Donald Trumps alleged would-be assassin apparently knowing when he would be playing golf raises the prospect he could have been tipped off, a former FBI assistant director has told DailyMail.com.
In the hours since a Secret Service agent fired on a man authorities said was attempting to assassinate the former president, law enforcement officers have been scooping up information on suspect Ryan Wesley Routh. Still unanswered is how he was able to conceal himself in shrubbery with an AK-47 near the 6th hole of the Trump International golf course in West Palm Beach.
Trumps golf schedule is not made public in advance – although the game is a regular pass-time for the former president.
If youre thinking outside the four corners here, there could be somebody at that club – at Mar a Lago, or at the golf club – that just doesnt like him and has different political views. And, you know, they could have fed this information, former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker told DailyMail.com, describing one possible scenario or motive.
He said Routh could have received information on Trumps movements either deliberately or by someone who shared it unwittingly. Or, Routh may have been staking out and studying Trumps movements to prepare for his deed, putting his knowledge to use, he said.
A former top FBI official asks how Ryan Wesley Routh knew to set up near Trumps West Palm Beach golf course, and asked whether he had inside information
I mean, theres only a couple of possibilities here. One is this guy had inside information, and having enough time to get to that fifth hole – that location between the fifth and sixth hole, and get himself set up.
So if somebody tipped them off, at the time Trump went off the first tee, it would have been about an hour and 15 hour and 20 minutes before he got to that that spot. That would have provided plenty of time, he said, sketching out the possibility.
The other possibility is that hes been surveilling the former president, and either a watching Mar-a- Lago as to when when he leaves, or actually physically following him and his vehicle and determining exactly where he went, he said.
The third possibility is he got lucky. I dont think thats the case. I think its one of the first two, and neither one of them has good implications, he concluded.
The criminal complaint in South Florida states that Routh was around the tree-line area for nearly 12 hours, based on cell phone data – information that could cut against the idea he had specialized help, or suggest he only had general information.
The suspect was was able to get a rifle into the vicinity with no official notice Trump would be there
A charging document states that he was located near the tree line at Trumps golf course for nearly 12 years
Routh is not believed to have any specialized training, and his far-fetched efforts to try to involve himself in Ukraines defense against Russia appear to have been flat-out rejected. However there are indications of preparation and forethought, according to some of the initial evidence.
One relates to the backbacks containing ceramics which could provide protection from gunfire.
They were hanging strategically from the chain link fence ... as if to protect him when hes standing and hes using the chain link fence as a mount. And it looked to me like he was intending to take a shot at the former President as he drew parallel to him.
One official investigating the case went even further – raising the possibility of a conspiracy without identifying any leads about a potential accomplice.
How does a guy from not here get all the way to Trump International, realize that the president – former president of the United States is golfing and is able to get a rifle in that vicinity? I think thats a question the FBI and Secret Service are laser focused on today,’ said Martin County Sheriff Will Snyder in a televised briefing Monday.
Is this guy part of a conspiracy? Is he a lone gunman,’ Snyder wondered.
Among the questions that Swecker wants probed is whether the suspect set up his snipers nest quickly or whether hes been planning this and he set it up, and scoped it out ahead of time.
He previously raised concerns to DailyMail.com about excuses provided by former Secret Service head Kimberly Cheatle following the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
In the proceeding hours, a raft of officials have revealed information about security protocols for protecting the president.
At this level that he is at right now, hes not the sitting president. If he was we would have had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he is not, the security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible, said Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw
I would imagine that the next time he comes to a golf course, there’ll probably be a little bit more people around the perimeter. But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done, he said.
Said Swecker, I guarantee you, right now the FBI is going to muzzle that sheriff, and theyre not going to talk much about details, because theyre in the protection mode, particularly the prosecution. And the US Attorneys office is going to clamp down on the bureau. The bureau is going to clamp down on the sheriff, and were not going to get a whole lot of detail, despite the fact that they know a lot, he said.