In her testimony before a disgruntled House oversight committee on Monday, U.S. Secret Service head Kimberly Cheatle acknowledged responsibility for security lapses that resulted in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, but she also sidestepped key important questions.
Cheatle referred to the event as the “most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades” in her prepared opening statements. As a gunman opened fire from the roof of an adjacent building on July 13, striking Trump in the ear, injuring two more, and killing one, she said that she was determined to find out what went wrong at the Trump presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Cheatle declared, “I take responsibility for this tragedy.” “We’re going to investigate how this occurred and implement corrective measures to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Bipartisan committee members attacked Cheatle after she was subpoenaed to testify, calling for her resignation due to her “incompetence,” “lame excuses,” and inability to provide answers to what they considered to be basic inquiries.
When committee members questioned Cheatle about whether the Secret Service had guarded the building the gunman was positioned on and how he gained access to the roof, Cheatle did not give definitive answers.
She cited an ongoing inquiry when she added, “I’m not going to get into specifics of the day.” “Overwatch was supposed to be provided, and we are still investigating responsibilities.”
When other committee members questioned her about the number of agents assigned to defend Trump that day and the number of times the Secret Service had turned down Trump’s request for more security resources, she refused to provide precise numbers.
According to Cheatle, the agency gave the resources needed for the July 13 event, and she thought Trump “had a sufficient number of agents assigned” on that particular day.
Before Trump approached the stage, Cheatle informed the committee that the gunman had been “identified as suspicious.” She added that because the gunman had not yet been labeled as a “threat,” Trump was still permitted to proceed to the podium, where he was shot.
When rallygoers started yelling that there was an armed guy on the roof, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois) argued that the gunman should have been considered a “threat” and that the event should have been stopped before Trump started speaking.
“That right there is a threat,” remarked Krishnamoorthi.
The organization is “still going through messages and determining when they were passed,” according to Cheatle.
About an hour into the hearing, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Virginia) asked Cheatle whether having guns makes her work easier or harder, which exposed the frustration of several committee members. Cheatle’s refusal to give a yes or no response clearly irritated Connolly.
“Please respond to the query. Connolly remarked, “You lead the Secret Service.” “And now it seems like you’re trying to avoid the answer, which isn’t that difficult.”
Rep. Michael Turner claimed that Cheatle only seemed “incompetent” because Trump survived. Turner, however, informed Cheatle that “you would have looked culpable” if the former president had been slain.
Cheatle maintained her position as director in the face of requests for her resignation, highlighting her nearly three-decade tenure with the organization.
“I have guided with honesty,” declared Cheatle. “I pledge to this committee to provide answers as soon as we have a comprehensive report.”