The U.S. Secret Service asked the Pitkin County Incident Management Team, which included more than 70 area law enforcement officers and public safety personnel, to help raise funds for mutual aid efforts, such as traffic management, during former President Donald Trump’s visit to the area on Aug. 10.
The cost of police support during former President Donald Trump’s recent visit — and the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office’s decision not to bill anyone for it — is drawing criticism from Pitkin County commissioners and some community members.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, attended a fundraiser on Aug. 10 at a private residence east of Aspen. The U.S. Secret Service coordinated his travel plans with local law enforcement and airport officials, using at least 70 law enforcement officers in a coordinated joint response that resulted in about $50,000 in personnel costs.
The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office views coordination as mutual aid for a law enforcement agency that does not require immediate reimbursement for services.
Sheriff Michael Bullione said he does not believe it is his office’s responsibility to bill private citizens for services requested by a law enforcement agency, and that he did not do so for a Trump fundraiser.
“I don’t like the image of the sheriff demanding money from the owner of a private residence,” he said. “I think that request should come from the Board of County Commissioners or someone who thinks we should get this time back.”
Picking someone or some agency to support local law enforcement during Trump’s visit appears to be a departure from former Sheriff Joe DiSalvo’s approach in past scenarios. DiSalvo said he will try to rely on organizing private fundraisers for candidates to directly pay and pay overtime to local law enforcement agencies.
“These are fundraising efforts. This is not… I call it mutual aid. We were doing it because we were helping other agencies and making them better,” DiSalvo said. “(The Secret Service or other federal public safety agency is) asking for help and that’s fine, but I don’t think the taxpayer should be burdened with it.”
Opinion sections of local newspapers were filled with angry letters over Buglione’s decision to indict a series of private fundraisers, the Trump campaign and the Secret Service.
At a work session Tuesday, the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners unanimously asked county staff to send a letter to the sheriff, encouraging him to seek compensation.
Commissioner Kelly McNicholas Coury said in a statement: “I would like to ask that the sheriff be reimbursed for recent expenses incurred due to a political visit by former President Trump that did not involve any members of the community.” “Yes!” from Commissioner Francie Jacober.
During the work session, County Manager John Peacock said it is the county’s practice to track expenses through the Incident Management Team, and that the Secret Service will calculate over time and distribute funds to partner agencies. Estimated costs for labor hours have already been included in the local budget, he said.
Buglione, DiSalvo and Undersheriff Alex Burchetta confirmed that the sheriff’s office has never had a written policy against paying private citizens, campaigns, political parties or anyone else for requested mutual aid.
The event of August 10th
On August 10, Trump attended a private event benefiting his campaign, the Republican National Committee and other conservative groups.
He flew into Aspen-Pitkin County Airport on Saturday afternoon and drove with a caravan of about 50 cars to John Phelan’s private residence east of Aspen. Couples can participate in the event with a minimum donation of $25,000. Couples on the host committee donated or raised $500,000; there were at least eight hosts.
The estimated cost for more than 70 law enforcement officers for 390 hours was $48,557, a combination of direct salaries and overtime for at least 13 agencies.
The sheriff’s office first estimated the cost at $69,297 in a news release, but Burchetta said a formula in the Google Sheets calculation mistakenly counted some employees twice, artificially inflating the number.
Sheriff Michael Bullione, who is running as a Democrat in 2022, said his office is treating the Secret Service request as mutual aid to a law enforcement agency, which he believes should not be related to a request for compensation.
“I don’t care who this person is. “They’re portraying me as a Trump supporter, which I’m not,” he said. “If former President Trump comes back, or (Vice President) Harris, they will be treated as such and this is a mutual assistance agreement with the Secret Service.”
Burchetta describes mutual aid as “a partnership between public safety agencies where when help is requested, we help each other.”
Buglione and Burchetta emphasized that the role of local authorities is not to “protect the defender,” but to protect the community and the community through the effects of visits.
“My responsibility is not to bill,” Buglione said. “This is to preserve the community and minimize the impact on the community in which we all live.”
Burchetta said much of local law enforcement is focused on traffic mitigation and public safety.
“Our role on this trip (Aug. 10) was to ensure the safety of our community,” Burchetta said. “When (the motorcade) came down Main Street, they were disregarding traffic laws. They were going through the light. They had lights and sirens. Our role was to make sure our community was safe — no one was going from the sidewalk into the crosswalk or letting the motorcade through for any reason.”
Both said the July assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, warranted the level of mutual assistance requested by the Secret Service and what the incident team ultimately agreed to, though Burchetta said such discussions are always available to balance the resources requested. According to an Associated Press report, one participant was killed and two others were injured at the Butler rally.
Under Secret Service regulations, the agency is authorized to protect former presidents and major presidential and vice presidential candidates for 120 days before an election. Trump fits into both categories.
In a series of high-profile visits to Aspen in the past, DiSalvo’s approach has been varied, though he said he always views any private fundraising event as a reason to seek compensation from the event’s host.
When Michelle Obama visited her daughters on ski trips in 2012, 2013 and 2014, DiSalvo said he provided several aides or coordinated with other Secret Service officers.
When then-Vice President Mike Pence attended a private Trump campaign fundraiser held at the Caribou Club in 2019, DiSalvo said he tried to identify the host to request a refund. According to a 2019 report by Rick Carroll in The Aspen Times, Two private citizens finally cut checks for Pitkin County(Carroll is now editor in chief of the Aspen Daily News.)
In those cases, the money goes to the county’s general fund, DiSalvo said.
DiSalvo, who now lives in California, said he worked with former sheriffs, including Bob Braudis, to determine the unwritten “philosophy” of organizing private fundraisers that host a participant who requires Secret Service or other government protection.
Buglione said if county commissioners are interested in developing a written policy for seeking compensation after mutual aid events, he would be open to the conversation. But that doesn’t mean his office “automatically does it,” he said.
DiSalvo and Buglione’s 2022 sheriff’s race has gotten personal, as the two former brothers-in-law have mocked each other throughout their campaigns. DiSalvo first won in 2010 and was re-elected twice, but Buglione successfully opposed his bid for a fourth term two years ago.
