SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
We want to give you the latest now in the investigation of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. The FBI says it has gained access to the gunman's phone. That's as agents analyze his electronic devices.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Saturday's event also led to a crisis at the Secret Service. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas oversees that agency.
ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: At President Biden's direction, an independent review of the incident will be conducted, one that will examine the Secret Service's and other law enforcement actions before, during and after the shooting.
PFEIFFER: NPR's congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales has been covering this and joins us now. Good morning, Claudia.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Good morning.
PFEIFFER: I understand you've spoken with officials from both Butler County in Pennsylvania and the Secret Service, current and former. What kind of things did you hear?
GRISALES: Well, first of all, everyone I spoke with expects answers quickly, perhaps even in the coming weeks or months, but at least definitely ahead of the election in November. And this includes members of Congress who are already launching multiple investigations of their own. Congress has raised concerns about the Secret Service in the past, and they're expecting briefings in the coming days, including one with the agency and the House Oversight Committee today. And that same panel expects to hear from Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testify when Congress returns on Monday.
PFEIFFER: And what are you hearing from experts about a fail of that level?
GRISALES: Some say it's pretty clear this was human error, and it comes down to the placement of security around the rally. Here's one of those experts, former deputy assistant director for the Secret Service Bill Pickle.
BILL PICKLE: I think it's human error more than it is perimeter. Perimeter really, to me, is just avoiding the fact that there was not sufficient coverage or resources to stop that from happening.
GRISALES: And by that, he's saying there's ongoing debate on how the Secret Service handled this. Pickle says a decision was made not to cover this building located about 130 yards, about the length of a football field, from where the former president was speaking and that allowed the shooter to take advantage of the security hole.
PFEIFFER: And it turned out to be a pretty massive security hole. Any more detail on how it could have happened?
GRISALES: Well, I spoke with former Secret Service Director William Basham. He says it could have happened from the very start of planning. That is, an advance agent for the Secret Service is charged with standing at that podium where Trump was standing and get a full 360-degree view of what needs to be covered, and a decision was made that that roof should not be directly covered by the Secret Service. And he says this is part of a larger series of breakdowns that continued.
WILLIAM BASHAM: There was a breakdown in communications. There was a breakdown in terms of security planning, should have had somebody on that roof. And I just don't think there's a whole lot of mystery about what happened here.
PFEIFFER: Of course, federal and local law enforcement has to answer for this. What are they saying?
GRISALES: Well, many are at a loss at how this happened. However, I talked to Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger, who told me there's a hierarchy here, and - with the Secret Service at the top and state and local police below. And meanwhile, a spokesman for the Secret Service told me they traditionally secure these outdoor rallies by assigning an inner and outer zone, and this building was in an outer area left to local law enforcement. But this morning, they issued a new statement saying any reports suggesting they're trying to shift blame to local police is not true.
PFEIFFER: That's NPR's Claudia Grisales. Thank you.
GRISALES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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