Kash Patel was in the hot seat Monday morning as Fox News anchors demanded answers about security failures at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner attended by Donald Trump and his top Cabinet members.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was taken into custody at the event on Saturday night in Washington, DC. Allen was detained after allegedly attempting to attack the dinner while armed with a shotgun, handgun, and knives.
The suspect exchanged gunfire with Secret Service agents at a checkpoint outside a ballroom hosting the President and First Lady.
‘They did a great job on the ground, but they remain reactive. The proactive approach is still under great scrutiny. The President of the United States is averaging an assassination attempt once a year,’ Fox anchor Lawrence Jones told Patel.
‘So who’s going to do the investigating of the procedures Secret Service can’t investigate themselves?’ Jones continued. ‘There’s still people in leadership at the Secret Service that were responsible for Butler.’
‘How does that happen?! It was a failure, right?!’
Patel sidestepped the questions but conceded the 2024 Butler shooting was a ‘total failure.’
The FBI director also said he has been in contact with Secretary Markwayne Mullen and has offered the FBI’s full resources to improve security coordination with the Secret Service at future events involving the President.
Patel was grilled by Fox News anchor Lawrence Jones over repeated security failures regarding Donald Trump’s personal safety
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was taken into custody at the dinner Saturday night in Washington after exchanging gunfire with Secret Service
The suspect reportedly smuggled weapons into the Hilton hotel by staying as a guest
‘I think we are going to do it entirely differently,’ Patel added. ‘You heard the President say on Saturday night that we’re going to do this again in short order.’
Patel said he is already in talks with the White House and federal law enforcement partners to shore up security for the next dinner.
‘We got to do a couple of things differently, and we’re already talking about it, and that’s the good thing. And we’re going to be better postured for the next event.’
The suspect worked part-time for the last six years at a company that offers tutoring to aspiring college students in Torrance, California.
He travelled across the country via train from California to DC, armed with multiple firearms and knives.
Patel refused to say whether the suspect’s behavior had been flagged to the FBI prior to the dinner shooting.
‘All those questions will be answered in the complaint, the criminal complaint that’s being presented,’ Patel said.
‘I just can’t get ahead of my partners at the Department of Justice, and especially can’t get ahead of the federal magistrate that it’s being presented to, but we have answered all those questions, and that’s that’s what we’ve been working towards.’
Allen ran past a security checkpoint at the White House dinner before exchanging gunfire with Secret Service agents
A manifesto details how the suspected gunman was targeting the President and his senior Cabinet officials.
Allen is expected to be arraigned in DC on Monday for two counts of wielding a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
