FULL HEARING: Secret Service holds Trump shooting investigation news conference | LiveNOW FOX

Senators are now accusing the Secret Service of trying to make local law enforcement into "a scapegoat" for the Trump rally shooting after its acting director testified this week about why gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks wasn’t spotted in advance in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Ronald Rowe, during his Capitol Hill testimony on Tuesday, appeared to blame local police for not seeing Crooks on top of the building from which he ultimately fired from. However, on Wednesday, the district attorney of Butler County disputed Rowe’s account and told Fox News that local snipers were not responsible for monitoring that rooftop.

"I think they’re looking for a scapegoat," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told The Washington Times following Rowe’s testimony.

As part of his testimony, Rowe showed senators an image of the roof of the building that Crooks scaled prior to opening fire at former President Trump.

"This is from the second floor of the building. This point of view is the point of view where the counter sniper team locally was posted," he said. "The gold arrow indicates where the shooter fired from. Looking left, why was the assailant not seen? When we were told that building was going to be covered, that there had been a face to face that afternoon, that our team leads met."

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger told Fox News the next day he coordinated local snipers working at the July 13 rally and they were assigned to a window with a different vantage point than the one Rowe pointed to during his testimony.

Goldinger added that monitoring the roof of the AGR building, where Crooks perched and opened fire, was not the local snipers' assignment.

Hawley told The Washington Times he has heard different stories from whistleblowers on both sides and "there’s a lot of blaming each other."

"What I heard yesterday was a lot of wanting to litigate who’s really to blame, ‘It’s really not us; it really wasn’t that bad,’" Hawley said on Wednesday, regarding Rowe’s comments.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said to The Washington Times that "the Secret Service throwing local law enforcement under the bus [is] not only unfair, but also unwise."

"They’re going to have trouble getting local police to cooperate if they m

Raw and unfiltered. Watch a non-stop stream of breaking news, live events and stories across the nation. Limited commentary. No opinion. Experience LiveNOW from FOX.

[NurseChapel_NCC]

Imagine how the family of the victim feels.

[eydieb]

What about the many witnesses that were showing the police that there was someone on the roof with a

[johnfuller]

Got 20 people pointing at the shooter and had a tone of time to get Trump down so wtf

[strawbale]

Not failure, they allowed it to happen.

[dtbailey]

Total failure of the real plan. No way any professional LEO or military would approve a security plan with an entire section missing. Think of a pie with a slice missing. No damn way! Stinks like hell to anyone who has carried a rifle for a living.

[beccagee]

Did anyone gain any knowledge from this presser? All I heard was 😢 and won't happen again. I have lost all confidence in USSS leadership.

[surfturfnz]

There’s so much footage online from multiple spectators who recorded and witnessed Crooks atop that roof from multiple angles and yet the professionals apparently didn’t and so immediate action wasn’t taken? 👈This is their excuse 🤨

[itrqskl]

Put everyone in jail until they start answering the questions. That's what they do to the American people everyday

[clocks]

SS investigating themselves and will soon find no wrongdoings...SMH

[vikmic.]

Lie after lie after lie. SS did exactly what they were told to do.

[joshuakoch]

This is total garbage. Half the seats in that room are empty. This is a show for us. Not a real presser

[marcusosuna]

There's at least 20-40 retired U.S. Army Rangers that would be happy to pull security for Trump right now and could do a far better job than these clowns!

[ZenMastaKai]

My Question is: how is the best sniper vantage point over looked ? Wow they might as well given him a chair, umbrella and a tropical drink and still probably not noticed. Good Grief!😋

[mminnick]

Anyone believe this guy? No? I didn't think so. USSS is DONE.

[alex-vw]

You have to love that mean expression on the face of the secret service like
"you weren't there to see that I was doing my job so don't tell me what you don't know happened, all right!" all to cover up his and their fk up.

[Koraeffect]

A citizen died! Someone needs to go to jail! It’s criminal for our government to not even attempt to charge someone with murder?!?

[outlawbillionairez]

Secret Service investigating why shooter missed, so it can be avoided in the future.

[Jvilla]

This guy is still covering. What a joke

[paulagrant]

I really hope no one believes this guy.

[puddintame]

RED FLAG-anyone who acts the victim in a problem they