- CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane
- CBS News homeland security reporter Nicole Sganga
- Ed O’Keefe, CBS News senior White House and political correspondent, and Robert Costa, CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent
- Sen. Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas
- Rep. Jason Crow, Democrat of Coloardo
- Sam Vinograd, CBS News national security contributor and former Homeland Security official, and A.T. Smith, CBS News contributor and former Secret Service deputy director
- CBS News cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs
Click here to browse full transcripts of “Face the Nation.”
MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning.
As we come on the air this morning, the stunning events of last evening, the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, have shaken, angered and scared many Americans.
They have also upended an already turbulent and emotional presidential campaign. Saturday night, President Biden condemned the shooting.
(Begin VT)
JOE BIDEN (President of the United States): There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country.
We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this.
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: In addition to the alleged shooter, one attendee was killed and two others critically injured.
And we will try to get answers to the many questions we have about security for the former president, as well as the motive of the 20-year-old shooter.
Our Scott MacFarlane was at that rally, along with two of our campaign reporters, and that is where we begin.
(Begin VT)
DONALD TRUMP (Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate): And, you know, that’s a little…
SCOTT MACFARLANE (voice-over): Six minutes after the former president took the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, yesterday evening, shots rang out…
FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Take a look at what happened –
(GUNSHOTS)
(SCREAMING)
SCOTT MACFARLANE: The former president was quickly rushed off the stage by a Secret Service detail, blood clearly visible on his face.
Shaken, yet defiant, Mr. Trump raised his fist several times as he was taken from the scene, shouting, “Fight.”
He was taken to a nearby hospital and, following his release, issued a social media post, saying he’d been shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of his right ear. He said he heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin.
The shooter was shot and killed by Secret Service snipers from his location atop a shed outside the security perimeter, but between 150 and 300 feet from the stage where the former president stood, with dozens of supporters in stands behind him and beside him.
In addition to Mr. Trump’s injury, one man was killed and two critically wounded. CBS News spoke to an eyewitness who’d been seated behind the former president and said he administered CPR on the victim who died.
MAN #1: Somebody over there was screaming: “He’s been shot. He’s been shot.”
So I made my way over. I said: “I’m an emergency department physician. Let me help you.”
The guy had spun around, was jammed between the benches. He had a headshot here. There was lots of blood. And he had brain matter there.
SCOTT MACFARLANE: Law enforcement has identified the shooter as 20-year- old Thomas Matthew Crooks of nearby Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, seen here accepting his high school diploma in 2022.
One attendee told the BBC that he’d seen the man and notified law enforcement on the scene prior to the shooting.
MAN #2: We noticed a guy crawling, army – you know, bear-crawling up the roof of the building beside us, 50 – 50 feet away from us. So we’re standing there. And, you know, we’re pointing. We’re pointing at the guy crawling up the roof.
We could clearly see him with a rifle, absolutely. We’re pointing at him. The police are down there running around on the ground. We’re like: “Hey, man, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle.”
(End VT)
SCOTT MACFARLANE: The motive of the shooter is unknown and under investigation.
The 20-year-old registered Republican, for somebody his age, had no large- scale social media presence. We do know an event that was supposed to be uniquely secure resulted in the wounding of a former president, the death of a rallygoer, injuries of others, and untold damage, Margaret, to the fabric of the country.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Scott MacFarlane, and we’re glad that you are safe. He’s joining us from Butler County there.
And we want to turn now to CBS Homeland Security reporter Nicole Sganga.
Nicole, I know you have been working the phones to understand the latest with the investigation. What do you know?
NICOLE SGANGA: Twenty-year-old Matthew Crooks, and, right now, FBI and other federal law enforcement poring over the Internet, trying to find any online footprint of this suspect, this individual with no apparent criminal history, no derogatory information, no foreign nexus to terrorism, Margaret.
There is a weapon, a semiautomatic weapon, AR-15, high-powered rifle that the suspect was using. At this point, law enforcement suggesting no ties to another active plot or attack or another individual, but they are still searching to ensure that this was, in fact, lone actor.
He fired between six and eight rounds. Part of the reason why we didn’t hear the suspect’s name right away, he was not carrying an I.D. on him. So, FBI, other federal law enforcement had to run facial recognition tests, as well as DNA tests, to confirm his identity.
One important point, Margaret, we are told by law enforcement officials that there was a tip to Butler County Sheriff’s Office regarding this suspicious individual when the rally was just getting started, that bystanders had seen this individual walking around, that – had reported this suspicious person.
Officials lost sight of where he was. Once he did emerge on that shed, of course, individuals spotted him, police spotted him. And it was the countersniper team with the U.S. Secret Service that I’m told had him within seconds.
Those are the ones who neutralized the threat and fired back immediately, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Nicole, you have been reporting that this was an AR-15 or AR-15-style weapon used by the shooter.
What do we know about how he obtained it? Do we have any detail from the ATF at this point?
NICOLE SGANGA: Not at this point. We do know that ATF is tracing this weapon, Margaret, trying to determine right now.
FBI also searching the home, trying to figure out if there were other weapons there, also trying to determine if this was his weapon. No positive confirmation of that at this time. Still a lot of lingering questions about he – how he was able to procure this semiautomatic weapon.
We do know that, based on how this weapon works, it wouldn’t have been an automatic sort of fire. He had to pull the trigger, pull the trigger, pull the trigger, again, six to eight rounds.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Six to eight rounds. One of them, according to the former president, grazed his ear, two others critically wounded, and we know one individual who went to that political rally lost his life.
Nicole Sganga, thank you for all of your reporting.
And, for more, we are joined now by our senior White House and political correspondent, Ed O’Keefe, who’s in Milwaukee to cover the Republican Convention, and chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa is here with me in Washington.
Ed, we know this was already a high threat environment and very tight security protocols were being rolled out around the Republican Convention, those going to an even higher level now.
ED O’KEEFE: They are expected to, Margaret.
We’re standing outside the Pfister Hotel here in Milwaukee, where former President Trump is expected to stay. We were in there just a few minutes ago as they’re making the final preparations to begin locking it down as a completely secure facility, magnetometers being set up in the lobby, which is standard for any time a president or, in this case, former president, given his Secret Service protection and campaign activity, is staying somewhere.
We anticipate that the perimeter around this hotel and other buildings here downtown might expand in the coming hours or days in anticipation. Nicole had reported that more law enforcement, for example, are being sent here to Wisconsin to help with screening and protecting various places.
So, it is expected to intensify. And especially for those of us going into the Convention Center throughout the day today and throughout the week now, there are anticipated changes in security.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Bob Costa, we know Donald Trump issued a statement just this morning saying he looks forward to addressing the country and his supporters from Milwaukee.
It appears it’s full steam ahead with this convention.
ROBERT COSTA: It is.
Now, the Trump campaign is on edge. They’re asking their employees to be careful, not to necessarily go to some of the Trump campaign offices. They’re concerned about the security, as Ed said, and they’re looking at the security perimeter in Milwaukee.
But, at the same time, when it comes to the logistics politically of the Republican National Convention, it is all things go at this moment. Chris LaCivita, Susie Wiles, the top advisers to former President Trump, are signaling they are moving ahead with the vice presidential selection at some point in the coming days and, of course, Trump’s address to the country when he accepts the nomination on Thursday.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Bob, you and I were covering this in the moment as it was breaking yesterday.
And Chris LaCivita had issued some statements in that moment in anger at what was happening. The statement to the campaign personnel that you were referring to this morning seems to be urging people to lower the kind of heated political rhetoric and tension.
What do we know about that guidance and the intent there?
ROBERT COSTA: There is a bit of tension on this front.
There is anger about what has unfolded in Butler, Pennsylvania…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Of course.
ROBERT COSTA: … horror among both friends and even the political adversaries of former President Donald Trump, to have this outburst of violence in the United States.
At the same time, you are seeing political leadership mostly across the board, as you say, urge temperatures to be lowered, to talk about civility, to talk about how the other side may be wrong on an issue, but are still human beings. And so you are seeing some people try to step up.
But let’s also be candid. Tensions are very high. We’re at the height of a political campaign. President Biden and former President Trump have been at odds politically going back to that debate. There has been a pitched posture politically from these campaigns.
But we did see the Biden campaign, for example, call for the ads to be taken down.
MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s right.
And, Ed, it is – I urge everyone not to look at social media, because it is not helpful to what you were talking about, lowering the tension at this moment. Ed, the Biden campaign pulling those ads, but now there is this autopsy of everything that has been said by anyone recently to try to talk about whether there is a stoking of any kind of political violence here and this finger-pointing.
That’s not helpful, is it?
ED O’KEEFE: It isn’t.
And before we get to the finger-pointing, I think we should convey, again, the White House tells CBS News that that call last night between President Biden and former President Trump was – quote – “good, short, and respectful.”
That is the extent to which we know about it. That it happened at all is an encouraging sign. That it was good, short, and respectful is encouraging as well.
To the point about who’s responsible for this, how to proceed, while the Trump campaign may be on edge this morning, the Biden campaign is very much in suspension, as we mentioned. The outward communications, as they call it, the advertising, the digital, the television advertising, the text messaging has all, for now, stopped.
But don’t be surprised if it resumes in some form in the coming days as the Republican Convention gets underway.
To the point about political violence, let’s remember, the reason Joe Biden ran for president in 2020, beginning in 2019, was because of what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia. The reason he sustains his reelection campaign today, one of the big reasons he continues running, he says, is to restore and protect American democracy in the wake of the January 6, 2021, attacks, all of those examples of the political violence of recent years.
And the finger-pointing inevitably will continue.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
ED O’KEEFE: What it will take is our political leaders at the top, the current and former president talking to each other, perhaps the other former presidents, the House speaker, Senate leaders, coming together and saying, we have got to find a way to stop this…
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we…
ED O’KEEFE: … and allow American politics to proceed as we recall from the past.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And when you said suspension, you were just talking about the pulling of ads. Are you indicating that Joe Biden is changing other plans for the week ahead?
ED O’KEEFE: Not – at this point, Margaret, we don’t know.
The other thing, the other element of all this, of course, is his own political future. As we have reported, just an hour before this incident, before the president was going to this Saturday night mass in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, just before the former president was shot in Pennsylvania, he was in the midst of what we are – and what’s been described to us as a defensive, angry call, with dozens of House Democratic lawmakers raising concerns about his political prospects.
He was defensive, we’re told, in that…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
ED O’KEEFE: … in that conversation.
And while the conversation about his future may be suspended for now, in the words of one lawmaker, it may resume again if he – quote – “has another episode” – Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
ROBERT COSTA: Though I have been speaking…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Go ahead. We just have to wrap. Quickly.
ROBERT COSTA: Yes, very quickly.
I have been speaking with some top Democrats. They believe that those Democrats who have the concerns about President Biden are now standing down politically, will back President Biden, because of this fragile political moment.
All of that talk about the debate faded almost instantly among my top Democratic sources as this unfolded, say it’s time for the country to stick together, and that means Democrats sticking together as well.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And anything can happen in an instant.
Bob, Ed, thank you.
Face the Nation will be back in one minute, so stay with us.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’re back now with Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton.
Senator, thank you for joining us.
And it is a difficult morning for many people waking up to this news. I wonder what your message is to Americans in this moment.
SENATOR TOM COTTON (R-Arkansas): Well, it is a difficult day for Americans, Margaret.
I want to join President Trump in express – expressing my gratitude for the Secret Service agents and the law enforcement officers who acted so quickly, skillfully, and bravely to protect him and the supporters at the rally, and express my condolences to the family of the man who was killed by the shooter and those who are still in critical condition today.
I had a chance to speak with President Trump this morning. He’s doing well. He’s in good spirits. He’s very grateful for the prayers that Americans have sent to him and all those who were affected at the rally. He’s also focused on moving ahead to the convention this week in Milwaukee.
So it’s a tough day, but President Trump is resilient, as is – are his supporters and as is our nation.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And, Senator, I saw last night Leader McConnell issued a statement in which he said very clearly: “Violence has no place in our politics.”
I imagine you would associate yourself with the leader’s sentiments?
SENATOR TOM COTTON: Of course, Margaret.
Unfortunately, we have seen a few instances of violence in recent years. Throughout our history, there’s been sporadic spates of violence. It has no place in America or in the American political tradition. Robust, strong campaigns, contrasting ideas between candidates and parties, of course, is central to American democracy.
But we settle those differences through political debates and through elections. We don’t settle them through violence. So, what happened yesterday is extremely regrettable. It’s not consistent with the American spirit.
And I’m very grateful, again, that President Trump miraculously survived and is going to move forward with the convention this week and this campaign, because that’s how we settle our political differences in America.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Couldn’t agree more.
I want to ask you. Since you sit on both the Senate Intelligence and the Senate Judiciary committees, you are in a unique position to know and be aware of what is a very heightened threat environment in this country. Director Wray of the FBI has repeatedly warned of it on many fronts, from homegrown violent extremists, jihadist-inspired extremists, state-sponsored organizations.
In this moment, we know very little in the early hours about this 20-year- old man from Pennsylvania who was – has been identified as carrying out this attack. But tell me your thoughts on the threat environment where we – – that we are in right now.
SENATOR TOM COTTON: Well, as President Trump said, I think it’s important that we not jump to any conclusions about the shooter.
I have seen the reports that he’s a registered Republican and that he’s given to left-wing causes. I think we need to let investigators fully develop this situation and get all the facts before we jump to any conclusions.
Again, like President Trump said, I do want to commend the Secret Service agents on the site who protected not only him, but all the other people at that rally. Unfortunately, there was the death and some critical injuries, and we continue to pray for them.
We hope that this is just a one-off incident and nothing like this will happen again. Again, the way we settle political differences in America is through vigorous debates and campaigns and ultimately elections, not through political violence.
MARGARET BRENNAN: In terms of the security of other individuals, including lawmakers, you know and you’re referring to these recent incidents just in recent years, including the attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of the former speaker of the House, the concerns about an individual who turned himself in, but had appeared outside Justice Kavanaugh’s home with a weapon.
For lawmakers, what do you think about the security posture right now? Do you think it needs to be increased further?
SENATOR TOM COTTON: Well, first off, let me speak about the immediate upcoming event in Milwaukee, the Republican National Convention.
President Trump has said it’s going on as planned. I will be there next week. I look forward to speaking on behalf of President Trump. I encourage all the delegates and everyone else who’s going to the convention to go there with confidence that it will be, frankly, maybe the safest place in America over the next week.
There have been threats on occasion against legislators. There was an attempted mass murder of Republican congressmen at a baseball practice a few years ago.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SENATOR TOM COTTON: Steve Scalise, congressman from Louisiana, was gravely injured.
Obviously, the Capitol Police did a great job in that moment. They do a great job trying to protect us, not only in the Capitol, but make sure we’re aware of threats.
The president is different from 535 legislators. That’s why he has the Secret Service and full-time details. That’s why campaigns like President Trump’s have it. But I think the Capitol Police do a great job in trying to protect all legislators. And I’m confident that the Capitol Police, the Secret Service, local law enforcement, and every other law enforcement agency next week at the Republican National Convention, again, will make it probably the safest place in America.
I look forward to being there, as does President Trump.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I know you are expected to speak and were expected to speak on national security issues.
I wonder how this changes perhaps the party platform or at least your thinking.
SENATOR TOM COTTON: Margaret, I think we have to move on with this campaign despite this horrific shooting.
The parties do have very different ideas. President Biden and President Trump have very different records. We look forward to contrasting that. I’m sure the convention will change in some manner, in some of the focus that you have, but we still need to carry forward that vigorous debate of ideas onto Election Day this November.
So, again, I look forward to being there. I’m fully confident in law enforcement protecting everyone who is there. I look forward to hearing what President Trump has to say as well. I think the American people will welcome a convention that contrasts ideas after this horrific shooting.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Earlier this morning, the head of the Sec – or the spokesperson for the Secret Service issued a statement, saying there were untrue assertions that the former president’s team requested additional security and that it was rebuffed. The Secret Service is calling that absolutely false.
The speaker of the House is calling for the director of the Secret Service to come up and testify. I wonder what you know, if anything, since you spoke to Donald Trump about the state of his concern regarding his detail or whether he was confident.
SENATOR TOM COTTON: Well, Margaret, I’m not privy to the details about the protection that the Secret Service provides to Donald Trump. That’s something that the campaign and the Secret Service would keep very closely held.
Donald Trump, again, expressed his gratitude for the Secret Service agents who protected him, along with all the other law enforcement officers who secured the scene and neutralized the shooter promptly. I think it’s fair to say that there was a lapse in the planning for the security at this event that allowed a shooter to get within 125 or 150 yards from the dais.
There should be an investigation of that. I suspect the Secret Service will welcome and cooperate with that as well. But none of that, as President Trump said, is to take away from the skill and the bravery of the agents around him and the law enforcement officers on the site who neutralized the shooter right away before he could kill or wound anyone else…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SENATOR TOM COTTON: … and who protected President Trump and got him away from the site promptly.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, just quickly, 125 to 150 yards, do that – you know that to be the confirmed distance of the shooter to the former president?
SENATOR TOM COTTON: I – Margaret, I can’t say that’s been confirmed to me by a government authority.
MARGARET BRENNAN: OK.
SENATOR TOM COTTON: That’s what I have seen from the overhead imagery that’s run in various media – media outlets.
That’s, again, not coming from a government agency. That’s coming from what I have seen in published reports and overhead satellite imagery.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Cotton, we will be hearing from you later this week at the convention. Thank you for joining us this morning.
We will be right back with a lot more Face the Nation, so stay with us.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’re joined now by Democratic Colorado Congressman Jason Crow.
It’s good to have you here in person.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW (D-Colorado): Good to be here, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: In this moment of a lot of tension and some dangerous political rhetoric, I wonder what you’re thinking this morning and your message to Americans.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Well, I condemn, in no uncertain terms, the violence against Donald Trump.
That type of violence has no place in America, no place in our political discourse. We settle our debates and our differences through political discourse.
I want to acknowledge the emotion, though, that we’re all feeling, that America is feeling. It’s heavy. It feels like we are on the precipice of something right now. I know that.
So, now is the time for us all to recommit…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Mm-hmm.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: … to uniting and coming together as a country.
I think about my own background. I come from a conservative family.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: I fought with Americans from every background.
We can come together and do great things and unite. I believe very strongly in it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I want to talk to you more about that, and it’s an important message. We’re going to do it on the other side of this break, though.
We will be right back.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: We will be right back. Stay with us.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to FACE THE NATION.
We return to our conversation now with Democratic Congressman Jason Crow.
Right before we went to the commercial break, you used the word “unite,” the importance of the country uniting. The Democratic Party has been fractured publicly in this debate up until 6:00 p.m. yesterday. That’s where our political conversation was, would Joe Biden be replaced at the top of the ticket. Has that conversation ended?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: The Democratic Party has not been fractured, Margaret. That – you know, I want to clear up this misconception about disunity or fracturing. The Democratic Party is a healthy, robust organization that has honest conversations, that talks about things publicly, and responds to the concerns of the American people. That’s what we do. That’s always what we do. I don’t shy away from that. That’s not a sign of disunity. That’s not a sign of weakness, having conversations and responding to people’s concerns.
And that’s what we did yesterday. You know, a group of us that represented some of the toughest districts in America had a – had a robust call with the president to voice our concerns.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Toughest districts, you’re saying, because re-election campaign prospects are getting harder for Democrats in the last few weeks in the wake of that debate performance by Joe Biden.
Our reporting has been that there were other Democrats on that call who told the president point-blank that he would lose key battleground states. What was your message to the president?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: I asked tough questions of the president because that is my duty and that is my responsibility to the Coloradans that I represent, right? But I want to be really clear that President Joe Biden has been one of the most effective national security and foreign policy presidents in generations. And I have and will continue to stand by that record. And I’ve been one of his fiercest advocates.
But campaigns are different. Campaigns are about messaging those wins. They’re – they’re about talking about the vision of the future. And if we’re being honest with ourselves, sitting here right now, that message is not effectively breaking through. So, the tough questions are, what is going to change? How are we going to change that message or that approach to that message to break through and win this election, because the consequences are too high not to have that tough conversation.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Up until 6:00 p.m. yesterday, when everything changed, there was a lot of focus on this and there was reporting that it was a very heated phone call and that the president actually got very direct with you, and personal. Is that accurate?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Listen, you know, this is a tough business, right? There’s a lot at stake. Emotions can run high on every side. I don’t shy away from that, by the way. This is not about me. It’s not about my emotions. So, I embrace those conversations.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But – but the president was not open to the message you were providing to him?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: I think the president heard our message very clearly. And, in fact, he promised to come back to us with more information to address our concerns and to answer our questions. And that’s the process we’re going through right now, in the coming days, is answering those questions. We don’t have a lot of time, but we do have some time to answer those questions, have that – that tough debate. And that’s what we’re going to do. And then we will decide, together, the best path to go forward.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, when you say decide together the best path to go forward, you are not completely closing the door on a conversation about a change at the very top of the Democratic ticket?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Well, ultimately, that is the president’s decision. We can voice opinions. And I don’t make decisions without full information. And I don’t yet have that full information.
MARGARET BRENNAN: He’s made his opinion very clear that he’s not going anywhere.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Well, again, I cannot speak for the president. All I can say is what I believe, and the concerns that I have. And I’ve been very clear about those concerns because that is my duty to Colorado, that is my duty to my constituents and to my country. That – that is my oath. My duty is to make sure that we can address the challenges before us and we can win this campaign.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But you are, to be clear, still concerned that Joe Biden is on a losing path?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: I do believe right now, if – unless there’s a major change, that there is a high risk that we lose this election. You know, that group of Democrats on that call, again, we were the majority makers in 2018 and we will be those that will help us lead to the majority again this fall. We know how to fight, and we know how to win these tough elections. In reading the tea leaves, it’s very troubling for many of us right now. So, we want to see a change. And that’s what the questions that we’re asking are about.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about rhetoric. At a distance, everyone has gotten very heated, obviously, in the past 24 hours, but I’m talking leading up to it. Democrats have referred to Donald Trump as a sociopath, as narcissist, who have been in – and this isn’t just heated campaign rhetoric. Direct, verbal criticisms in very heated terms.
Do you think, at this moment, all of that should stop?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: I think right now, on the heels of an attempted – at what appears to be an attempted – assassination attempt by all the evidence that we’re seeing right now, we all need to take a step back. We – we all need to take a breather. What – what leadership –
MARGARET BRENNAN: Has Democratic leadership told you to do that?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: They – they have not. This is – this is my opinion. Although I’ve seen other Democrats come out with that message. And the president said as much last night.
What leadership requires during this very sensitive, very delicate time, where violence could spiral out of control, right? We are on that precipice. So, leadership requires that we all step back and we say, enough is enough, we can’t do this. And this is my call to action, both to the American people and to my colleagues. To the American people, right now, pick up the phone, walk out your door, go talk to your neighbor, go talk to your colleague, call your friends who don’t agree with you and tell them, we can disagree. You’re not my enemy. You’re not evil. This is our time to come together and to reach out to each other. And to my colleagues, let’s stop creating political moments and let’s start creating political change. That is what we need now.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I think a lot of Americans would agree with that sentiment. I know tomorrow House members like yourself will receive a security briefing. There has already been a history of threats against lawmakers. I wonder how safe you feel just showing up for work or carrying out your work as a lawmaker?
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CROW: Well, it’s a sensitive time. There’s no doubt about it. I’ve received numerous death threats against me during my time in office. I’ve been on the receiving end of political violence as well myself. That’s why we all need to lower the temperature in the room and we also need to be vigilant and very careful right now. There’s no doubt about it.
And this goes to my earlier point about rhetoric and words mattering, but also making sure that we’re all taking care of ourselves.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Jason Crow, thank you for coming and answering questions. And we will stay on top of what’s happening with the Democratic campaign and, of course, all this breaking news when we come back.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’re joined now by former assistant secretary for counterterrorism at Homeland Security in the Biden administration, and CBS News national security contributor, Samantha Vinograd, as well as A.T. Smith, also a CBS News contributor and former Secret Service deputy director.
And both of you were with us through the breaking news last evening.
A.T., let’s start with you.
From what we are hearing from – from Secret Service, what do we know about the security perimeter exactly here and – and what went wrong?
A.T. SMITH: Well, obviously, the number one problem, the most glaring question to be asked is, how did this individual make it to the roof of that building with a long rifle, an AR-15 type rifle, apparently? The Secret Service plan has three concentric rings of security, an inner perimeter, a middle and an outer. And the counter sniper team is responsible for that outer perimeter, up to a thousand yards. And so it’s their responsibility to pan out and watch all of that and look for the sort of thing that occurred yesterday.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, did the Secret Service have adequate time to prepare for this rally? I understand this Butler, Pennsylvania, location had been used before by the Trump campaign?
A.T. SMITH: Yes. They did have an adequate amount of time. I spoke to my sources at the Secret Service. And this was like any other planned advance. They were there, you know, several days in advance. So, there was no short notice or anything like that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Sam, what are you hearing? In our reporting so far there appears to be no criminal background, no at least obvious red flag for this 20-year-old man from Pennsylvania who carried this out.
SMANTHA VINOGRAD: Well, yes. Right now the investigation, frankly, is in its very nascent stages. Our sources are telling us at this time that this individual was not known to law enforcement. We do know what his name is. We know his general biographic information. But at this point, authorities have indicated there’s no nexus to terrorism and he had no law enforcement background.
At the same time, Margaret, it is worth noting that the intelligence community has warned for years about the threats posed by lone actors in small groups of individuals. Lone actors are historically very difficult to detect because they operate alone, aren’t in communication with others and so the investigation will take time.
At the same time, there is a need for the investigation to be as transparent as possible. There are already conspiracy theories percolating about what was behind this horrific assassination attempt. And that is why we saw the FBI and state police brief last night and try to provide whatever information they have as soon as possible.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And for the shooter to have carried this out, it is, as we’ve talked about, in other terror contexts, very easy to get a weapon in this country. You just laid out for a lone actor it is very hard to detect the intent of someone like this to carry this out.
What do we need to know about the threat environment for anyone going to a mass gathering, whether it is a political rally, a concert, anything outdoor, should Americans feel safe this morning?
SAMANTHA VINOGRAD: We were already in a heightened threat environment prior to this horrific attack. That is now on steroids. That is exactly why the law enforcement community at all levels, federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial, is surging resources to the sites that they feel are most in need of those resources.
Americans should go about their daily lives. However, when I was at the Department of Homeland Security, we urged Americans to stay vigilant. If you see something, say something. If an individual is making concerning statements, contact law enforcement. So, Americans should be aware of the heightened threat environment. They should go about their daily lives and they should stay vigilant. Mass gatherings, as well as high profile activities and sites are the most likely targets for these sorts of events.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And yet, A.T., we are in a campaign season, outdoor mass gatherings, indoor mass gatherings, they are bread and butter of political campaigns. Your colleagues, your former colleagues at the Secret Service, what are they thinking right now?
A.T. SMITH: Well, they’re trying to stay on heightened alert as well. They’re going to look at what they need to do to improve. Obviously, we’ve heard a lot about the enhancements that are already underway, both for the Republican convention, as well as the Democratic convention. So, they will take an inward look, try to figure out really quickly what they can do better.
Obviously, the FBI is the lead agency with this particular incident and they will do a thorough investigation. And, you know, again, I’ve said all along, nobody is harder on themselves than the Secret Service. And so they will cooperate in every way and they will, you know, take direction and, of course, self-evaluate.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to bring up a statement that was issued by the Secret Service. It was fairly unusual this morning for them to come out and try to refute something.
A.T. SMITH: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: They called it an untrue assertion that a member of the former president’s team requested additional security and that that was rebuffed. They called it absolutely false. And, in fact, they had added protective resources, technology and capabilities as part of the campaign tempo.
Sometimes nuance is lost in these kind of statements. What do we understand happened here?
A.T. SMITH: In terms of their assets?
MARGARET BRENNAN: They’re – the Secret Service is being accused of not providing resources that were requested, and the Secret Service says that’s false.
A.T. SMITH: That is true – untrue. It is true that a request was made some time ago and the Secret Service addressed that request. And I can tell you, based on what they told me this morning, the former president is getting basically the same assets that the sitting president gets, maybe without a couple of classified, you know, things that go on, but for the most part he is getting the same level of security that the sitting president gets. And an example of that is the counter sniper team that was there, as well as the counter assault team that was there. And you saw them respond to protect, in essence, the agents, when they had the former president on the ground.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And, Sam, this is unusual but for the agency to come out and swat down an untruth, they have to be concerned about rumors like this. And, frankly, some lawmakers were alleging things like this.
SAMANTHA VINOGRAD: Well, intelligence and law enforcement is concerned about the role the conspiracy theories could play in inciting further violence. At the same time, I will say, I worked hand in hand with the Secret Service. They are ideologically agnostic. The focus here should be on investigating whether there were intelligence failures that led the Secret Service to miss a threat and/or operational failures that did not allow the Secret Service to establish a perimeter that helped secure the protectee. But the Secret Service is ideologically agnostic and conspiracy theories can only add to the heightened threat environment at this time.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Sam, A.T., thank you for all your work last night and this morning.
A.T. SMITH: Thank you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’ll be back in a moment.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re joined now by CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett, who is in Milwaukee this morning. And also here in Washington, CBS News cyber security expert Chris Krebs.
Good to have you both with us.
Major, tell me what you are seeing on the ground in Milwaukee this morning.
MAJOR GARRETT: So, Margaret, I will say the security perimeter is as originally established. It has not been enlarged, at least not yet. I’ve been in constant communication with Reince Priebus, who is chair of the host committee here. He expects the Secret Service will reevaluate and quite probably, from his perspective, enlarge the security perimeter.
As you know, Margaret, from attending national party conventions, for the last 10 or 12 years for sure, they have essentially been large city areas blocked off, five, six, seven blocks around the main arena. That’s true here in Milwaukee. It will be true in Chicago. Whether that perimeter gets enlarged or not, we haven’t heard officially. The host committee here expects that will happen.
But this morning, things look about as they did last night. Certainly, lots of police are visible. The perimeter is being hardened. But nothing else out of the ordinary. At least not yet.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Not yet.
Chris, you know, we’ve talked to you so many times over recent years about the concern of political violence or domestic violent extremism and the forms it could take. It is a cesspool online on social media right now.
When we are looking at actors like the man who carried out this attack, this 20-year-old, one of the things that’s being looked at is his social media profile.
CHRIS KREBS: Right.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And who he may or may not have been in contact with. Can you explain to us what – what they are looking for there and what you are seeing in terms of the risk of radicalization online?
CHRIS KREBS: Right. Well, as of now we don’t know if there’s a connection between the shooter, the would-be assassin, and any existing online groups. That’s part of what happens in an investigation. And I’m sure, over time, we will see the results of that investigation.
I would note that in the meantime, the gray space, the open space, the narratives have been filled immediately with speculation of who this person may be. In fact, there were – there were false identifications.
At the same time there were trolls that said, hey, this was me. And so it is a very, very violent (ph) space in the worst possible way. And I think it’s incumbent upon everyone, including social media platforms, to act responsibly and step in as appropriate in line with terms of service to ensure that this does not spin further out of control.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Is that what your former colleagues at CISA might be doing this morning?
CHRIS KREBS: Well, I think what’s happening there is that over the last couple years we’ve seen thousands of threats against election officials specifically and yet none have really raised to the level of a prosecution. So, I think what CISA, what election officials, what other national security officials are doing is working to regroup and understand, hey, what is our messaging, how do we prepare for political violence? Do the existing talking points and messaging work or do we need to update? So, I suspect that’s what’s happening and we’ll see some perhaps updated messaging this week.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We heard earlier this week from the director of national intelligence some detailed declassification of foreign actors who are trying to influence and manipulate our election through misinformation. Do we know at this time the degree to which that is playing into this moment?
CHRIS KREBS: It’s early to tell. In fact, I’d asked one of my teams about this, this morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
CHRIS KREBS: They said, no, that group doesn’t work on Sundays. So, it’s a little bit early to tell. But we have seen messaging directly out of the Kremlin, for instance, that suggests that this was due to the narrative –
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
CHRIS KREBS: The messaging from the campaign, from the president, that they are responsible. Maybe not directly, maybe they did not order it, but it’s the messaging. And so that does speak to your prior conversations, the bigger picture of, nuance is dead, messaging has to be clear and precise.
But in the meantime, we know that our foreign adversaries, Russia, Iran, China and others, will take advantage of this friction point in America to further drive divides and chaos. And ultimately, in some cases, like we’ve seen with Iran, drive protests and violence in the real world.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You’re talking there about the declassification from the ODNI that Iran, I’m reading it here, “seeks to stoke social divisions and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions around the elections.”
CHRIS KREBS: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And that they have done so recently, Iranian actors, to exacerbate tensions over the Israel-Gaza conflict.
CHRIS KREBS: They went directly into the gig economy, to pay people to come out and protest. And there are bigger questions of FARA and whether they’re acting on behalf of a foreign power. This is where we, the citizens, people, need to be much more discerning and understand, why are we being driven, why are we being fed this information, what is the potential outcome? And again, take a beat. Take a breath. We’ve heard this constantly. We need to lower the temperature and think a little bit more about where we – the moment we are in.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The – one of – well, the owner now of X, formerly known as Twitter, was reportedly making donations to the Trump campaign this past week. Do we know anything about intention of – the link of a political backing of the owner of one of the prime social media sites where this is being spread?
CHRIS KREBS: Well, I’m sure that will be a hot topic of conversation. I think at the same time we have to look at the role platforms play in promoting information that’s misleading, intentionally or unintentionally.
Just this past week, the European Union filed allegations against X for violating terms of the Digital Services Act, which is the law of the land in the EU. So, we will see more about whether they have been in violation and what that means, what sort of fines that may mean for X.
But again, this goes back to that earlier conversation about the role of social media platforms in acting responsible in this incredibly charged environment.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And they have much more stringent regulation in Europe than they do in this country on those points.
CHRIS KREBS: Yes, they do, absolutely.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Chris Krebs, thank you. And thanks to Major Garrett out in Milwaukee.
We’ll be right back.
(ANNOUNCEMENTS)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Our country has been living in a heightened threat environment for some time now. Yesterday’s assassination attempt against Mr. Trump confirmed our greatest fears.
Last night we reported on inflammatory statements made by some of our elected or political leaders, and some of those who had called for calm.
Mr. Trump issued a statement after his traumatic experience, and I noted that his statement did not include a call to lower the temperature. It was not meant as a critique, but rather an observation I made in the moment of that breaking news.
Today, he said, that, quote, “In this moment it is more important than ever that we stand united.”
So, in that spirit, let’s all hope for a safe campaign for all of those involved, and the former president and his family deserve our empathy after what happened. I wish him and his family the best as he recovers from the attempt on his life.
Until next week, for FACE THE NATION, I’m Margaret Brennan.
(ANNOUNCEMENT)
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