Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is demanding that the Secret Service explain a Butler police officer’s claims that the agency met with local law enforcement days before the attempted assassination of former President Trump. In newly released bodycam footage, the officer says he told the Secret Service to secure the building where gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks fired his shots.

Grassley also wants the agency to look into testimony Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe gave at a recent Senate hearing about the local sniper line of sight evidence that day. Local police dispute the line of sight evidence Rowe claims that day.

The lawmaker made those demands in a letter he wrote to Rowe on Friday as part of his ongoing investigation into the assassination attempt on Trump and the killing of local firefighter Corey Comperatore at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

FURIOUS COP SAYS HE ASKED SECRET SERVICE TO SECURE TRUMP GUARDIAN’S BUILDING DAYS BEFORE RALLY: BODYCAM

“Were you aware of this body camera footage before your testimony before Congress on July 30? If not, why not?” Grassley writes.

In the letter, Grassley asks Rowe to “describe in detail the ‘Tuesday meeting’ that took place with the Secret Service. If so, did you review it before testifying?”

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

“Please also list all local, state and federal personnel present at this meeting, provide all records, and accurately answer the question of whether the Butler Township official’s statement is an accurate portrayal of events,” the letter states.

In the bodycam footage, the local officer can be heard telling a colleague: “I fucking told them to put the damn guys here… the Secret Service,” the officer says. “I fucking told them that on Tuesday. I told them to put the damn guys here.”

Grassley writes that until August 9, the Beaver County ESU claimed that the Secret Service had not met with them to discuss the events of July 13.

“This type of meeting should be standard, especially before being sworn in and testifying before Congress,” the letter said. “Unfortunately, this further highlights the communication problems that are partly responsible for that day and that appear to continue to plague the Secret Service.”

Trump assassination attempt: Pennsylvania police release bodycam footage of deadly Butler rally

In Rowe’s July 30 testimony before the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees, he provided a picture of the local snipers’ alleged line of sight. The image includes a yellow marker showing Crooks’ position, demonstrating that the snipers had a clear view of him.

However, Grassley writes that as part of his investigation, local law enforcement is questioning the angle of the shot, telling him that “the image you provided does not accurately reflect your line of sight and coverage area from your position in the building, nor does it accurately reflect your physical location in the building.”

Grassley provides a picture in the letter of what local law enforcement describes as “their actual physical location,” with two second-story windows circled. Other images show the line of sight of local snipers and the rooftop where Crooks was stationed not visible.

In his letter, Grassley lists a number of other demands of Rowe. Among other things, he asks him to provide a map showing the positions of all local and federal law enforcement snipers, their assigned areas of operation, and the shooters’ positions throughout the day.

He asks whether such photos and diagrams contradict Secret Service records regarding how local snipers should be positioned and how the AGR building should be secured.

Grassley also wants Rowe to explain and provide records of what meetings took place before the rally and whether the agency toured the AGR building in advance of the event. He also wants to know whether federal police officers at the event saw a person on the roof before Crooks opened fire.

Grassley also wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, referring to Asif Merchant, a Pakistani with ties to the Iranian government who allegedly attempted to assassinate former President Trump, a case that was investigated weeks before the July 13 rally.

Merchant was arrested on July 12 as he was preparing to leave the United States, authorities said. Merchant allegedly tried to hire undercover FBI agents as assassins.

Grassley is demanding that Mayorkas release Merchant’s immigration records, including whether he was granted significant probation on welfare before or after his placement on the terrorist list.

Source of the original article: Assassination attempt on Trump: Grassley demands statement from Secret Service on explosive allegations in bodycam recordings