Lawmaker accuses acting Secret Service director of 9/11 publicity stunt and ‘auditioning’ to keep his post in tense exchange
CNN
A yelling match erupted during a congressional hearing Thursday on the attempted assassinations against President-elect Donald Trump, as one congressman accused acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe of attending a 9/11 memorial event as part of a publicity stunt.
A yelling match erupted during a congressional hearing Thursday on the attempted assassinations against President-elect Donald Trump, as one congressman accused acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe of attending a 9/11 memorial event as part of a publicity stunt. The tense exchange occurred during the final meeting of the House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump, when Rep. Pat Fallon displayed a picture of Rowe standing behind President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during a 9/11 commemorative event in New York City in September. Trump and Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance also attended the ceremony. The congressman, a Republican from Texas, accused Rowe of positioning himself in the area where the special agent in charge of Biden’s detail would have been, so that he would be seen behind the president. Rowe is not expected to continue on in the role once Trump takes office and podcaster Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent who was highly critical of the agency’s leadership as security failures around the alleged attempts on Trump’s life became clear, as well as Sean Curran, the head of Trump’s current detail, are among those being considered for the job. Rowe took exception to Fallon’s accusation and quickly and forcefully pushed back. “Congressman, what you’re not seeing, is the SAC of the detail out of the picture’s view,” Rowe said, using the acronym for “special agent in charge.” “And that is the day where we remember the more than 3,000 people that died in 9/11,” Rowe added. “I actually responded to Ground Zero. I was there going through the ashes of the World Trade Center. I was there at Fresh Kills,” Rowe added, referencing a Staten Island landfill where debris from the attack was taken.
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