USSS Assistant Director Asked to Resign Over Trump Assassination Attempt

A senior leader within the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) has been encouraged to resign, nearly two months after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, a source with senior knowledge of the internal investigation told Fox News.

The official, Assistant Director Michael Plati of the agency’s Office of Protective Operations, led the section responsible for planning protection for Trump, President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. J.D. Vance and others, and ends his tenure there on Friday, his 27th anniversary at the agency.

The Secret Service responded in a statement Tuesday that Plati “was not asked by anyone to resign or retire. This was a personal decision he made, and we thank him for his 27 years of dedicated service to the federal government.” Still, others involved in the investigation have not disputed the underlying narrative that he was encouraged to resign after the July 13 security lapse at Butler, which sent shock waves through all levels of the agency.

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Michael Plati, the U.S. Secret Service assistant director for the Office of Protective Operations, has been encouraged to retire. Plati will complete his term with the USSS in the coming days. (US Secret Service)

The USSS is preparing to brief Congress in the coming days on lessons learned from the attack on Trump.

The Secret Service added that it “respects the role of oversight. We have and will continue to make employees available for transcribed interviews and to date have provided more than 2,400 pages of responsive documentation to Congress. These efforts will continue as our desire to learn from this failure and ensure it never happens again remains undiminished.”

Plati gave more than a month’s notice to make time for a transition. Fox News is told it will come out in the coming days and weeks as Congress is notified that the retirement is indeed related to the investigation into the shooting, but his spokesman said it was planned and the timing was coincidental.

“Mike has been talking about this for over a year. He is retiring on his 27th anniversary with the Secret Service. He approached Acting Director (Ronald) Rowe about retiring last month, before the DNC. He was not asked to retire or resign, and anyone who says otherwise is lying,” said Greg Henning, Plati’s spokesman.

One agent who asked not to be named was unhappy about Plati’s retirement. “Mike Plati is known for his integrity and honesty, qualities that are especially commendable at his leadership level within the Secret Service,” the agent told Fox News.

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Ronald Rowe, acting director of the U.S. Secret Service, recently testified before a joint hearing of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Senate Judiciary Committee investigating the security failures that led to the attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump. (AP photo/Kevin Wolf)

Director of the USSS Kimberly Cheatle resigned on July 23 amid mounting pressure following the attempted assassination of the former president, Fox News confirmed.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has since offered the USSS “additional assistance” in protecting political figures requiring personal security.

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US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, at the Capitol in Washington DC (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Anthony Guglielmi, chief communications officer for the U.S. Secret Service, announced last month that the Department of Defense will provide “additional assistance, including logistics, transportation and communications, through the 2024 campaign season.”