Donald Trump hasn't been getting the highest level of Secret Service protection until recently--a second attempt on his life made it abundantly clear to everybody that he needs it--even though Homeland Security has apparently been aware that there are 5 teams of foreign and domestic assassins looking to take him out. 

We aren't talking about randos looking to take a potshot at the president, but apparently teams of killers with their eyes on opportunities to kill President Trump. 

.@mattgaetz: "I had a senior official from the Department of Homeland Security in my office before the second assassination attempt saying that what he has assessed is that there are five known assassination teams in the United States..." pic.twitter.com/d6AttO3Lyg

— Human Events (@HumanEvents) September 19, 2024

It sounds like hyperbole, but the evidence that terrorists have been crossing our borders has been stacking up for some time now. Further, the FBI has arrested a Pakistani man who was recruiting assassins to kill Donald Trump. And of course FBI Director Christopher Wray has been warning that the threat level is the highest he has ever seen. 

So it's certainly plausible. Trump has given more than a few people reasons to take him out, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

We have to take Gaetz's word on all this, and while I have no reason to doubt his word, I know that others might. He is one of the most hated members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. That means he will be dismissed out of hand by too many people. 

Unfortunately, there is a 0% chance that Homeland Security would reveal anything about this if they indeed have such information, both because it would likely violate operational security and because it would make them look absolutely awful. The open border, the failures in Secret Service protection for the former president, and the constraints on resources imposed on the Secret Service by Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas would all lead to denials or silence on their part. 

🚨WOW! Former Border Patrol Chief Aaron Heitke testifies before Congress that he was ordered by the Biden-Harris admin to cover up the number of terrorists arrested at the border.

"I was told I could not release any information on this increase in SIAs or mention any of the… pic.twitter.com/wQowZHBM7N

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 19, 2024

Do I believe that there are assassination squads stalking the former president? It would be surprising if there weren't, at least from Iran. We have solid evidence, including an Iranian recruiter, that the Islamic Republic isn't just spouting off; they are actively working to kill Trump. And Trump is the highest-profile individual in the world, arguably. 

Lots of people want him dead, all the way from schoolteachers to heads of state. 

The Oklahoma Department of Education has filed to revoke the teaching license of Regan Killackey, an English teacher at @EMHS_Bulldogs, after a photo surfaced of Regan and his family acting out a scene of them stabbing Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/U8Q88pjSI5

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 18, 2024

I'm not too worried about the former, but the latter present a real threat, as do the terrorist groups like ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. 

Unfortunately, we may never get confirmation about this report. I don't doubt Gaetz, but others will either for political reasons or just general skepticism. 

Can a journalist find a source in Homeland? 

No doubt they could, if they were interested in doing their jobs. But so few are.