OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
11:45 AM – Monday, July 22, 2024
Former President Donald Trump’s attempted assassination was the “most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades,” admittedly by the U.S. Secret Service director, who accepted responsibility for the security shortcomings on that day.
The statements were made to Congressional members on Monday.
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13, we failed,” Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle said in a testimony before the House Oversight Committee. “As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse. We are fully cooperating with ongoing investigations. We must learn what happened.”
Cheatle also told the committee during her first congressional appearance that she would move “heaven and Earth” to make sure that the “incident” would never happen again.
“Our mission is not political. It is literally a matter of life and death, as the tragic events on July 13 remind us of that,” she said. “I have full confidence in the men and women of the Secret Service. They are worthy of our support in executing our protective mission.”
Additionally, the Secret Service is responsible for protecting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week during his visit to Washington, D.C.
The House Oversight Committee continued to question Cheatle extensively over her agency’s handling of security measures during the failed Trump assassination attempt.
Currently, several Republicans and one Democrat have called for her resignation following the former president’s targeting at his Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. In his opening remarks, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. John Comer, R-Ky., informed Cheatle that he is included in the long list of people who thinks she should step down.
However, Cheatle declared that she won’t step down.
Cheatle was questioned on Monday regarding remarks she made in an interview with ABC News related to the reason why no agents were stationed on the roof of the building outside the rally’s security perimeter, from which the gunman fired. She claimed that because the roof sloped, she felt it was too unsafe for any Secret Service personnel.
“That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,” she told ABC News. “And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside,” she told the outlet.
Although Cheatle acknowledged that the agency was aware of the building’s rooftop security vulnerability, they chose not to station agents there, which allowed Crooks to set up a perfect sniper position with an unhindered view of Trump on stage.
At a distance of roughly 130 yards, Crooks could see the GOP nominee with his AR-style semiautomatic rifle clearly from the roof.
“I should have been more clear in my answer when I spoke about where we placed personnel in that interview. What I can tell you is that there was a plan in place to provide overwatch, and we are still looking into responsibilities and who was going to provide overwatch, but the Secret Service in general, not speaking specifically to this incident, when we are providing overwatch, whether that be through counter snipers or other technology, prefer to have sterile rooftops,” Cheatle said.
Cheatle did not provide much more information, seemingly dodging the questions, but she did acknowledge that the FBI had informed her that the gunman had purportedly flown a drone over the event venue as well.
“If the detail had been passed information that there was a threat, the detail would never have brought the former president out onto the stage,” she added. “That is what we do. That is who we are. We are charged with protecting all of our protectees. Distinguish between someone who is suspicious and someone who’s threatening. A number of times, protective events where suspicious people are identified, those individuals have to be investigated and determine what is it that identifies that person as suspicious.”
She reiterated her previous claim regarding how the Secret Service did not know the suspect had a weapon before former President Trump took the stage.
“There was clearly a breakdown or a failure that day,” Cheatle continued.
However, she was also questioned about whether her agency turned down requests for additional resources and backup in Trump’s security detail in the two days prior to Saturday. This information was previously published by The Washington Post.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi: “In some instances where specific Secret Service specialized units or resources were not provided, the agency made modifications to ensure the security of the protectee. This may include utilizing state or local partners to provide specialized functions or otherwise identifying alternatives to reduce public exposure of a protected.”
Cheatle: “For the event in Butler, there were no requests that were denied.”
“I would grade the agents and officers who selflessly threw themselves in front of the President and neutralized the threat, an A. I think that we need to examine the events that led up to and prior to that day,” she added.
“I’ve been a secret service agent for nearly 30 years. I have led with integrity, and I follow our core values of duty, justice, honor, loyalty, and courage, and I am doing that in this case, and I assure this committee that I will provide answers when we have a full and complete report. In addition to cooperating with all of the other investigations that are ongoing,” Cheatle continued.
Additionally, Cheatle later admitted that, even after nine days, she did not have an answer as to where her agents were located during the attempt on Trump’s life. She makes $280,000 a year in her position.
On Monday, there was only standing room in the hearing chamber when ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), and Cheatle gave their opening statements.
Mike Johnson (R-La.), the Speaker of the House, was also present.
Comer had issued a subpoena after the Department of Homeland Security requested that Cheatle’s presence be postponed. In an uncommon display of bipartisanship, Raskin joined Comer in insisting that Cheatle testify.
Johnson has promised congressional funding for an independent probe, and the FBI is currently still leading a criminal investigation. The DHS inspector general has also launched three different probes into “what went wrong.” The exact timeline for disclosing the investigations’ findings to the American public and press is unclear.
“The buck stops with me,” she told ABC News on July 15th. “I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary.”
In response to criticism of the women in Trump’s security detail, the DHS retaliated in a statement.
“In the days following the attempted assassination of former President Trump, some people have made public statements questioning the presence of women in law enforcement, including in the United States Secret Service,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wrote in a statement. “These assertions are baseless and insulting.”
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