USSS assistant director encouraged to retire over Butler assassination attempt on Trump, source reveals

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A high-ranking leader within the United States Secret Service (USSS) has been encouraged to retire nearly two months after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, a source involved at the highest levels of the internal investigation told Fox News.

The official, Assistant Director Michael Plati of the agency's Office of Protective Operations, led the section in control of planning for protection of Trump, President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. JD Vance and others, and is ending his tenure there this Friday, his 27th anniversary at the agency.

The Secret Service responded in a statement Tuesday that Plati "was not asked to resign or retire by anyone. This was a personal decision that he has 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 following the July 13 security failure in Butler that has sent shock waves through all levels of the agency.

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: WHISTLEBLOWERS CLAIM THAT THEY WERE 'WOEFULLY UNPREPARED' TO PROVIDE SECURITY

The USSS is preparing to brief Congress in the coming days about lessons learned from the attempt on Trump's life.

The Secret Service added that it "respects the role of oversight. We have and will