(FOX NEWS) — The shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner has exposed a serious security vulnerability surrounding President Donald Trump and other senior U.S. officials, a former Defense Department intelligence officer has warned.
And with tensions between Washington and Tehran rising and ceasefire talks stalled, Andrew Badger told Fox News Digital the April 25 breach could further increase Iran’s “motivation” to target Trump and others in the administration.
“This could show that there is a vulnerability in terms of potentially accessing President Trump or senior officials,” Badger said before warning of “significant vulnerabilities.”
“When you’re looking at your adversary, and you’re seeing weakness, it also fuels motivation,” he said before claiming that “Iran has the motive to strike at senior Trump officials, including President Trump.”
“Iran, which has a demonstrated history of using criminals and proxy individuals, could certainly look at this as an opportunity.”
Chaos broke out at the Washington Hilton Hotel when a suspected gunman, identified as 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen of Torrance, California, stormed a security checkpoint and opened fire.
Trump and other administration officials were rushed out of the ballroom as law enforcement responded. Allen is currently in custody and made an initial court appearance on Monday.
