The acting director of the US Secret Service, Ronald Rowe, admitted tonight the “weaknesses” shown by this institution, which is responsible for the protection of high-ranking political figures, during the assassination attempt on Donald Trump on July 13.

The internal investigation “found lapses in planning and implementation of plans” by the agency, Rowe said at a news conference.

He noted that while some agents were conscientious in the performance of their duties, others were negligent, hinting that sanctions would be imposed. Some of the problems that existed on the “front line” had been identified, but had not been reported to the hierarchy, he added.

Rowe has taken over as interim chief following the July 23 resignation of Kimberly Cheatle, who admitted she was responsible for “the Secret Service’s most significant operational failure in decades.”

Some of the lessons learned by the Service from the fiasco were that there was a “lack of clarity” on its part in its dealings with local police and there were also problems in transferring information from one service to another.

The former president was wounded in the ear by the gunfire of 20-year-old Matthew Crooks, who killed one person and wounded two others at a Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally on July 13. Crooks was killed by Secret Service agents minutes after he opened fire from the roof of a building.