemented his legacy as a literacy advocate.
From his delicious cookies to his community work, Amos shared his gifts generously with the world. With his passing, it's clear that the man who became Famous Amos also left the world a better place.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was disqualified from the 2024 presidential ballot in New York after a judge ruled Monday that he provided a "sham" address on his candidate's petition, Fox News reported. The 70-year-old claimed he a rented bedroom in the Empire State despite owning a house with his wife in California.
New York Justice Christina L. Ryba ruled that the Westchester County address was "merely a ‘sham’ address that he assumed for the purpose of maintaining his voter registration" and seeking high office. Ryba added that he made a "false statement requiring invalidation of the petition" in New York.
"Using a friend’s address for political and voting purposes, while barely stepping foot on the premises, does not equate to residency under the Election Law. To hold otherwise would establish a dangerous precedent and open the door to the fraud and political mischief that the Election Law residency rules were designed to prevent," the judge wrote in her 34-page-decision.
This ruling will keep Kennedy off of the ballot in New York but could also be grounds to disqualify him in other states. Previously, Kennedy said he was approved to be listed on the ballot in every state.
It's likely that Kennedy will appeal Ryba's decision, but this is another obstacle in a succession of hurdles. Kennedy began his candidacy as a Democrat from the party's most storied family.
However, after failing to gain traction as a Democratic candidate, Kennedy became an independent. He believes the Democratic Party is still trying to block him, including the lawsuit against him filed by the Democratic political action committee Clear Choice Action.
"The Democrats are showing contempt for democracy. They aren’t confident they can win at the ballot box, so they are trying to stop voters from having a choice," Kennedy said, adding that Ryba is a Democrat. "We will appeal, and we will win," he added.
The candidate doubled down on his message on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday. "This case is an assault on New York voters who signed in record numbers to place me on their ballot. The DNC has become a party that uses lawfare in place of the democratic election process."
This case is an assault on New York voters who signed in record numbers to place me on their ballot. The DNC has become a party that uses lawfare in place of the democratic election process. We will appeal and we will win. 🇺🇸 https://t.co/D8rfIogIai
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) August 13, 2024
Many voters disillusioned with the two-party system who found a home with Kennedy may be tempted to believe Kennedy's assertion that this case is part of a conspiracy against him. Unfortunately, there is likely merit to the court's decision.
Notably, Kennedy spends most of his time in California, where he shares a home with his actress wife, Cheryl Hines. There's no evidence that Kennedy spent any time in the rented room located in the home of Barbara Moss, as he claimed.
In fact, Kennedy first paid Moss the $500 per month rent only after the media began investigating the matter. She also said there is no written lease for the arrangement.
These facts led the judge to say it was "highly improbably, if not preposterous," to believe Kennedy's claims that "he may return to that bedroom to reside with his wife, family members, multiple pets, and all of his personal belongings." Moreover, Ryba noted that Kennedy had a "long-standing pattern" of claiming friends' residences as his own to maintain his New York voter registration.
While Kennedy provided a necessary alternative for some voters, this decision could forever ruin his chances of electoral success. It remains unclear why Kennedy took such a risk in the first place.
Former President Donald Trump told billionaire Elon Musk the pair should flee and "meet the next time in Venezuela" if the GOP presidential hopeful loses, Newsweek reported. Trump said this to underscore his concerns for the future of the U.S. if his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, prevails.
Musk interviewed Trump on Monday through the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, which the SpaceX mogul also owns. The pair spoke at length after technical difficulties initially derailed the broadcast on X Spaces.
"If something happens with this election, which would be a horror show, we'll meet the next time in Venezuela because it'll be a far safer place to meet than our country...You and I will go, and we'll have a meeting and dinner in Venezuela," Trump said to Musk more than an hour and 53 minutes into the broadcast.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2024
Trump maintains that many of the problems with immigration come from nations like Venezuela, which is sending criminals to enter the U.S. illegally. The former president contends that it lowers the South American nation's crime rate.
"Their crime rate is coming down, and our crime rate is going through the roof. And it's so simple," Trump told Musk.
"And you haven't seen anything yet because these people have come into our country, and they're just getting acclimated, and they don't know about being politically correct, law enforcement or lack of law enforcement and our police. I have to just end with this. We have great police," the former president added.
"I'll tell you what. Venezuela has not gotten rid of all of them. They've gotten rid of about 70 percent of their really bad people," Trump said.
"Their jails are about 50%, put into the United States. Same with other countries, over 30%. Some are at 50%. They're all different. But the bottom line is they're all going to be 100%. Why wouldn't you put 100% of it?" Trump claimed.
Fact-checkers claimed that there is no evidence that Venezuela is sending over criminals or people from mental hospitals. However, Trump's statement underscores a broader problem with growing numbers of migrant crime.
When people are allowed into the nation unvetted, there's no telling what kind of past they have or crimes they've committed. This is especially concerning as Fox News reported that the number of migrant criminals has reached new heights since 2021.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection data found that more than 13,000 "criminal noncitizens" were captured by Border Patrol in Fiscal Year 2024 so far. This is more than doubled the 4,269 in 2019 and represented people convicted of at least one crime anywhere in the world.
Prior to when President Joe Biden took over in 2021, the number was on the decline. However, each year of the Biden administration has seen an increase, with 2023, the last full year, recording 15,267 such migrants.
Trump is correct that migrant criminals pose a major threat to the citizens of the U.S. He's also correct that if he doesn't retake the White House in 2024, things will only get that much worse in the U.S.
Boston field office head of the Secret Service apologized Thursday for breaking into a salon on July 27 to allow agents and others to use the bathroom without permission from the owner during a fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Berkshires salon owner Alicia Powers said that a Secret Service agent covered her security camera with tape and then broke the lock on her building. After a number of different people used the bathroom over about two hours and were encouraged to do so by the agents, Powers said they left the building unlocked and vacant.
At first the agents denied that they had broken in. After confronted with video evidence from cameras inside, however, the leadership did apologize.
"He said to me everything that was done was done very wrong,” Powers told Business Insider. “They were not supposed to tape my camera without permission. They were not supposed to enter the building without permission.”
The salon was behind Colonial Theatre, the site of the fundraiser. The salon owner decided to close on Saturday because of the high security presence in the area on Friday and the "chaos" it brought.
She said she felt "violated" by the incident.
“Whoever was visiting, whether it was a celebrity or not, I probably would’ve opened the door and made them coffee and brought in donuts to make it a great afternoon for them,” she told the outlet. “But they didn’t even have the audacity to ask for permission. They just helped themselves.”
Powers’ landlord, Brian Smith, also said that the Secret Service “had no permission to go in there whatsoever.”
The Secret Service agent who apologized offered to have the salon cleaned, to cover the alarm bill for the day, and to come to the shop and apologize in person.
Powers said she would accept the offers.
It's yet another black mark on the Secret Service's reputation after it failed to protect former President Donald Trump from a gunshot that grazed his ear during an assassination attempt on the same day as the Harris event.
Security and communications failures led to a gunman not being stopped before shooting at Trump even though he was noticed as a person of interest almost 2 hours before Trump took the stage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Another rallygoer was killed by one of the gunman's bullets, and two more were injured.
No doubt this incident will be added to the growing list of investigations into the agency.
As issues of immigration come to the forefront in the upcoming presidential contest, an Arizona law regarding whether proof of citizenship is necessary to cast a ballot in federal elections is the subject of debate that now stretches to the highest court in the land.
The latest development in the legal wrangling over the statute has seen the GOP asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Ninth Circuit decision and permit the state of Arizona to enforce citizenship proof requirements -- likely contrary to the wishes of the Biden administration -- now that the November election is fast approaching, as Fox News reports.
An emergency appeal was filed last week with Justice Elena Kagan, who possesses jurisdiction over matters of this nature emanating from Arizona.
The filing came from the Republican National Committee as well as a group of Arizona GOP legislators hoping for a reinstatement of a law mandating the presentation of citizenship proof before a ballot can be cast in the presidential contest, whether via in-person voting or a mail-in process.
A federal judge halted enforcement of the 2022 law that faced challenges from the state Democratic Party and a group of civil rights organizations.
The Hill noted that in their application to Kagan, the Republicans seeking relief wrote, “The district court's injunction is an unprecedented abrogation of the Arizona Legislature's sovereign authority to determine the qualifications of voters and structure participation in its elections.”
As Fox News notes, Kagan can act on her own accord or enlist the input of her fellow justices in addressing the matter, and it is thought that she will likely ask for the swift submission of written briefs from those who stand in opposition to the law's provisions.
The Arizona Republic reported earlier this month that the Ninth Circuit's decision permitting registration for federal election voting even in the absence of citizenship proof was just the latest in a series of back-and-forth maneuvers in the ongoing controversy.
The ruling meant that individuals in Arizona were again allowed to utilize state-issued voter registration materials even if they did not produce evidence of citizenship.
Instead, registrants would simply be required to state under penalty of perjury that they are indeed U.S. citizens, something that would permit them to vote in federal contests.
The situation led Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen to pledge further legal action -- including the request for emergency stay filed with the Supreme Court -- stating that it was necessary “to make sure only American citizens are voting in our elections.”
In expressing is displeasure with the federal court, Petersen asserted that its decision on this issue is “another example of why the radical 9th Circuit is the most overturned circuit in the country.”
The Republican officials seeking assistance from the high court have requested that a ruling be issued no later than Aug. 22.
Such an expedited schedule is necessary, the GOP's representatives contend, so that the litigation may be definitively resolved in advance of the state's ballot printing deadline, but whether they will get their wish, only time will tell.
A 2007 video shows vice presidential hopeful Tim Walz accepting then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's congratulations for his service "on the battlefield" in 2007, Breitbart reported. The Minnesota governor has never gone to war and has been slammed for lying about his time in the Army National Guard.
The clip was first reshared by Chuck Ross at the Free Beacon amid continued questions about Walz's military service. In it, Pelosi gushed about the then-congressman's service.
"He will speak for himself, but I want him to know how much we all appreciate his service to our country, whether it’s in the classroom or on the battlefield," Pelosi said. Rather than setting the record straight, Walz simply replied, "Thank you, Madam Speaker."
CRAZY NANCY: “We all appreciate his service … on the battlefield.”
WALZ: “Thank you, Madam Speaker.”
(Walz, who has repeatedly lied about his service, was never “on the battlefield.”)pic.twitter.com/WbSuBuR8x9
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 9, 2024
Walz likes to tout his military service in the context of implementing some awful progressive policy. However, the people around him know the truth about his record.
Retired Minnesota National Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Herr set the record straight in 2018 and is doing it again in the media. Herr appeared Thursday on Fox & Friends to discuss Walz's actual record compared to the narrative crafted to bolster his political career.
"He continually claims that he's a retired [sergeant] major. He is not, he is a retired master sergeant," Herr pointed out. While Walz initially received the promotion, his retirement voided it.
"And then, of course, he never entered into the Sergeant Majors Academy. He never did one scrap of work. That takes years," Herr added.
"He signed a commitment letter saying that he was going to do that job. He didn't, and he was stripped of that title when he left the Minnesota National Guard, yet he still claims to do it," Herr said.
Walz also lied about the circumstances of his retirement just before his unit was deployed to Iraq. Herr said that Walz was "having backroom conversations with other people, other entities inside the Minnesota National Guard, to ensure that he could retire" before heading to Iraw while still stating publicly that he was headed to war.
Although the record has been public for years, Walz's position as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate has renewed interest in it. Another unearthed 2018 clip showed Walz speaking about using "weapons in war" when pushing gun control, NBC News reported.
GOP vice presidential hopeful Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, a Marine veteran, excoriated Walz for saying this despite never firing a shot in battle. This has forced the Democratic campaign to respond. They have decided Walz "misspoke" when he touted his military prowess.
"Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country — in fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. It’s the American way," a spokesperson for the Harris campaign said.
"In making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor misspoke. He did handle weapons of war and believes strongly that only military members trained to carry those deadly weapons should have access to them, unlike [Former President] Donald Trump and JD Vance, who prioritize the gun lobby over our children,” the spokesperson charged.
For years, Walz has been massaging the details of his lackluster military career for clout. Being untruthful about something so serious and near and dear to Americans is criminal, and voters will surely recognize that.
Three Columbia University deans resigned after being suspended for text messages that "touched on ancient antisemitic tropes," the institution's president said, according to the Washington Examiner. Their exchange happened during a panel discussion titled "The Jewish Life on Campus: Past, Present and Future" on May 31.
The individuals were Matthew Patashnick, associate dean for student and family support, Cristen Kromm, dean of undergraduate student life, and Susan Chang-Kim, vice dean and chief administrative officer. The trio had been placed on leave last month after the story broke.
The Washington Free Beacon released the photos of the messages that sparked the controversy. " In leaked text messages obtained by the Free Beacon, top Columbia administrators—including the dean of the college—mocked and dismissed concerns about anti-Semitism on campus and even used vomit emojis to refer to a Columbia rabbi’s op-ed," reporter Aaron Sibarium captioned the messages.
NEW: In leaked text messages obtained by the Free Beacon, top Columbia administrators—including the dean of the college—mocked and dismissed concerns about anti-Semitism on campus and even used vomit emojis to refer to a Columbia rabbi’s op-ed.
Scoop w/@elianayjohnson.🧵 pic.twitter.com/BXC4fBQPHO
— Aaron Sibarium (@aaronsibarium) June 13, 2024
The event that the deans were messaging about was arranged because of the campus protests against Israel in its conflict with Hamas. Jewish students expressed concerns about the hate and vitriol directed at them by these protesters, but the deans found this tiresome.
"Comes from such a place of privilege. Trying to be open minded to understand but the doors are closing," Chang-Kim wrote about a Jewish student's experience.
The students were pouring their hearts out after feeling threatened on campus, Fox News reported. "People have been saying for a while now that they don't feel safe, and a lot of that had to do with the rhetoric," Columbia University junior Parker Stein said in April.
"I want to be clear right now: this has now gotten into physical safety. I no longer feel physically safe on my campus," Stein added.
Another Jewish student, Elisha Baker, also complained that the university tolerated the anti-Jewish sentiments and created a hostile atmosphere. "We've been calling this out for six months now… and now we see what happens when you don't shut down antisemitic rhetoric, and you allow these people to feel entitled," Baker said.
To its credit, Columbia University denounced the actions of its deans in a letter to the community on July 8. "This incident revealed behavior and sentiments that were not only unprofessional, but also, disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes," university president Minouche Shafik wrote.
"Whether intended as such or not, these sentiments are unacceptable and deeply upsetting, conveying a lack of seriousness about the concerns and the experiences of members of our Jewish community that is antithetical to our University’s values and the standards we must uphold in our community," the letter continued. Shafik promised that those involved would face consequences.
Notably, CNN reported that Columbia College dean Josef Sorett was also involved in the chat and taxed "LMAO" in response to one of the messages in question. Sorrett has apologized and remains at the university, while the other three have not expressed any remorse.
For all of the left's talk about tolerance, they are quick to show their prejudice against the Jewish people when the opportunity presents itself. The conflict between Hamas and Israel has flushed out people who hold these despicable views, and they seem unapologetic.
It's encouraging that Columbia University is taking this situation seriously and protecting its Jewish students from this kind of hate. However, it's telling that this has been allowed to flourish just under the noses of the supposedly enlightened elite there.
Gov. Tim Walz said then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged him to back off on his extreme pro-abortion positions in 2018 because they were too radical, Breitbart reported. This could come back to haunt the Minnesota Democrat as Vice President Kamala Harris recently tapped him to be her running mate.
Walz shared Pelosi's words with him in a speech at the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party convention. He was running for governor at the time and doubled down on his support for abortion from conception through birth.
"My record is so pro-choice Nancy Pelosi asked me if I should tone it down. I stand with Planned Parenthood," Walz told the crowd.
Gov. Tim Walz is so extreme on abortion that Nancy Pelosi once told him that he needs to “tone it down” & be more moderate.
Don’t vote for the ticket that will allow babies to die up until the moment of birth, and in some cases, even after birth. pic.twitter.com/FjtlEepfPg
— Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) August 6, 2024
There's no doubt that Walz is a pro-abortion zealot as he oversaw Minnesota legislation that made it the first state in the union to give blanket abortion rights to its citizens. The state expanded the already liberal law that allowed abortion through the second trimester.
This came after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, sending the issue back to the states. The Protect Reproductive Options Act conferred the "right" to birth control, sterilization, family planning services, and, of course, abortion up until birth.
When it was passed, the Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life called the PRO Act "extreme, inhumane, and harmful to women and children who deserve so much better." Cathy Blaeser, the organization's co-executive director, blasted the law's radical provisions.
"The PRO Act means a right to abort any baby for any reason at any time up to birth. It means that the elective killing of a human being in utero is perfectly legal even in the third trimester of pregnancy when the child can feel excruciating pain and could live outside the womb," Blaeser said.
"It means that parents have no right to know when their teenage daughter has been taken to undergo an abortion," she added. "Gov. Walz’s absolutist abortion policy puts Minnesota in the company of just a small handful of countries around the world, including North Korea and China," Blaeser charged.
The bill could have been tempered with exceptions and other provisions. Instead, every effort to change the law to protect women and unborn children was shot down.
MCCL noted that lawmakers "rejected dozens of amendments that would have made the bill less extreme." These amendments included a partial-birth abortion ban, exceptions to third-trimester abortions, and providing anesthesia to unborn babies who can feel pain.
"This law doesn’t just allow late abortion for medical emergencies or hard cases. It allows late abortion for any reason whatsoever, and it’s an open invitation to notorious late abortion practitioners to come to Minnesota to set up shop," Blaeser noted.
Shockingly, lawmakers wouldn't even require these procedures to happen in licensed hospitals. "Here in Minnesota, you don’t even need to be a doctor or have a licensed facility in order to perform abortions. The lack of guardrails to protect women and children is appalling," the MCCL co-executive director added.
Pelosi recognized that Walz's positions were out of the mainstream, even in the child-murder-obsessed Democratic Party. Now, Harris and Walz make up the most extreme pro-abortion ticket in the history of presidential elections, and this could end their campaign.
Former President Donald Trump is leading over Vice President Kamala Harris among Jewish likely voters in New York, Fox News reported. This flip marks a shift for the GOP in that demographic in the Democratic stronghold.
The Siena College Research Institute poll, taken July 28 through Aug. 1, shows that Trump leads Harris 50% to 49% among Jewish voters. This marks a change from June when Trump trailed President Joe Biden 46% to 52% in the same demographic.
Sentiments have shifted with Biden out of the race and Harris his presumptive replacement. The perception is that she's not as pro-Israel as Biden, and the polling reflects that.
#New @SienaResearch General Election Poll - New York - Jewish voters
🔴 Trump 50% (+1)
🔵 Harris 49%Siena #A+ - 100 LV - 8/1
— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) August 6, 2024
Harris is still outpolling Trump by 53% to 39% overall among New York voters. She's even improved the margin from Biden's lead, which was only at 10 points at its highest.
However, Harris has a problem among Jewish voters because she is increasingly siding against Israel in the conflict with Hamas. This is a break from the way the president and the Democratic Party have handled the war in the Gaza Strip.
The vice president demonstrated this in her lack of warmth toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or his position. "I believe that we have got to continue to enforce what we know to be and should be the priorities in terms of what is happening in Gaza," Harris said when asked if he was an "obstacle to peace" by the press.
"We've been very clear that far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. We have been very clear that Israel and the Israeli people and Palestinians are entitled to an equal amount of security and dignity."
Harris called for an "immediate cease-fire" in March and was the first in the administration to do so. She also threatened Israel that there would be "consequences" if it invited the city of Rafah.
Trump hammered Harris for her stance on Israel when Netanyahu visited the U.S. last month, according to the New York Post. The former president hosted the Israeli leader at this Mar-a-Lago residence while Harris met with Netanyahu at the White House.
The contrast in how each treated the leader is likely to help garner more votes for the GOP contender. "I think her remarks were disrespectful, they weren’t very nice pertaining to Israel," Trump said on July 26.
"I actually don’t know how a person who is Jewish could vote for her," the former president added. This followed remarks made by Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, that Israel was killing "far too many" people in its counterstrikes on Hamas.
"She’s a radical-left person — San Francisco, destroyed San Francisco. She’s really a destroyer. She doesn’t know how to build," Trump said of Harris.
Many believe that New York will remain solidly Democratic no matter what happens. However, polls showing a shift could point to a larger trend to come as Trump and Harris diverge on what to do about the conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is demanding answers after whistleblowers revealed that the "lead site agent" at the rally where former President Donald Trump was shot was "inexperienced," Breitbart reported. Hawley sent a letter Monday to Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe.
On July 13, a would-be assassin fired several shots at the former president at a Butler, Pennsylvania rally. Hawley believes Rowe should answer whistleblower accusations that could point to how this could have happened.
"Whistleblowers tell me the lead site agent in charge of the Butler rally was known to be inexperienced, ineffective, and not up to the job - and on the day failed to implement basic security protocols - yet this person is STILL on active duty. Why?" Hawley captioned a copy of his letter in a post to X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday.
🚨🚨 NEW - Whistleblowers tell me the lead site agent in charge of the Butler rally was known to be inexperienced, ineffective and not up to the job - and on the day failed to implement basic security protocols - yet this person is STILL on active duty. Why? 👇 pic.twitter.com/EhfUSCvnJ0
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) August 6, 2024
"New whistleblower allegations to my office directly question decisions made by Secret Service’s lead site agent principally responsible for securing the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. These allegations suggest that the lead site agent failed to implement appropriate security protocols," Hawley charged in the letter.
"This is especially alarming because, during your testimony on July 30, you stated that this agent was ‘still operational…They’re still doing protective visits," the Missouri Republican added.
If this is true, it would mean anyone under this team's protection could be in danger. "One whistleblower with direct knowledge of the event alleges to my office that this lead site agent was well-known in campaign circles as lacking competence and experience in the role," Hawley added.
"This specific allegation follows similar public reports that this agent was 'new' to the local field office and had 'relatively little experience. The whistleblower alleges that this individual was, as part of securing the site, specifically responsible for line-of-sight concerns."
Rowe was not in command at the time of the incident, but the problem is ongoing as this agent is still on the job. "I urge you to suspend the lead site agent from all Secret Service duties immediately while these claims are investigated," Hawley concluded in his letter.
Hawley outlined the specific failures that fall squarely at the feet of the lead site agent. Another whistleblower charged that the "lead site agent personally made decisions that likely compromised the overall security of the event," Hawley wrote.
"First, campaign material such as flags were permitted to be placed around the stage and catwalk used by the former president, despite the fact that these items were typically prohibited because of how they affected the line-of-sight of those agents responsible for identifying threats," Hawley said. The Secret Service also didn't properly screen personnel at the rally.
Anyone in "restricted areas of the site" is supposed to have their identification checked before credentials are issued, which did not happen. Shockingly, Homeland Security Investigations agents employed to protect Trump that day "told campaign officials that they had never staffed a rally."
Hawley is right to demand this person resign or at least be removed from protecting Trump and other dignitaries. Unfortunately, this is just one of many aspects of this situation that point to major failures that day.
The attempted assassination of the GOP candidate is the most significant failure in Secret Service history. This should have never happened to begin with, and they certainly need to make sure it won't happen again.