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Trump Assassination, The Black Door & more!

Good Afternoon - Below is the Trump Deep Dive, as promised last week

Global Insights

Deep Dive: The Trump Assassination attempt

Given how fast the news cycle moves these days, if we were about being first it would of been smarter for us to put out this story last week when the assassination attempt was trending. However that’s not what we do, we focus on quality as opposed to being the first one to break the story. Let’s face the facts, we are likely not going to be the outlet that will break a story this big to you. Chances are it came to you through breaking news on television or another msm source. But what we can do is provide a comprehensive breakdown of everything that happened & be sure to hit every single angle.

Our decision to wait a week to put this story out proved to be correct, because a lot of key information was released in the past week.

So let’s get the basics out of the way. On July 13th, the 20-year-old aspiring assassin, managed to get within striking distance of Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. From a rooftop approximately 150 yards (450 feet) away from the stage where Trump was speaking, the shooter fired multiple shots, one that grazed the former president’s ear, managing to evade both Secret Service agents and local law enforcement. The shooter was shot dead immediately after firing the shots, however the counter-sniper team that took out the shooter were not the famous couple directly behind Trump (pictured below) on the barn being blasted all over the news, it was another of four teams. Corey Comperatore, a former firefighter was fatally killed by the stray bullets while shielding his daughter from the gunfire.

Donald Trump suggests that a quick head movement likely saved his life, as slow-motion footage shows the bullet narrowly grazing his ear. Without that movement, the bullet would have hit the back of his head, which likely would have been fatal.

Before the attack, the shooters internet search history revealed that he had been researching how Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy in 1963, and how close Oswald was to Kennedy at the time of the shooting, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a congressional hearing.

The shooting took place 2 days after Trump was set to be sentenced for the hush money trial (pushed back to September 18th) and 2 days before the start of the Republican national convention, on July 15th.

Trump states he received no warnings about any potential threats before the assassination attempt. Secret Service was aware of the threat 10 minutes before he took the stage.

During a briefing with Senators, the Secret Service revealed that they had identified the shooter at 5:51 p.m. and confirmed him as a threat by 5:53 p.m. President Trump was allowed to take the stage at his rally at 6:00 p.m. Shots were fired at 6:11 p.m. The shooter was identified even earlier by local law enforcement at 5:45pm, 26 minutes before the shooting occured. The shooter was killed 26 seconds after he fired the first shot. The inside of the building from which the shooter fired was used for police tactical teams to set up and de-brief before the event.

A police counter-sniper team was inside the building from which the shooter fired during the incident. The shooter was seen climbing on top of the building, which was being used by local police as a "watch post" for snipers. The snipers were stationed there to monitor for threats while the former president spoke onstage, 150 yards away. Reports indicate that a tactical team was expected to be stationed on the roof where the shooter fired from, but they were positioned instead in a second-floor window, further indications suggest the sniper teams aiming at the building may have been confused upon seeing the shooter on the roof, as it was intended to be occupied by their own team.

Secret Service director Cheatle suggested it was too dangerous to put a team on the roof due to its slope, however the barn pictured above has a more curved nature from the roof in which the shooter fired from. “That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there's a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn't want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,” Cheatle said.

The Secret Service has placed the responsibility for the failure to secure the rooftop, from which the shooter attempted to assassinate Trump, on the local Pennsylvania police, arguing that it was outside their protective perimeter. This contradicts Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s earlier explanation for why no one was stationed on the roof. Additionally, the building from which the shooter fired, American Glass Research, was being used as a “staging area” for local police, who again were present inside the building during the incident.

Local law enforcement has disputed these claims, stating that the responsibility for securing the roof and building was not theirs. They argue that the assertion “couldn’t be more wrong” and that the Butler officers on duty that day were assigned to manage traffic at the Trump rally.

Cheatle, has taken responsibility for the shooting, calling it the biggest failure of the agency since the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. House leaders announced plans to form a bipartisan task force to investigate the incident, at the moment the FBI is spearheading the investigation. The decision to exclude the rooftop from the Secret Service's security perimeter has been criticized by former agents and lawmakers. Cheatle, appointed as Secret Service director by President Biden in 2022, previously worked in a top security role at PepsiCo and served 27 years with the agency. She has since resigned from her position.

Timeline:

-3:00 pm: The shooter came to the attention of the Secret Service after arriving at the Butler, PA rally with a rangefinder. The Secret Service then lost track of him before the assassination.

-5:10 p.m.: The shooter is first identified as a person of interest.

- 5:52 p.m.: The shooter is spotted on the roof by the Secret Service.

- 6:02 p.m.: Trump takes the stage.

- 6:12 p.m.: The shooter fires the first shots.

- 6:12 p.m.: The shooter is killed, just 26 seconds after firing.

The FBI reported that the shooter had no identification, so they used DNA and biometric data to identify him.

Multiple civilians tried to warn law enforcement about the shooter between 3-20 minutes before shots were fired as well. There were multiple eye-witness accounts of a second shooter on a near-by water tower, however this has yet to be confirmed.

On Saturday, it was confirmed that the Secret Service "repeatedly denied requests for additional resources and personnel" from Donald Trump's security team over the two years leading up to the attempted assassination. The Secret Service refused to provide extra agents, weapons detectors, and other resources that the Trump campaign had requested. Reports indicate that the Biden Administration has been reducing Trump’s security detail over the past few years as well as denying his requests for increased protection. As well as Secret Service, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas denied multiple requests for increased Secret Service protection for Donald Trump.

On April 19, 2024, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, introduced the Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated Toward Convicted and Extremely Dishonorable Former Protectees Act, or the DISGRACED Former Protectees Act (H.R. 8081). This bill proposes ending Secret Service protection for individuals who have been sentenced to prison for Federal or State felonies. It also states that prison authorities would then be responsible for the security of these inmates, regardless of their previous Secret Service protection.

An analysis of mobile advertising data by the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project found that a person who frequently visited the shooters home in Pennsylvania also regularly went to a location in Washington, DC, near an FBI office. The data identified nine devices linked to the shooters home and workplace. Now who this person is, has yet to be revealed.

Doug Mills, the photographer who captured the bullet shot, is also the same person who was present to document the moment when President Bush first learned about the 9/11 attacks.

A local police officer encountered the Trump gunman but retreated down the ladder when the suspect aimed the rifle at him, immediately after this is when the gunman fired at Trump.

Two local law enforcement officers stationed at the complex left their posts to search for the suspect before the shooting, according to Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher Paris. This has raised questions about whether the position was left unattended while the shooter climbed onto the roof.

Col. Paris told a congressional committee that the two officers from the Butler County Emergency Services Unit were stationed at a second-floor window in the AGR International Inc. complex. They saw the shooter acting suspiciously on the ground and went to look for him with other law enforcement officers.

Paris did not confirm whether the officers would have seen the shooter climbing onto the roof of an adjacent building if they had stayed at their post. A video taken by a lawmaker who visited the site shows that a second-story window had a clear view of the roof from which Crooks fired, but it is not clear if this was the same window where the officers had been stationed.

The FBI has reported that the shooter acted alone in the attack. The shooter had minimal social media use and was not previously known to the FBI. Although he was a made a small, leftist progressive donation, he was reportedly a registered Republican. Explosive materials were found in his vehicle and home, as well as a transmitter for the explosives found on his body.

On the day before the assassination attempt on President Trump, Texas investment firm Austin Private Wealth LLC shorted 12,000,000 shares of Trump's Truth Social stock ($DJT) & 34,000,000 shares of Rumble ($RUM) . This firm, which has significant stakes held by George Soros' Vanguard and BlackRock, took this notable financial position against Trump's stock. Additionally, BlackRock, one of the major stakeholders in Austin Private Wealth, had previously featured the shooter, in a 2022 promotional video. Austin Private Wealth also has historical ties to the Bush family, having been a client of the late President George H.W. Bush and participating in charitable activities with President George W. Bush. These connections and the timing of the financial move have been subjects of speculation.

Austin Private Wealth has addressed the issue as a filing error.

According to their statement:

“The SEC filing that suggested Austin Private Wealth had shorted a large number of shares in Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (DJT) was incorrect. We promptly corrected the error as soon as it was brought to our attention.“

Multiple people have suggested Iran plotted the attempt, at this point no evidence suggests this to be the case. Iran has denied any involvement.

The shooter spent a total of $1,475 on OnlyFans & his last Google search was for pornography

This is not the first time someone has tried to kill Trump, as many as 27 other attempts have been thwarted, none getting as close as the most recent. Only 2 others have gotten relatively close.

No matter how you feel about Trump, this will go down as an important event in American history. Trump joins a club of a few presidents who have had attempts on their lives, either successful or unsuccessful

Trending

El Mayo

A prominent Mexican drug cartel leader, who had evaded capture for decades, was tricked into flying to the U.S. and was arrested along with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s son, according to a U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the case.

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada boarded a plane to the U.S. under the impression that he was traveling to a different destination, the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said. The official did not disclose further details, such as who convinced Zambada to board the plane or his intended destination.

Upon arriving in the El Paso area, Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of the infamous drug kingpin “El Chapo” (who was sentenced to life in a U.S. prison in 2019), were immediately taken into custody by U.S. authorities.

El Mayo co-founded the Sinaloa Cartel with El-Chapo

BRICS Announces new payment system

The BRICS alliance is working on creating its own financial system to replace the Western SWIFT network. This new system, similar to SWIFT, aims to reshape global trade by allowing BRICS countries to settle transactions in local currencies, rather than relying on the US dollar.

Currently, most international transactions are processed through SWIFT. By establishing their own payment system, BRICS hopes to reduce dependence on the US dollar and challenge its global dominance.

Russia has confirmed that BRICS plans to develop this new payment system. Alexander Babakov, Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma, explained that the new system will need to integrate with existing financial infrastructures and ensure high levels of security to protect against cyber threats.

Unity in Palestine

Palestinian factions have signed a "national unity" agreement aimed at maintaining governance over Gaza once Israel's military operations in the area end.

The deal, concluded in China after three days of talks, establishes an "interim national reconciliation government" to oversee Gaza post-war, as announced by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Signatories to the agreement include Hamas, Fatah, and 12 other Palestinian groups. Fatah governs the Palestinian Authority, which holds partial administrative authority in the West Bank.

History & Culture - The Black Door

10 Downing Street is a famous address known for its iconic black Georgian door, which symbolizes political power. Over the past 275 years, many notable figures, including William Pitt the Younger, The Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill, and Margaret Thatcher, have passed through this door.

The history of the door began in 1735 when King George II gifted the house to Britain’s first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole. Walpole declined the gift but requested that the property be used as an official residence, which it has been ever since. The brass letterbox on the door still bears the title "First Lord of the Treasury," a role that all Prime Ministers hold.

The door was not always black. During Herbert Asquith’s time as Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916, the door was painted dark green as part of a refurbishment by his wife, Margot Asquith. A major change occurred in 1991, following an IRA mortar attack. The original black oak door, which had been in place since 1735, was replaced with a bulletproof version. According to Cressida Finch of the Cabinet War Rooms, the wooden door was deemed insufficient for security, so a metal-backed door was installed.

The door at 10 Downing Street does not have a handle. It can only be opened from the inside by a guard on duty. The large iron door-knocker is functional, but the doorbell is not. Anthony Seldon, author of 10 Downing Street: The Illustrated History, explains that the door is operated from inside, where security personnel monitor who is outside and manage entry.

Maintenance involves rotating two doors every six months. The door that is removed is sent for retouching and repainting, which typically happens during the summer recess when the Prime Minister is on vacation.

Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak left 10 Downing Street on Friday, July 5, following a victory by Labour in the general election.

Shortly afterward, the new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and his wife, Victoria Starmer, arrived at the steps of No. 10. The historic residence became their new office and home, where they were joined by their two children.

Fast Facts

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If you have good habits, time becomes your ally. All you need is patience.

- James Clear