U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday in response to mounting pressure following the assassination attempt on former President Trump, according to The Associated Press. Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, just over a week after a failed assassination attempt on Trump’s life at his rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13 by Thomas Crooks.
“As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency,” she said. “We must learn what happened and I will move heaven and earth to ensure that an incident like July 13th does not happen again.” Cheatle added: “Our agents, officers, and support personnel understand that every day we are expected to sacrifice our lives to execute a no-fail mission.”
Trump, during his rally, ever-so-slightly turned his head—narrowly missing the bullet shot by 20-year-old suspect Crooks’ AR-15-style rifle by just a quarter of an inch. The bullet hit him, instead, in his upper right ear, Fox News noted. “The bullet killed firefighter, father and husband Corey Comperatore as he protected his family from the shots, and severely injured two others,” the outlet added.
House Republicans, including Chairman James Comer of the House Oversight Committee, had been urging Cheatle to resign, branding her and the agency under her leadership as “the epitome of incompetence.” He said during the hearing, “It is my firm belief, Director Cheatle, that you should resign. The safety of Secret Service protectees is not based on their political affiliation. And the bottom line is that under Director Cheatle’s leadership, we question whether anyone is safe.”
Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) spent a considerable amount of time questioning Cheatle about whether her team shifted their focus from the rally to attend to First Lady Jill Biden.
Jordan, a loyal supporter of President Trump, became part of a group of Republican legislators urging the head of the agency to step down two weeks following the incident where 20-year-old shooter Thomas Crooks took out a 20-year-old soldier. In earlier statements, Cheatle justified her choice not to position a counter-sniper team on the rooftop where Crooks was located, and the agency had to retract an earlier statement that it did not compromise the strength of Trump’s security team.
“The day after President Trump was shot, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, ‘The assertion that a member of the former president’s security team requested additional resources that the U.S. Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security rebuffed is absolutely false.’ The next day [DHS] Secretary Mayorkas said ‘That is an unequivocally false assertion. We had not received any requests for additional security measures that were rebuffed,” Jordan said during his Q & A period, noting that the Washington Post had uncovered just five days later that, indeed, Trump’s team had requested additional protection.
“Were you guessing or lying when you said you didn’t turn down additional requests from President Trump’s detail,” he asked. “Neither, sir, and I appreciate the question,” Cheatle responded. “What I can tell you is, for the event in Butler, there were no requests that were denied,” prompting Jordan to fire back, “Well, maybe they got tired of asking!” He pressed: “How many times did you turn them down ahead of that?”
“A denial of request does not equal a vulnerability,” the director responded as she struggled to defend her agency’s handling of the shooting. “There are a number of ways that risks of threats can be mitigated, with a number of different assets whether that be through personnel, whether that be through technology.”
Visibly agitated, the GOP lawmaker continued to challenge the director on why her spokesman made a “huge change” in the agency’s public statements just five days later. “That’s pretty darn frustrating, not just for me but for the American people!” Jordan exclaimed. “I hear your frustration,” she replied.
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