Embattled U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is expected to tell Congress on Monday that her agency failed to keep former Presi...
Embattled U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is expected to tell Congress on Monday that her agency failed to keep former President Donald Trump safe.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, narrowly escaped being assassinated during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. A shooter fewer than 200 yards away on an uncovered rooftop was able to pierce Trump’s right ear with a bullet and tragically kill a Trump supporter in the crowd.
Cheatle has been under intense scrutiny since the shooting and is expected to face tough questions from the House Oversight Committee. In released excerpts of her prepared testimony from the Department of Homeland Security, Cheatle admits her agency’s failure.
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13th, we failed,” Cheatle will tell Congress. “As the Director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse. As an agency, we are fully cooperating with the FBI’s investigation, the oversight you have initiated here, and conducting our own internal mission assurance review at my direction. Likewise, we will cooperate with the pending external review and the DHS Office of the Inspector General.”
The director will also vow to move “heaven and earth” to keep officials safe.
“Our mission is not political,” Cheatle will insist. “It is literally a matter of life and death, as the tragic events on July 13th remind us. I have full confidence in the men and women of the Secret Service. They are worthy of our support in executing our protective mission.”
Cheatle is expected to face questions about the glaring security lapses, including the open rooftop she claimed during an ABC News interview was too “sloped” for an agent to cover.
Questions have also been asked about the number of agents tasked with protecting Trump. Notably, the agency initially denied that the Trump team had asked for beefed-up security before the assassination attempt — only to confirm this weekend that they had indeed asked for more security.
The issue of imposed “diversity” at the agency has also come into question. The number of women, notably short women, who were on Trump’s security detail on the day of the assassination attempt has raised eyebrows. Politicos questioned how any person who is inches shorter than Trump could be expected to adequately protect him from gunfire, for example.
In response, the agency released a statement championing diversity and accusing critics of sexism. “It is an insult to the women of our agency to imply that they are unqualified based on gender,” the statement read in part. “Such baseless assertions undermine the professionalism, dedication and expertise of our workforce.”
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