Iran Plotted Its Own Assassination Bid on Trump: CNN
The Secret Service said they increased security on Trump’s life weeks before Thomas Crooks made an attempt on him.
Cheney Orr/Reuters
The Secret Service reportedly upped its security of former President Donald Trump in the weeks prior to Thomas Crook’s attempt on Trump’s life, after foiling an Iranian assassination plot.
“Secret Service learned of the increased threat from this threat stream,[The] NSC directly contacted USSS at a senior level to be absolutely sure they continued to track the latest reporting,” a senior national security official familiar with the Iranian plot told CNN. “USSS shared this information with the detail lead, and the Trump campaign was made aware of an evolving threat. In response to the increased threat, Secret Service surged resources and assets for the protection of former President Trump. All of this was in advance of Saturday.”
Crook’s assassination attempt reportedly has no links to the Iranian plot at this time, according to CNN’s sources.
However, a former senior law enforcement officer with extensive contact with the active Secret Service agents told The Daily Beast he saw no deviation from the standard protective detail.
“It looked like any other operation,” the official added.
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“We do not comment on President Trump’s security detail. All questions should be directed to The United States Secret Service,” the Trump campaign told CNN when asked for comment.
Iran has previously vowed to seek revenge on the former president following the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in January 2020.
The DOJ brought charges against an IRGC member who allegedly made plans to assassinate former Trump national security advisor, John Bolton, “likely in retaliation” to Soleimani’s assassination, according to prosecutors.
Former Trump Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and former national security advisor, Robert O’Brien, were given Secret Service protection following Iranian threats, but that ended last summer, according to CNN.
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