Let me get this straight.

On July 12th of this year, one Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national with purported ties to Iran, was arrested on charges of plotting to assassinate Donald Trump and “multiple other public officials,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Brooklyn (NY) federal court.

The arrest was made after Merchant attempted to hire as many as 25 hitmen to commit the multiple killings, while he himself would hightail it out of the country. But he made his initial contact with — of all things! — a confidential informant working with the FBI. They arrested him on the day he had been planning to flee. Score one for the good guys. [Aaron Katerskyy and Jack Date, ABC News, August 6, 2024.

*. *. *

But then, on July 13th — the very next day — a young Pennsylvania man, Thomas Matthew Crooks, took a long-distance shot at former president Donald Trump from the roof of a building adjacent to the scene of a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, taking off part of Trump’s right ear with the bullet (or possibly a piece of shrapnel). A very close call — and much closer for Corey Comperatore, a spectator who was shot and killed protecting his family from the gunfire. Two other spectators were also injured, and the gunman himself was shot dead by Secret Service agents.

Incredibly, authorities had somehow already identified Crooks as a “person of interest” a full 62 minutes before the shooting. And Secret Service snipers had spotted him on the roof of the building — which was outside the security zone for the rally — 20 minutes prior to the shots being fired.

*. *. *

So let’s see: Even after the arrest of Asif Merchant the day before . . . and after identifying a “person of interest” a full hour prior to Trump’s scheduled appearance . . . and after spotting a man on a nearby roof some 20 minutes ahead of his appearance . . .

They still did nothing??!!!

And it’s not as though they didn’t have time. After the first shot was fired, it took the Secret Service a mere 11 seconds to locate, and another 15 seconds to shoot and kill, the gunman. They can move very quickly when they have to.

*. *. *

Now, I know — and appreciate the fact — that the Secret Service is responsible for the lives of a large number of federal officials, including the current president, vice president, candidates, members of the Cabinet, Congress, and others, as well as their immediate families. And 365 days a year, they do a hell of a job. But there are a few jobs in this world that require absolute perfection, because the slightest mistake, and people can die.

Well, there’s your surgeon . . . your anesthesiologist . . . airline pilot . . . high-wire circus performer . . .

. . . and Secret Service agent. It’s one of the most stressful jobs in the world; but it’s what you signed up for, what you’ve been trained for, and what you’re depended upon to do . . . without fail.

Bottom line: That guy should never have been on that roof in the first place. Didn’t we learn anything 60 years ago in Dallas?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/8/24