Director Kimberly Cheatle Faces Lawmaker Inquiry

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was subjected to rigorous questioning by lawmakers on Monday after a severe security lapse allowed a 20-year-old gunman to shoot at former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally. The incident has provoked bipartisan outrage and led to calls for Cheatle’s resignation, following her admission of a significant security breach.

Lawmakers Demand Answers

Members of the House Oversight Committee grilled director Kimberly Cheatle for hours about the near-assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. This event is deemed the Secret Service’s most critical failure since Reagan’s shooting in 1981. Cheatle, citing ongoing investigations, avoided answering crucial questions. This includes how gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks accessed a rooftop with a direct line of sight to Trump.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) asked if the Secret Service had an agent on top of the roof. Cheatle responded, “Sir, I’m sure, as you can imagine, that we are just nine days out from this incident.” He mentioned the ongoing investigation and avoided answering the question. Frustration grew among lawmakers as Cheatle spoke. The investigation’s progress seemed insufficient to satisfy the committee, according to wall street journal subscription deals

Questions on Security Measures Unanswered

Cheatle refrained from discussing the security perimeter for the rally. She avoided commenting on whether law enforcement surveyed the roof. Cheatle did not specify the number of agents assigned to the event. She mentioned that a review of these details is still underway. The ongoing review prevents her from providing concrete answers at this time.

Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) highlighted, “The No. 1 question everyone in America is wondering is, why was the roof left open? And after nine days, we should at least maybe have a bit of that information. It’s very, very troubling.”

Failure to Act on Suspicious Behavior

Director Kimberly Cheatle admitted that Crooks, carrying a range finder and a backpack, appeared suspicious over an hour before the shooting. She confirmed that Secret Service agents received multiple alerts about Crooks’ behavior. Cheatle said, “I don’t have an exact number to share today.” She mentioned there were between two and five communications about the suspicious individual. Cheatle did not provide further details. The exact nature of the communications remained unclear.

She also avoided commenting on whether authorities tried to approach Crooks after identifying him as suspicious. Cheatle suggested that Trump’s security detail remained unaware of the active threat. “If the detail had received information about the threat, they would never have brought the former president out on the stage,” she told Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).

Details of the Attack and Subsequent Response

Crooks fired at least six rounds from the roof of the American Glass Research building, approximately 400 feet from Trump’s speaking location. The attack resulted in one death, two critical injuries, and a graze wound to Trump’s ear. A Secret Service sniper team returned fire, killing Crooks, whose motives remain unclear.

Conflicting reports from federal, state, and local officials have left many details of the shooting uncertain, including the security plan’s execution and responsibility.

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Calls for Resignation and Future Review

As the hearing continued, a growing number of lawmakers expressed a lack of confidence in Cheatle’s leadership. Last week, Republican leaders demanded her resignation, and on Monday, Democrats joined the call. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the leading Democrat on the panel, characterized the hearing as “an unusually depressing session” and supported calls for Cheatle’s removal. “This relationship is irretrievable at this point,” Raskin stated. “The director has lost Congress’s confidence at a critical moment, and we need to move on quickly.”

Some lawmakers were shocked that Crooks had not been flagged as a threat earlier. Cheatle stated she believed Crooks escalated from being suspicious to threatening “seconds before the gunfire started.” She admitted uncertainty about how law enforcement received information from the crowd about Crooks’ actions.

Political Violence Concerns and Review

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) likened Cheatle’s situation to university leaders who faced criticism and resignation pressures over contentious issues, suggesting that her position may soon be untenable.

Lawmakers are increasingly concerned about rising political violence in the U.S., noting expected increases in threats and attacks ahead of the November presidential election. The FBI has reported a spike in online threats of politically motivated violence since the assassination attempt.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) emphasized the need for immediate answers, stating, “This is not a moment of theater. We have to make policy decisions, and we have to make them now.”

Cheatle’s Position and Independent Review

Cheatle, making her first appearance before Congress, has stated she will not resign. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has expressed full confidence in her. On Sunday, Mayorkas announced an independent, 45-day review of the assassination attempt led by former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and other law enforcement experts.

Cheatle, 53, gained prominence after nearly 30 years at the Secret Service in various roles, including protecting Vice President Dick Cheney on September 11, 2001, and later working on President Biden’s detail. After a stint at PepsiCo, Cheatle returned to the agency when President Biden appointed her as director in 2022.

The House Homeland Security Committee invited state and local law enforcement to testify and plans to visit the site of the July 13 rally.

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