TOP Secret Service officials have denied several requests for extra resources by Donald Trump’s security detail in the last two years before he was injured in an assassination attempt last week.
Four people familiar with the requests say the former President asked for magnetometers and more agents to screen attendees at large gatherings.
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Trump’s team also asked for more snipers and specialty teams at other public events, reported the Wall Street Journal.
The requests, which were not previously reported, were sometimes denied by senior officials at the agency for several reasons, including a lack of resources due to low staff, which the agency has struggled with for years.
As a result, a long-standing tension was created between Trump, his aides, and security detail against Secret Service leadership.
Trump’s advisors privately argued that the agency wasn’t doing enough to protect the former President.
The Secret Service denied turning down the requests at first, however, the agency has now acknowledged that some were rejected.
It comes as agency veterans say the organization has had to make tough decisions with limited funding and a growing list of individuals who need protection.
Thomas Crooks, 20, opened fire at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, from a rooftop about 150 yards away from Trump.
The former president was injured along with two others, and a rally attendee was killed.
Since then, the agency has faced criticism for supposed failings during the incident.
An agency spokesman publicly denied that it has denied requests from Trump’s team, causing more strife between the two parties.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who has faced calls to resign due to the lapses at the rally, has also denied rejected the request.
“The assertion that a member of the former president’s security team requested additional security resources that the US Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security rebuffed is absolutely false,” said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, in a statement.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Secret Service for comment.