Fox News hosts grill Kash Patel over serious security lapses at White House Correspondents’ Dinner: ‘How does that happen? It was a failure!’
Fox News anchors gave Kash Patel a hard time Monday morning by demanding answers about security lapses at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner attended by Donald Trump and senior cabinet members.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was detained at a dinner party in Washington on Saturday night. Allen was taken into custody after attempting to attack the diner with a shotgun, handgun and knives.
The suspect exchanged gunfire with Secret Service agents at the checkpoint outside the ballroom where the President and First Lady were present.
‘They’ve done a great job on the pitch but they remain reactive. The proactive approach is still under great scrutiny. “The President of the United States averages one assassination attempt a year,” Fox host Lawrence Jones told Patel.
“So who will investigate procedures that the Secret Service cannot investigate on its own,” Jones continued. ‘There are still leading people in the Secret Service who are responsible for Butler.’
‘How can this happen?! That was a failure, wasn’t it?!’
Patel dodged the questions but acknowledged Butler’s shooting was a “complete failure.”
The FBI director also said he has been in contact with Secretary Markwayne Mullen and is offering all of his resources to the FBI to improve security coordination with the Secret Service at future events involving the President.
Patel was grilled by Fox News host Lawrence Jones over repeated security failures regarding Donald Trump’s personal security
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was taken into custody after an exchange of gunfire with the Secret Service at a dinner in Washington on Saturday night.
It was reported that the suspect smuggled a gun while staying at the Hilton hotel as a guest
“I think we’re going to do this in a completely different way,” Patel added. ‘You heard the president say Saturday night that we would do this again soon.’
Patel said he is already in discussions with the White House and federal law enforcement partners to increase security for the next dinner.
‘We need to do a few things differently and we’re already talking about it and that’s a good thing. And we’ll have a better stance for the next event.’
The suspect had been working part-time for the past six years for a company that tutored college students in Torrance, California.
Armed with numerous firearms and knives, he traveled cross-country by train from California to D.C.
Asked by the Fox anchor, Patel declined to say whether the suspect’s behavior had been reported to the FBI before the dinner shooting.
Patel said, ‘All these questions will be answered in the criminal complaint submitted.’
‘I can’t get ahead of my partners at the Department of Justice and particularly the federal judge who was presented with it, but we have answered all those questions and we’re working towards that.’
A manifesto details how the armed suspect targeted the President and senior cabinet officials.
Allen is expected to be arraigned Monday in D.C. on two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
