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Men's Triathlon Postponed Due to Poor Water Quality; Whistleblowers Detail Abuse against Palestinians in Israeli Detention Center; Investigation Hearing on Trump Assassination Attempt; Women's Sports Reaching New Heights. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired July 30, 2024 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Well, this is the scene on Capitol Hill in Washington, where, in just a few moments, we will hear for the
first time from the acting director of the U.S. Secret Service, when he testifies at what is a Senate Judiciary Committee joint hearing on the
Trump assassination attempt.
It's 10:00 am there in Washington. It's 3:00 pm here in London, 6:00 pm in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. This is CONNECT THE WORLD.
Also happening this hour, the men's triathlon at the Paris Olympics has been postponed due to poor water quality in the River Seine.
Protests erupt in Venezuela after president Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of Sunday's presidential election.
And in Israel, right-wing Israeli protesters breached two military compounds on Monday after an investigation into several IDF soldiers,
accused of abuse of a Palestinian prisoner.
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ANDERSON: Well, let's start in Paris. More than 2 dozen sports are holding competitions today at the Olympics there.
But the men's triathlon is not one of them. It has been postponed until Wednesday, at least, over poor water quality levels in the River Seine.
This comes despite months of work and over $1 billion to clean up the river ahead of the games.
In addition to polluted waters, France also bracing for extreme heat and more rain today. It's been a tough start for the Paris Games. Joining me
now is CNN's Melissa Bell. She is in Paris. "WORLD SPORT"'s Coy Wire is also here to discuss the Olympic competitions that are slated for today, he
joins us from outside the gymnastics venue.
And I'll get to you, Coy, momentarily.
Melissa, let's start with you. A French triathlon federation official telling French media, as I understand it, quote, "There was a bit of anger
and disappointment on the part of the athletes as they found out about today's postponed or canceled event.
This is quite a blow for organizers. Just explain the history to this.
What's been going on and why we've got to this point?
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the big gambles of these Olympics, Becky, had been always not just the opening ceremony on the
Seine but the triathlon swimming event but also later on in the Olympics, the marathon swimming would take place in the River Seine itself.
People had said it couldn't be done. Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, had gone herself a couple of weeks ago to show that one of the large
infrastructure projects finished just in time, just upstream from where I'm standing, was functioning. The bacteria levels were low enough that these
events could take place.
But of course, this was always dependent on the weather and French officials haven't had much luck. It's been just three days of dry weather.
Because of those showers, those big rainstorms we saw over the course of the weekend, Friday and Saturday, the rain impacts the quality of the
water, the bacteria levels.
It simply wasn't possible. Huge blow to the athletes involved who were prepared psychologically, physically for this event to take place today.
Still, all is not lost. There are still another couple of days this week when they can be moved to.
One of the hopes is that tomorrow morning, the men's women and the women's event can take place one after another in the River Seine. So we're going
to find out very early in the morning tomorrow. So for now, all is not lost.
They're still hoping to have a triathlon but starting to consider whether the possibility of a duathlon might not actually end up being the case.
Have a listen to the chef de mission (ph) on the Australian delegation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNE MEARES, CHEF DE MISSION, AUSTRALIA: We're not quite there yet in terms of a duathlon. We would like to see that triathlon kicking off
tomorrow. And if the weather, which is expected to be very good today, another 24 hours, it's possible that that water conditions can drop.
And what we have seen is the levels could be very, very fluctual (ph) and they could be high one day and drop significantly the next day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: So what of course is it highly depends on the weather and weather that has not been on the side of the Paris organizers.
[10:05:00]
Not just that rain you saw in the beginning. Today, Becky, is the hottest day of the year here in Paris, 35 degrees. There's a lot of people feeling
the extreme heat. But what that could also mean later today are thunder showers today. They're also predicting thunder showers tomorrow.
And that could really jeopardize the holding of these events from Wednesday through Friday -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Thank you, Melissa.
Of course, if you're a regular viewer of CNN, and I hope you are, you will have seen that Melissa actually experienced that water some -- a couple of
weeks ago with the mayor when the mayor actually swan in that water to show that it was sort of risk free for competitors.
Clearly, they've run the gamut of that risk at this point. Athletes really very, very disappointed. Let's see what happens with that.
Coy, let's bring you in. You're outside the gymnastics venue. The star, of course, has been Simone Biles. She's in action again today.
What can we expect?
COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You heard Melissa talking about it's officially the hottest day of the year here in Paris.
I can attest to that. But it is fitting because Simone Biles is about to turn it up even hotter in this arena. The women's gymnastics team
competition final. Her gritty performance powering through injury, lifting the U.S. to the top score and qualifiers, making them look untouchable in
tonight's medal round.
Biles will compete in all four events tonight, the vault, uneven bars, beam and floor; 27 years old, she's the oldest American gymnast to compete at
the Olympics since 1952.
But no matter her age or injuries, there's one mantra, one tattoo that keeps her flying high, Maya Angelou's famous poem, "And Still I Rise."
Listen.
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SIMONE BILES, U.S. GYMNAST: That's kind of the epitome of my career and my life story because I've always rise to the occasion. And even after all of
the traumas and the downfalls, I've always risen.
No matter what happens I've still come back and still tried to do everything, like full force, full difficulty, like even after Tokyo, come
back and I'm here. So still I rise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Becky, Biles in the U.S. Women, heavy favorites ahead of Italy, Brazil, Great Britain, then China, with a medal of any color tonight.
Simone Biles will surpass Shannon Miller as the most decorated American gymnast of all time, with eight of them. I was at the team qualifier,
electric atmosphere.
And there are already people starting to swarm in two hours before the event even goes down tonight.
ANDERSON: All eyes on that. Thank you.
It's a big day once again, of course, at the Olympics. Sadly, some disappointment for those triathletes. We will stick on that story for you
and keep you bang up-to-date.
Thank you both.
Let me get you to the Middle East now and chaotic scenes in Israel.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): You see here right-wing Israeli protesters, including members of parliament, had breached two military compounds on
Monday. Now they are angry over an investigation into several IDF soldiers, who are accused of quote, "substantial abuse" of a Palestinian prisoner.
At a controversial Israeli detention facility, the protesters argue that the Israeli soldiers being investigated for the abuse are being treated
unfairly. Matthew Chance is with us.
Matthew, as part of a recent CNN investigation, you learned details of alleged widespread abuse in the Israeli detention facility at the center of
all of this. Just explain.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
There's a detention facility; it's a place called Sde Teiman and it's in southern Israel, near the Israeli town of Be'er Sheva, very close to the
frontier with Gaza.
And since the October 7th attacks led by Hamas and other militant groups, it's become a sort of holding center for thousands of Palestinians that
have been taken from Gaza by the Israeli military and interrogated there.
And of course, they're trying to get information about whether these people are members of Hamas or what they know anything about the location of the
hostages. It's also a place where there are reports of widescale abuses.
And we went there, as I say, in May, a few months ago now and spoke to Israeli soldiers, whistleblowers, who agreed to give us their accounts of
what they'd seen inside and the kind of treatment meted out to Palestinian detainees at Sde Teiman. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We're told they are not allowed to move and must sit upright. They're not allowed to talk or peek under their
blindfolds.
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CHANCE: And what happens if they if they did do that?
What punishments will be meted out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We were allowed to pick out problematic people and punish them, having them stand with their hands
above their heads for an unlimited time.
If they didn't keep their hands up, we could ziptie them to the fence.
CHANCE (voice-over): The Israeli military says detainees are handcuffed based on their risk level and health status. But the account tallies with
photographic evidence obtained by CNN, of Palestinian detainees inside Sde Teiman.
And with hand and wrist injuries shown to CNN by dozens of Palestinians released back into Gaza.
"I was ziptied and blindfolded," says this former detainee, "and tortured in a way I never imagined."
One source telling us the restraints were so tight, they had to amputate a man's hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Yes.
Becky, there, so some really sort of chilling testimony of the kind of abuses being meted out inside that Sde Teiman facility. The Israeli
authorities have taken it seriously. There have been challenges to the existence of the detention center in the Israeli courts.
And of course, what sparked this protest is the fact that several Israeli soldiers, accused of mistreatment of a Palestinian detainee inside the
base, were being investigated, potentially with a view to prosecuting them.
And so that's what sparked these right-wing groups going to that, that base, that Sde Teiman facility in support of those soldiers because these
are right-wing groups that aren't just kind of OK with what happens inside.
They actually want Palestinians to be given as harsh a treatment as possible. And that's what they call for.
ANDERSON: You were at a very different protest in the same location a few months ago. I just want our viewers to see some of what you witnessed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE (voice-over): At the Sde Teiman facility in southern Israel, we joined human rights activists amid growing public concern for the detainees
being held inside.
CHANCE: This is a protest by Israeli citizens outside a detention center close to Gaza, where we know hundreds of Palestinians have been held. You
can see it's a closed military facility. It's behind a barbed wire fence.
We're not permitted access.
CHANCE (voice-over): And this hostility from passersby.
CHANCE: We just had somebody drive past in a car and they shouted out to us in Hebrew, "You're defending murderers."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we're defending basic human rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And that looks very different, of course, to that which we've been reporting on the protesters and indeed politicians from the right
wing.
Look, this is a flashpoint, isn't it, for all sides in Israel.
How do you think this is likely to play out, Matthew?
CHANCE: Yes. I mean, I think it's a really stark illustration isn't it of the division and that is really racking Israeli society right now. You've
got the people that I met there, outside, that the sort of, I suppose, for want of a better phrase, the left-wingers, the more liberal side of Israeli
society, that are themselves outraged.
They're not supportive of Hamas or anything like that. But they're outraged at the way Israel is treating Palestinian detainees.
And then you've got that other side of the coin, the much more hardline sort of right-wing, I suppose, aspect of Israeli society, the people for on
whom Benjamin Netanyahu depends for his government to continue in power.
And they want a much harder-line stance against Palestinians, even harder than the one that's already been adopted by the Israeli state. So that
translates into a real division inside Israeli society, with the two sides increasingly at odds with each other.
And that indicates a certain instability, which is very worrying for people watching Israel and for Israelis themselves.
ANDERSON: Matthew Chance. Thank you.
Meantime, in Gaza, Israel's military has withdrawn from eastern Khan Yunis. People have now started to return home to what they describe as the utter
destruction after an Israeli ground incursion and heavy bombardment killed dozens of Palestinians.
The United Nations says, more than 150,000 people were forced to flee the area last week after the IDF issued evacuation orders in parts of the city.
Well, I promised you a live event on Capitol Hill at the top of this hour. The Senate hearing into the attempted assassination of former president
Donald Trump, the acting Secret Service director amongst those testifying. Let's have a listen into Roland Rowe's first testimony.
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RONALD ROWE JR, ACTING DIRECTOR, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: -- 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, was a failure on multiple levels.
[10:15:06]
I join you and all Americans in condemning the horrific assault on former President Trump, Corey Comperatore, James Copenhaver and David Dutch. And I
extend my deepest sympathies to the Comperatore family and my sincere wishes for Mr. Copenhaver and Mr. Dutch's continued recovery.
Before I begin, though, I want to commend the heroic actions of the men and women of the United States Secret Service on July 13th. Our special agents
shielded the former president with their bodies while shots were still being fired selflessly, willing to make the ultimate sacrifice without
hesitation.
I am extremely proud of these actions and those taken by the counter-sniper team to neutralize the threat that prevented further loss of life. And I
applaud the actions of our tactical teams that responded so quickly.
I would also like to express my gratitude to our federal, state and local partners. We rely on these critical relationships, which have developed
over decades of daily collaboration to secure protective events and conduct criminal investigations.
As you're aware, there are multiple ongoing investigations of the attack and the security failures that occurred that day. I pledge my full support
to those inquiries to the Secret Service, your committees and the American people have a thorough and complete understanding of what happened leading
up to and during July 13th.
I will not wait for the results of those findings to assess where we failed that day. I have taken and will continue to take immediate steps to ensure
we do not repeat those failures. Since my appointment as the acting director one week ago, I identified gaps in our security on July 13th and
have implemented corrective actions.
One of my first actions as acting director was traveling to the Butler Farm Show site to better understand how our protection failed. I went to the
roof of the AGR building where the assailant fired shots and I laid in a prone position to evaluate his line of sight.
What I saw made me ashamed. As a career law enforcement officer and a 25- year veteran with the Secret Service, I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.
To prevent similar lapses from occurring in the future, I directed our personnel to ensure every event site security plan is thoroughly vetted by
multiple experienced supervisors before it is implemented.
It is clear to me that other protective enhancements could have strengthened our security at the Butler event. As such, I have directed the
expanded use of unmanned aerial systems at protective sites to help detect threats on roofs and other elevated threats.
I've also directed resources to facilitate our protective site communications, particularly our communications with our state and local
partners.
In addition, I have instructed the asset request for Secret Service protective details to be approved expeditiously and have ordered the
maximum use of requested personnel at protective sites to address this heightened security environment.
I've heard your calls for accountability and I take them very seriously. And given the magnitude of this failure, the Secret Service's Office of
Professional Responsibility is reviewing the actions and decision making of Secret Service personnel in the lead up to and on the day of the attack.
If this investigation reveals that Secret Service employees violated agency protocols, those employees will be held accountable to our disciplinary
process.
With respect to congressional investigations and requests for information, I instructed my staff to provide full cooperation and respond expeditiously
on a continuing basis to ensure you have the information you need to conduct your critical oversight.
In my testimony before you today, I will provide details on the Secret Service's advanced security planning for the Butler Farm Show site, facts
as we know them regarding the incident itself, known breakdowns in executing the security plan and corrective actions that the agency is
taking to ensure that nothing like this happens again.
But I do not believe that inadequate time to plan for this event was a factor in the failure. As you saw in my written statement, I am prepared to
provide an overview of the security planning leading up to and during the July 13th attack.
However, I would like to point out that based on what I know right now, neither the Secret Service counter-sniper teams, nor members of the former
president's security detail had any knowledge that there was a man on the roof of the AGR building with a firearm.
[10:20:05]
It is my understanding those personnel were not aware the assailant had a firearm until they heard gunshots. Prior to that, they were operating with
the knowledge that local law enforcement was working an issue of a suspicious individual prior to the shots being fired.
I regret that information was not passed to Congress and the public sooner with greater frequency. And I fear this lack of information has given rise
to multiple false and dangerous conspiracy theories about what took place that day. And I want to debunk these theories.
Let me address one conspiracy directly. The Secret Service counter- sniper neutralized the assailant within seconds after the assailant fired his
weapon. That counter-sniper had full discretion to use deadly force to stop an attacker and did not need to seek authorization to fire.
I am immensely proud of the selfless dedication of our employees to the mission. Every day across the globe, the men and women answer the call to
protect our nation's leaders and the standard is no fail for a reason.
During our current high operational tempo, I want and I need to ensure that the Secret Service workforce are uplifted so they can focus on carrying out
the mission.
They have my full support and I'm confident in their abilities to ensure the safety and security of the people we protect. They are worthy of trust
and confidence and they deserve your support as well as the support of the American people.
Chairman Peters, Chairman Durbin, Ranking Member Paul, Ranking Member Graham and members of the committees, thank you for the opportunity to
testify at this joint hearing. I will submit the remainder of my statement for the record and I will answer your questions.
SEN. GARY PETERS (D-MI): Thank you. Mr. Rowe.
Our second witness is Paul Abbate. Mr. Abbate is the deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the Department of Justice. In this role,
Deputy Director Abbate oversees all FBI domestic and international investigative and intelligence activities.
Prior to his appointment as deputy director, he has had a distinguished three decades within the FBI leading counterterrorism efforts and most
recently, as the associate deputy director of the FBI, for he's responsible for the management of all FBI personnel, budget, administration, as well as
infrastructure.
Mr. Abbate, thank you for appearing before the committee here today. You are recognized for your opening remarks.
PAUL ABBATE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, FBI: Thank you, sir.
Good morning, Chairmen Peters and Durbin, Ranking Members Paul and Graham and distinguished members of the committee. It is a privilege to appear
before you today to discuss the FBI's investigation of the attempted assassination of former President Trump on July 13th in Butler,
Pennsylvania.
Before going further, I want to again offer my and our condolences to the victims of this heinous attack, to the family and loved ones of heroic
firefighter and father Corey Comperatore, to Mr. Dutch, to Mr. Copenhaver, who continue to recover and to former President Trump, who was also struck
by a bullet fired from the shooter's rifle.
Our thoughts and prayers are with each of them and their families and loved ones.
Within minutes of the attack, the FBI field office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, received notification of the assassination attempt and
responded to the scene immediately with a surge of resources quickly moving forward on the investigation.
From the outset, the FBI has been investigating this attack as an assassination attempt and an act of domestic terrorism. Our team continues
to conduct a full thorough and objective investigation And we'll continue to follow all leads and avenues of investigation to logical conclusion,
leaving no stone unturned.
While it's not typical to provide details of an ongoing investigation, this, as we all know, is an extraordinarily tragic set of circumstances of
the utmost national importance, making it essential to inform the American public and Congress what is known right now with full transparency.
The investigation remains focused, of course, on determining motive, identifying any potential co-conspirators or others with knowledge of the
attack and building out a timeline of shooter Thomas Crooks actions in advance of and during the attack.
Thus far, though, absolutely nothing has been ruled out. The investigation has not identified a motive nor any co-conspirators or others with advanced
knowledge.
To date, the FBI team has conducted more than 460 interviews, executed search warrants, including at the shooter's residence and seized electronic
media to include phones, laptops, hard drives and thumb drives.
[10:25:03]
Legal process has been issued to dozens of companies and we've received more than 2,000 tips from the public.
The full resources of the FBI have been brought to bear in furtherance of the investigation, agents, analysts, professional staff, experts.
I've personally visited the site of this horrific attack and seen firsthand the work of FBI Pittsburgh and our partners on the front line and want to
thank all involved for their ongoing and tireless efforts to get the answers that we need and to deliver justice.
Specialized resources deployed included evidence response teams, victim services specialists, laboratory and operational technology division
resources to process physical and digital evidence, a shooting reconstruction team.
Additionally, our explosive experts have analyzed the three IEDs were covered, two from the shooter's vehicle, one from the family residence. And
our behavioral analysis unit importantly is helping to build a profile of the shooter to include his mental state.
Next, I want to provide a brief highlighted overview of the timeline that has been established to date through witness interviews and other
information. Again, this is our understanding at present and is subject to change and further refinement as more facts are collected.
On July 3rd, the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was announced. On July 6th, the shooter registered to attend the rally and performed a search for,
quote, how far was Oswald from Kennedy.
On July 7th, the shooter traveled from his home to the Butler Farm show grounds and remained there for approximately 20 minutes. We assessed this
show's advanced planning and reconnaissance on his part.
On July 12th, the shooter traveled from his home to the Clairton Sportsman Club where he practiced shooting.
On the morning of July 13th, at approximately 10:00 am, the shooter returned to the farm show grounds and remained there for about 70 minutes
before returning home again. At approximately 1:30 pm while at the residence, the shooter's father gave him a rifle for the purpose he
believed of going back to the sportsman club.
About 25 minutes later, the shooter purchased ammunition while en route to the Butler Farm Show grounds. The subject then arrived at the scene, was
moving around the farm show grounds close to the American Glass Research, AGR building, from which he ultimately committed the attack.
Shortly thereafter, at approximately 3:51 pm, the shooter flew a drone approximately 200 yards from the farm show grounds for about 11 minutes.
The drone and controller were later found in the subject's car.
Analysis has not revealed any photos or video taken by the drone but we can confirm that he was live streaming at the time and would have been able to
view it on his controller.
The first reported sighting the shooter by local law enforcement was at approximately 4:26 pm At approximately 5:10 pm, the shooter was again
identified by local law enforcement as a suspicious person around the AGR building. And at approximately 5:14 pm, a local SWAT operator took a photo
of the shooter.
At about 5:32 pm, local SWAT observed the shooter next to the AGR building using his phone, browsing news sites and with a rangefinder. At
approximately 5:38 pm, the photo of the shooter taken earlier was sent to local SWAT operators in a text message group.
Subsequently, approximately 25 minutes prior to the shooting, the U.S. Secret Service command post was notified of a suspicious person. Officers
lost sight of the subject from approximately 6:02 pm to 6:08 pm but continued to communicate with each other in an attempt to locate him.
Recently discovered video from a local business shows the shooter pulling himself up onto the AGR building rooftop at approximately 6:06 pm At
approximately 6:08 pm, the subject was observed on the roof by local law enforcement.
At approximately 6:11 pm, a local police officer was lifted to the roof by another officer, saw the shooter and radioed that he was armed with, quote,
a long gun. Within approximately the next 30 seconds, the shots were fired.
The evidence recovery team found eight shell casings at the scene next to the shooter's body. We believe the subject the shooter fired eight rounds.
While the investigation has not determined motive, the investigative team continues to review information from legal returns, including online and
social media accounts.
Something just very recently uncovered that I want to share is a social media account, which is believed to be associated with the shooter in about
the 2019-2020 timeframe.
There were over 700 comments posted from this account.
[10:30:00]
Some of these comments, if ultimately attributable to the shooter, appear to reflect anti-Semitic and anti-immigration themes, to espouse political
violence and are described as extreme in nature.
While the investigative team is still working to verify this account to determine if it did in fact belong to the shooter, we believe it important
to share.
And noted today, particularly given the general absence of other information to date from social media and other sources of information that
reflect on the shooter's potential motive and mindset. These are the facts in part that the investigation has revealed to date.
While the shooter is dead, our work is very much ongoing and urgent. Thank you and I look forward to answering any and all questions.
PETERS: Thank you, Mr. Abbate. We'll now proceed to Chairman Durbin and Ranking Member Graham will ask the first two questions. I will then ask
questions, Ranking Member Paul. And then we'll alternate between members of the judiciary, recognized by Chairman Durbin, and members of the Homeland
Security Committee, recognized by me.
With that, Senator Durbin, you're recognized for your questions.
SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL), DEMOCRATIC WHIP: Thank you, Senator Peters. I would like to begin by making a statement. It's not in the form of a
question and you'll understand why when I say it.
In 20 days, we are going to start the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. I have been briefed by the law enforcement agencies' plans for
security for that event. Tens of thousands of people will be there, including some of the highest ranking politicians in the United States.
I trust that both of your agencies can answer in the affirmative if I ask you whether you're actively engaged in working with the development of
security plans, taking into consideration the lessons of July 13th.
ROWE: Senator, that is 100 percent yes from the Secret Service.
ABBATE: Yes from the FBI as well, sir. We've been working on this for well over a year in preparation.
DURBIN: I'm not going to ask for details for obvious reasons but I do want to ask a question about the Secret Service staffing. Congress has nearly
doubled the budget for the Secret Service over the last 10 years, from $1.8 billion in fiscal year 2014 to $3 billion in fiscal year 2024.
Despite this large increase in funding, the number of agents in protective operations has fallen from 4,027 to 3,671 during that same time period, an
approximate 9 percent reduction.
Acting Director Rowe, what accounts for protective operations losing 356 agents over the past 10 years?
ROWE: So Senator, with respect to where we are today on staffing -- and then I'll address the 10-year, where we were -- in this year alone, we are
going to end the year on the positive of 200-plus agents. That's the first time in a number of years that we've been able to do that.
Part of that was gaining some efficiencies in our hiring process. But what I want to emphasize is that we have not dropped standards. Only 2 percent -
- 2 percent -- of every applicant actually makes it through the hiring process.
We are filling our classes at the federal law enforcement training center. We are doing this ramp-up as part of what lies ahead of us, with the L.A.
Olympics in 2028.
With respect to what has happened in years prior, this is a difficult and challenging job, being a Secret Service agent; living your life by somebody
else's schedule, constantly away from your family, constantly having to meet increased operational and investigative demands, which we gladly do.
But it's not for everyone. And I think there are times where people have to make tough choices and they decide to leave the agency. But that doesn't
mean that they were any less of an agent or that they weren't committed to the mission.
Because we are all committed to being patriots and serving our country and protecting our nation's highest leaders. I think there was a variety of
factors -- some of it was the pandemic, some of it was the economy or other opportunities.
We have people that are very skilled in cyber that often leave the job. Some of the protective skills that they acquire are also in demand in the
private sector. Some of the mechanisms that we've put in place just in the last year is also retaining our workforce and that's what we're focused on
right now.
DURBIN: The Government Accountability Office has determined that restaffing from these losses has been slow due to a number of factors
including the years-long background checks for prospective agents and the assignments agents must work through before being assigned to protection.
Given these constraints, what steps you have taken to improve recruitment?
ROWE: We're actually putting out targeted recruitment opportunities.
[10:35:00]
So we've just recently put it out within our uniform division, for our countersniper unit, our hazardous agent medical emergency response unit,
our counterassault team on the special agent side.
So we're actually trying to gather the best and the brightest. And I will tell you that we are having great success with a lot of these vacancies.
But what I want to reiterate is that, for example, on the counterassault vacancy, we had 700 applicants that applied for this.
Really what we will glean after they make it through the process and they have to be able to hold a top secret SCI clearance, will be if we realize
15 out of that tranche, that's a 2 percent pass rate. It's very competitive. And we are trying to make sure that we are getting the best
and the brightest without dropping standards.
DURBIN: One last question for either one of you.
What is the purpose of a range finder and once this assassin was identified as using a range finder, wasn't that proof positive that he was a dangerous
individual?
ROWE: I'll say that obviously somebody is trying to determine where they are in proximity to a location. A fixed location. I'll defer to my
colleague here but I believe it was a recreation or sports-related -- I thought I'd read that it was a golf range finder.
Nonetheless, it still would have provided him the ability to provide the distance that he was away from his intended target.
DURBIN: Wasn't that enough?
ROWE: As far as raising suspicion?
DURBIN: Yes.
ROWE: I think he was identified as being suspicious by local law enforcement.
DURBIN: And nothing happened?
ROWE: I know that local law enforcement was attempting to locate him.
DURBIN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
PETERS: Thank you.
Member Graham.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Thank you.
Let's go back to the resources.
Do you need more money?
ROWE: Senator, listen, there's a single branch, a single agency in the executive branch that could -- that needs more money. Everyone will take
more resources. We've had a great relationship with the Department of Homeland Security. The Office of Management and Budget.
GRAHAM: Do you feel constrained to ask for more resources by anybody?
ROWE: No, sir, we don't. And actually we have a great relationship with our appropriators and obviously the authorizing committees and they have
always looked out for the Secret Service.
GRAHAM: so I would encourage you to think big when it comes to resourcing the department in light of what happened here. At the time of the shooting,
the Iranians were threatening high level American officials, including president Trump. Right?
ROWE: Senator, it's widely known --
(CROSSTALK)
GRAHAM: The FBI?
ABBATE: Yes, senator, that's 100 percent correct.
GRAHAM: Did that factor into the security footprint?
ABBATE: what I will say its widely known that the Iranians do not like us. I refer you to the national --
(CROSSTALK)
GRAHAM: it's not that they don't like us. They threatened to kill certain people and they named them. It's not like, I hate America, I'm going to it
kill these three guys.
ROWE: I cannot publicly comment on --
(CROSSTALK)
GRAHAM: They publicly comment on it.
ROWE: What I'm trying to say is I cannot publicly comment on what intelligence but I can assure that you we do a threat-based protective
model.
GRAHAM: I'd like to have that model provided to the committee.
Could you do that?
ROWE: Yes, sir.
GRAHAM: Could you also give us the protocols that are in place to secure a site like this?
ROWE: Yes, sir.
GRAHAM: OK, thank you. One, the protective detail around president Trump, I know them all very.
Well,. They're brave men and women. And these questions are not to belittle anybody. They're to figure out how the system failed to badly. You say
you're not reluctant to ask for more money. What do we need to do to make it easier to hire people without lowering our standards?
I know it's a hard job. Can we do anything to help you?
ROWE: I think we're willing to take that back, sir. We're working on our time to hire.
GRAHAM: If you had more people, you'd have more time off.
ROWE: That's true.
GRAHAM: Let's get more people, more time off. These are tough jobs. I mean, people on this committee know. I don't know how they hold a family
together doing what they're doing. It's the military really on steroids. The encrypted app.
[10:40:05]
Paul, can you tell us about these apps?
Have they been broken into?
The guy had some apps that were encrypted.
ABBATE: I think we've experienced a range of returns on this. Some of the applications that he was using online were encrypted in nature. Some of the
email accounts --
(CROSSTALK)
GRAHAM: Have we broken into them?
ABBATE: We've received returns. There are some we have not been able to get information back because of their encrypted nature.
GRAHAM: Is there any way to solve that problem?
ABBATE: Senator, we've talked about this before. We need a solution that provides lawful access to law --
GRAHAM: So you're telling me the guy that took eight shots at the president, former president, has apps that we can't get into, that may, if
you could get into, reveal some relevant information?
ABBATE: That is correct, senator.
GRAHAM: So if he were talking to some foreign power -- now I don't think any foreign power would hire this guy, by the way. So I'm not overly
worried this was some great plot by the Iranians because they couldn't even think of this. However, there could come a day where something like this is
very important.
How do we solve this problem?
ABBATE: As we've been saying, we need a solution that provides lawful access, where, when we go to --
GRAHAM: You're telling me -- I agree with you. I'm not blaming you. We have encrypted apps of an assassin, a murderer, and we can't get into them
all these days after.
That needs to be fixed, folks. I'm all for privacy but to a point.
What if, in the future, somebody's using these apps to communicate with a foreign power?
I think we need to know these things, we need to know them in real time.
So lessons learned is that everything failed. Corrective action, seems to me, you need more money and more people. Accountability.
At the end of the day, how many people do you think will be relieved of their duties, Mr. Rowe, because of this?
ROWE: Senator, I --
ANDERSON: And you've been listening to Ranking Member Lindsey Graham.
This is a hearing on Capitol Hill into the assassination attempts on president Trump.
You've heard from both the FBI and the Secret Service.
Bobby Chacon is a retired FBI special agent. He joins us now, live from Palm Springs in California.
Let's start with what we've just heard from both the acting Secret Service head and the FBI deputy director.
What do you make of what we've heard and what stands out to you?
BOBBY CHACON, FBI SPECIAL AGENT (RET.): Well, first of all, the acting Secret Service director, I think he hit all the points that people were
frustrated with. He said there will be transparency. He outlined the problems that happened, why that roof wasn't secured in Butler that day.
I mean, he went down the list of all the errors that many of us have been pointing out for the last two weeks. And he said how -- that they would be
addressed. And I've been overly critical of the Secret Service since this event happened.
But it's been an anomaly because I've worked with the Secret Service before and they are topnotch, they are great at what they do. This particular
event, I think, was an anomaly and it sounds like he's going to get to the bottom of how so many things failed that day. And he's going to take
corrective action.
On the FBI side, you know, they're going ahead with trying to determine this shooter's motivations. They think he acted alone. You just heard
senator Graham express some frustration that we can't get into these -- some of these devices, some of these apps.
And he's talking to an FBI director that -- I mean, that's deputy director, that we can't do anything about that. That's the law. The law favors
privacy and things. So Congress has to take action, not the FBI. The FBI has to work within the framework of the current laws as they exist.
And there's always a balance between privacy and liberty and things like that. So I mean, I think the question of the deputy director of the FBI by
Lindsey Graham is a little bit misplaced because we have to operate within the law as it exists.
And Congress, if they want to address the law, that's up to them.
ANDERSON: What did you make of -- for their responses to a question from the committee on whether, given there's 98 days to go until this U.S.
election, there have been threats on U.S. politicians from various places around the world, not least from Iran?
And we have the Democratic National Convention coming up just in a week or less.
What did you make of their responses in being asked whether they are equipped and satisfied that they are ready to protect politicians, those
gathering for the DNC and ultimately effective in what they do going forward?
CHACON: Well, there's a couple of things that here, that come into play.
The DNC -- and I've been involved in long-range planning for big events like the Olympics and things like that.
[10:45:03]
The DNC, I think, is going to be perfectly addressed because they've been planning for it for so long and they have so many resources dedicated to
things like the DNC. It's a known entity; it's planned well in advance.
I think the more problematic events are these political rallies that kind of pop up onto the schedule than are maybe planned at the last minute as we
get closer and closer to November. I think these are more problematic for - - from a security standpoint because the venues are different.
They're outside as opposed to the conventions, which are generally inside. Inside venues are easier to lock down, they're easier to secure. Outdoor
venues, much more difficult.
And because you have less time to plan for some of these rallies, it becomes more problematic. But we're in the highest threat environment right
now that we can think of. We've got a lot of people in this country that have come in that we don't know who they are.
We've got political instability, we've got political contentiousness. This is a very, very volatile time between now and the election. And so they
have to be on their game. And it sounds like they understand that.
Whether they have the resources or not, Congress is telling them in his hearing that they will have the resources if they ask for it.
ANDERSON: And they're being cross-examined about the resources and about the effectiveness or not of the communications between agencies.
Fascinating to listen to, good to have you on.
You're watching CNN, folks, we will be back after this short break. Stay with us.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:00]
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ANDERSON: This year, 49 percent of the athletes competing in the Olympics are women. That is the most equitable it's ever been at a time when women's
sports, of course, are attracting more and more attention around the world; 46.7 million people watched women's sports on TV in 2023.
That's 1 million more than the previous best. And that's just the TV numbers. Despite that, though, female athletes still face many challenges:
unequal pay, sexism, lack of opportunities and investment, just to mention a few.
Kara Nortman joins us now from Paris. She's the co-founder of Angel City Football Club, which just became the world's most valuable women's sports
team. She's also a partner of Monarch Collective, a platform for global sport equity.
And we're absolutely delighted to have you on the show. Congratulation on the team. A superb result for you and I know how much work has gone into
just putting women's sport on your part on the map.
Let's talk about what's going on at the Olympics; 49 percent of those competing are women. That is fantastic.
Is it enough, though?
Have we done enough at this point?
And what sort of challenges still remain?
KARA NORTMAN, MANAGING PARTNER, MONARCH COLLECTIVE: Yes.
Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me. I remember when I was 8 years old and went to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. And I believe
back then, 23 percent of athletes were female.
So we have to celebrate this milestone, being at close to 50-50 for the first games that have it.
But it's never enough. Now we get to redefine what equity means. We should look at viewership.
Do more people watch gymnastics or female swimmers?
Do more people watch the U.S. Women's national team or the U.S. -- or all the -- all the different athletes?
I was at tennis last night, seeing players from Spain and the Ukraine. So I think it's time maybe to redefine equity and understand what it means that
the business ranks, where the IOC has done great work but continue it, like let's not settle for 50-50.
Why shouldn't it be 60-40 female athletes if we like to watch them more?
Which we might.
ANDERSON: Well, I mean, and the numbers bear that out. We've never had as many people watching women's sport. Football club that you cofounded, Angel
City, just secured an enormous amount of money, making it the most valuable women's team in the world.
Let's talk about gender pay equality In sports.
Any closer at this point where you think we should be?
NORTMAN: We have a long way to go. We have -- we started Angel City formally five years ago. We were just valued at $250 million and had Willow
Bay and Bob Iger coming into be our control owner. We're making a lot of progress. We're generating the kinds of revenues to enable us to pay
athletes.
But it's still a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of what the men get. But to pay the women, we also need to get big media deals and continue to
put butts in seats at stadiums. We have a long way to go and we have to do it together.
And that's why Julie, Natalie and I got into this, to get the U.S. women's national team players, the best footballers in the world, paid the same as
the men.
ANDERSON: And you make a very, very good point. I mean, athletes like Caitlin Clark, not at the Olympics, but Simone Biles, for example, driving
an awful lot of attention this year. There are new competition schedules to ensure more balanced media coverage of women's competitions.
I know you believe that matters. I wonder if you can explain why and what you think can be done to ensure that those media deals are nailed. I'm just
thinking about MBA, $77 billion in media deals of late over the next 10 years. These are significant numbers and the interest is there.
[10:55:00]
So very specifically, what more can be done at this point?
NORTMAN: I think, show up, go to games; look at the data. The data is there before people pay attention to it. So as an example, 1.3 million --
the WNBA in the United States, the basketball league, is getting on average 1.3 million viewers per game.
Men's side, I believe, is 1.7 million. So the media dollars are catching up; over $2 billion will go to the WNBA over 11 years.
But how do we, how do we get to 70?
We just actually create distribution, allow the fans to build a connection to the teams and the players. And then go to social media, follow these
players. The top eight of them the 10 social media athletes, I'm told, at the Olympics are women. And I always say it's, we just have twice as many
words as men.
(LAUGHTER)
NORTMAN: So I think the adjacent programming -- it's true. If anyone, you know, if anyone has daughters -- I have three -- that's the case.
But we need to celebrate the progress. We've made tremendous progress, both the WNBA and the NWSL, the two top leagues in the United States, have had
multiples of improvement from their last major deal to the next.
But you got to get the best of the best in there, continuing to negotiate, to advocate and then show up. Buy tickets, show up at Angel City. We have
north of 20,000 tickets sold per game. And when we started the club, when Julie Uhrman, Natalie Portman and I started the club, people said no one
would show up.
(CROSSTALK)
NORTMAN: No one would show up. And we now have more season ticket holders than two of the men's professional teams in L.A.
ANDERSON: I've got to go. We're going to take a break. It's fantastic having you on. Good luck with everything. I'm glad you're celebrating the
women at the Olympics.
That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. "NEWSROOM" is up next.
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