Outside probe needed of DC gala shooting, says ex-Secret Service chief [View all]

A former head of the Secret Service has called for outside reviews of the protective agency's handling of the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, citing what he sees as potentially serious missteps that enabled a shooting suspect to breach a security perimeter.

"It's the right thing to do," John Magaw exclusively told USA TODAY in a series of recent interviews since the April 25 event. "You don't want to investigate it yourself. The public won't believe it."

Two other reviews are already underway in the aftermath of the shootout at the sprawling Washington Hilton after an armed suspect sprinted past agents, causing at least one to open fire and get hit in his ballistic vest.

One of those reviews is by the White House, which on April 27 said it will convene the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security, and the other is by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee has oversight of the Secret Service.

The Secret Service is also conducting its own after-action review of the incident, in which it subdued the alleged gunman, Cole Tomas Allen, and evacuated President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other leaders, a senior law enforcement official familiar with the various investigations told USA TODAY.

But those reviews will not suffice, Magaw said, given a security breach that was serious enough to force a mass evacuation of government leaders and the eventual shutdown of the annual dinner.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/04/29/secret-service-chief-probe-dc-gala-shooting/89840082007/?tbref=hp

He's right, because ANY government review at this point will be seen as compromised at best and completely unbelievable at worst.