Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), the former Trump administration secretary of the interior who resigned amid scandals over taxpayer-funded travel and potential conflicts of interest, wondered Monday whether the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was part of a larger “plot” that may have involved high-level government officials.
While investigators have not linked the shooter to any such scheme, Zinke said on Fox Business Network that lapses by the Secret Service beget such conspiratorial questions.
“Here’s what it boils down to,” Zinke said on Mornings with Maria. “We know there was negligence, we know there was incompetence, we know there were breaks of protocol, communications, et cetera. But was this incompetence willful and knowing? That’s what I want to know. Did you willingly and knowingly put the president in a position by atrophying the security and allowing this to happen?”
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Zinke continued: “Look, if it was knowing, and you knew for a fact that your lack of security and bringing it down would put the president at risk, that brings it from an assassination attempt into the area of a plot. Big difference between an attempt and a plot, and we’re going to find the answer.”
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned last Tuesday, saying she took “full responsibility” for “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.”
Days before, it was reported that the agency refused the Trump campaign’s request for extra security, mainly due to staffing concerns.
