Suspends Agents On Trump’s Detail During PA Assassination Attempt
Suspends Agents On Trump’s Detail During PA Assassination Attempt
Suspends Agents On Trump’s Detail During PA Assassination Attempt
Six Secret Service agents were suspended without pay or benefits following an attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania in July 2024.
Matt Quinn, the agency’s deputy director, told CBS News on Wednesday that they “weren’t going to fire [their] way out of this,” but did say they are “laser focused on fixing the root cause of the problem.”
Quinn told the outlet that the agents received penalties ranging from 10 to 42 days of unpaid leave and were assigned to restricted roles with reduced responsibilities upon their return. He added that the disciplinary measures followed a federally mandated process.
The agency faced intense criticism after the security breach that enabled gunman Thomas Crooks to open fire toward the stage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter, father, and husband attending the event, was killed. President Trump was grazed by a bullet, and two other men were wounded by the gunfire. Crooks was ultimately killed by a Secret Service sniper.
“Secret Service is totally accountable for Butler,” Quinn told CBS. “Butler was an operational failure and we are focused today on ensuring that it never happens again.” He also said the agency is focusing on the “root cause” of the operational failure and fixing “the deficiencies that put us in that situation.”Since the Butler rally, Quinn stated that the Secret Service has deployed a new fleet of military-grade drones and mobile command posts to enhance radio communications with local law enforcement, Fox News reported.
The agency faced renewed criticism weeks later following a second assassination attempt on Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida. Although the attempt was thwarted, then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned, and the agency became the focus of multiple investigations and congressional hearings.
In December, a bipartisan House task force released a 180-page report declaring the Butler incident “preventable,” pointing to “preexisting” leadership and training deficiencies that “created an environment” conducive to security failures.
The report also noted that Secret Service did not coordinate well with local law enforcement.
Trump made some comments last week regarding the government’s investigation into one of the assassination attempts against him last year.
In response to a reporter’s query on Friday, the president said he’s “very satisfied” with the FBI’s investigation into the assassination attempt against him in Pennsylvania.
Trump made his remarks to Daily Caller White House Correspondent Reagan Reese on Thursday, putting to rest months of speculation and doubt surrounding the case. Until now, Trump had stopped short of giving the FBI a full endorsement, The Daily Caller reported.
In an earlier interview with Fox News, he admitted some parts of the case didn’t sit right. “I’m relying on my people to tell me what it is … The Secret Service, they tell me, is fine. But it’s a little hard to believe,” he said.
Back in March, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino told Fox News there was no evidence of some grand conspiracy against Trump. “In some of these cases, the ‘there’ you’re looking for is not there. And I know people — I get it, I understand. It’s not there. If it was there, we would have told you,” Bongino said.
That same month, Daily Caller’s Reese pressed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about whether Trump was satisfied with Bongino’s answer.
Leavitt responded, “Well, in the lead-up to your question, you answered your own question with the president’s own words, and I’ll leave it at that.”
In May, Bongino announced investigations into some well-known cases that involve “potential public corruption.”The cases, which appeared to be ignored during the administration of former President Joe Biden, that are getting a new look include the attempted pipe-bombing in Washington, D.C., cocaine that was found at the White House, and the leak of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that ended Roe v. Wade.
Harris Faulkner Storms Off Set After Greg Gutfeld Insult
Harris Faulkner Storms Off Set Following Searing Greg Gutfeld Insult as Fox News Plunges into Emergency Static
NEW YORK — Studio F at Fox News headquarters in Midtown Manhattan was thrown into utter chaos on Friday afternoon when veteran journalist and anchor Harris Faulkner walked off the set mid-broadcast after an extraordinarily sharp, personal jab from co-host Greg Gutfeld, prompting Master Control to pull the emergency kill switch and plunge the network into prolonged screen static before millions of live viewers.
The stunning clash, which erupted during a high-stakes cross-over panel segment, stripped away the network's high-energy format and marked one of the most volatile confrontations between a flagship news anchor and an opinion host in cable news history.
The Collision: Hard News Meets Late-Night Sarcasm
The panel was scheduled as a special extended roundtable analyzing recent national security developments and constitutional debates, bringing together Faulkner—a six-time Emmy-winning news veteran—and the opinion-heavy regulars of The Five.
From the start of the block, the contrast in style proved combustible. As Faulkner methodically laid out a sourced breakdown of federal court filings and legal precedents, Gutfeld repeatedly cut in with derisive side remarks, muttering under his breath and making mock courtroom gavel gestures at the center camera.
Faulkner maintained her composure through two interruptions, firmly asking to finish her reporting. However, when Gutfeld abruptly cut across her microphone to deliver a biting, dismissive personal jab, the atmosphere in Studio F curdled instantly.
"Nobody tuned in for a robotic teleprompter lecture, Harris," Gutfeld sneered, leaning over his open briefing folder with a sharp smirk. "Leave the self-righteous sanctimony for daytime. You're at the big-kid table now, so stop acting like an anchor who only reads what she's fed."
The Stand and the Walkout: Studio F Paralyzed
The studio floor went completely dead.
Faulkner’s expression shifted from professional focus to pure, unflinching steel. She neatly capped her pen, aligned her briefing papers, and placed both hands firmly on the edge of the circular glass desk.
Looking directly across the table into Gutfeld’s eyes, her voice cut through the studio monitors with surgical precision:
"I have spent thirty years building an impeccable reputation in this industry based on facts, integrity, and relentless journalism. I will not sit at this desk and allow a late-night comedian to question my intellect, my work, or my dignity. Don't you ever dare disrespect me again."
Without waiting for a response, Faulkner pushed back her chair, stood up, and tore off her wireless lapel microphone, tossing the clip onto the center of the desk.
She turned her back to the robotic cameras and walked briskly past the frozen floor crew, heading straight through the heavy soundproof exit doors into the 1211 Avenue of the Americas corridor.
Panic in Master Control: The Emergency Static Feed
The walkout left the remaining panel—including Jesse Watters and Dana Perino—paralyzed in stunned silence:
The Frozen Table: Gutfeld’s smirk visibly faltered as he shifted in his seat, nervously looking off-camera for direction.
The Audio Meltdown: Hot studio microphones picked up chaotic shouting from the floor director: "She's out the door! What are we doing? Kill the desk mics right now!"
The Static Override: Instead of executing a clean transition to a commercial reel, a panicked operator in Executive Master Control hit an uncalibrated bypass switch.
At precisely 5:28 PM EST, the live studio picture vanished entirely, replaced by a harsh blast of black-and-white visual static and a deafening 1,000-Hz test tone that blared across television screens nationwide for nine agonizing seconds.
Technicians frantically restored automated continuity, dumping the feed into an unscheduled six-minute emergency block of syndicated promos and local advertisements.
Backstage Crisis and a Rushed Newsroom Reset
Behind the scenes at 1211 Avenue of the Americas, senior management moved swiftly to contain the operational disaster:
Executive Intervention: High-ranking network executives rushed from the upper corporate floors to intercept Faulkner in the executive dressing suite, while separate personnel entered Studio F to demand decorum from the remaining hosts.
Studio Abandoned: When programming resumed after the extended commercial break, Studio F was dark. The network bypassed the remainder of the panel, routing viewers to a regional newsroom anchor desk where a flustered correspondent delivered generic business headlines to run out the hour.
Internal Inquiry: Master Control transmission logs and unedited studio audio feeds were immediately subpoenaed by corporate human resources to review the altercation.
Viral Outrage and Public Reaction
Within minutes of the broadcast cutting to static, DVR captures of Faulkner's scathing rebuke and walkout flooded social media, amassing tens of millions of views across X, TikTok, and YouTube under the trending hashtags #StandWithHarris, #FaulknerWalkout, and #GutfeldCrossesLine.
Viewers and media commentators from across the industry overwhelmingly commended Faulkner’s composure and refusal to tolerate public disrespect, while leveling intense criticism at the erosion of professional standards on live cable roundtables.
While Fox News Media corporate communications has declined to release an on-the-record disciplinary statement, the dramatic walkout and transmission failure leaves the network navigating a severe internal rift between its news division and its opinion heavyweights.
