Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe is attempting to deflect some of the blame regarding the Donald Trump assassination attempt ... claiming they weren't told a key piece of information beforehand.
The law enforcement expert addressed the shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania -- which left 1 attendee dead and the former prez injured -- in a new press conference Friday.
The Secret Service has been put on blast for letting the attack happen in the first place ... with former Director Kimberly Cheatle ultimately resigning after a tense testimony before Congress.
Yet, it appears her successor is now trying to dance around fully accepting blame for the gross oversight ... as he told reporters the Secret Service never received a radio call with specifics about the shooter.
As R.R. put it ... there was somebody who radioed out about Thomas Matthew Crooks having a weapon on the roof at the rally -- but the vital info never made its way to the agents.
He added ... "Our detail, our counter snipers, everyone that was there that day, were operating under the assumption and under the last bit of information that they had received that there was an issue that the locals were working at the 3 o'clock."
While Rowe said the miscommunication was not one person's fault -- calling the July 13 shooting a "very stressful situation" -- he appeared to shift some of the blame back onto the local authorities.
Cheatle attempted a similar strategy in her first interview following the attack ... as she told ABC News local police were inside and around the building while TMC rained gun fire down on Trump and his rallygoers.
Though, Rowe didn't necessarily stick to this rhetoric ... as he did note that no one else should be held responsible for "our Secret Service failure."
His big message for the press conference??? "We will earn back your trust."