2024-07-23 08:25:02
WASHINGTON—The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing today titled, “Oversight of the U.S. Secret Service and the Attempted Assassination of President Donald J. Trump.” At the hearing, Republican and Democrat members pressed U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle for answers on the egregious security lapses that led to the attempted assassination of President Trump, the murder of an innocent victim, and harm to others in the crowd at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Director Cheatle could not or refused to answer basic questions from Committee members, leading Republican and Democrat members to call for Director Cheatle’s immediate resignation. The American people demand answers and the House Oversight Committee will work with Speaker Mike Johnson’s Task Force to investigate this security failure and examine solutions to ensure it does not happen again.
Key Takeaways:
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle repeatedly failed to answer basic questions from Republicans and Democrats related to stunning operational failures that led to the attempted assassination of President Trump.
Key Questions Director Cheatle failed to answer:
In their closing remarks, Chairman James Comer and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin announced a joint letter calling on U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign.
The Oversight Committee has a strong record of bipartisan oversight of the U.S. Secret Service and will work with Speaker Mike Johnson’s Task Force to investigate and ensure these failures never happen again.
Member Highlights:
Committee Chairman James Comer emphasized the Secret Service has a zero-fail mission, but it failed on July 13 and in the days leading up to the attempted assassination of President Trump. Given the historic security failures in Pennsylvania, the Secret Service has become a face of incompetence and Chairman Comer urged Director Cheatle to resign.
Chairman Comer: “The Secret Service has thousands of employees and a significant budget, but it has now become the face of incompetence. Americans demand answers, but they have not been getting them from the Secret Service. We are instead learning about new facts about the events surrounding the attempted assassination every day from whistleblowers and leaks. Americans demand accountability, but no one has yet to be fired for this historic failure. It is my firm belief, Director Cheatle, that you should resign.”
During Chairman Comer’s questioning, Director Cheatle failed to clarify or answer basic questions related to agents assigned to protect President Trump on the day of the assassination attempt.
Chairman Comer: “How many Secret Service agents were assigned to President Trump on the day of the rally?”
Director Cheatle: “I’m not going to get into the specifics of the numbers of personnel that we had there but we feel that there was a sufficient number of agents assigned.”
Chairman Comer: “There are reports that several of the agents assigned to the rally on July 13th were temporary agents. Agents not normally assigned to President Trump, is that accurate?”
Director Cheatle: “What we can tell you is that the agents that were assigned to Former President Trump were Secret Service agents that provide close protection to him, and that is what was actual on that day.”
Chairman Comer: “How many temporary agents were there that day?”
Director Cheatle: “Quite frequently sir during campaign events the Secret Service utilizes agents from HSI or DHS…”
Chairman Comer: “Have the investigators reconstructed the shooters movements in the past days, weeks, and months? We need to have confidence that they are leading a credible investigation because there are some of us sitting up here today that don’t have a confidence in the FBI. So I will repeat the question: have the investigators reconstructed the shooters movements in the past days, weeks, and months?”
Director Cheatle: “I understand your question Chairman and I share your concerns about making sure we have factual information, the FBI is conducting a criminal investigation, the Secret Service is conducting an internal investigation, there are a number of OIG investigations, and there is the external investigation.”
Chairman Comer: “Before July 13th, had the Trump detail requested additional resources?”
Director Cheatle: “What I can tell you is for the event on July 13th, the assets that were requested for that day, were given.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) pressed Director Cheatle on reports indicating the U.S. Secret Service denied multiple requests from the Trump campaign for additional security and protective measures.
Rep. Jordan: “Director, were you guessing or lying when you said you didn’t turn down requests from President Trump’s detail? How many times did you turn them down? They asked for help multiple times and you said no. What did you say no to? How many times? Pretty basic questions.”
Director Cheatle: “What I can tell you, when details make a request there are times there are alternate ways to handle it.”
Rep. Jordan: “The fact you can’t even answer right now how many times their requests were denied that is pretty darn frustrating for the country.”
Director Cheatle: “I hear your frustration.”
Rep. Jordan: “This is the information people want to know. They pay your salary. It looks like you can’t answer basic questions, got a nine percent raise, and you cut corners when it came to protection. That’s what it looks like to me. You haven’t answered one question from the Chairman, Ranking Member, or me. You haven’t answered any questions.”
Rep. Foxx (R-N.C.) pointed out the Secret Service receives billions in taxpayer funding, but recent internal surveys suggest agents are departing the agency and performance is declining under Director Cheatle’s leadership.
Rep. Foxx: “The Secret Service receives billions in funding each year. In fact, you have received increases of 55%. Clearly a lack of financial resources is not to blame for the staffing shortages. In 2022, the Secret Service saw nearly half its workforce leave in one year… can you explain why so many staff left in one year?”
Director Cheatle: “We are committed to hiring the best. Our men and women place service over self and a culture to get the job done.”
Rep. Foxx: “Those on the front lines certainly do have a great culture. They were willing to risk their lives to protect President Trump. I don’t have any confidence in the agency’s leadership culture.”
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) slammed Director Cheatle for failing to answer basic questions related to recorded footage clearly showing the gunman getting into position to assassinate President Trump.
Rep. Krishnamoorthi: “That’s a threat! Right there in the video, the guy is on the roof, and everybody is yelling at him.”
Director Cheatle: “Yes.”
Rep. Krishnamoorthi: “And they are directing the officers attention to him, the rally wasn’t paused at that point correct?”
Director Cheatle: “We are currently still combing through communications and when communications were passed.”
Rep. Krishnamoorthi: “This is two minutes before the shots started ringing out. Director Cheatle yes or no, was there ever a moment where the Secret Service actually considered pausing the rally?”
Director Cheatle: “The Secret Service would have paused the rally had they known.“
Rep. Krishnamoorthi: “So the answer is no, correct?”
Director Cheatle: “I can speak to you in generalities.”
Rep. Krishnamoorthi: “No, no, I don’t want generalities, I want specifics, the answer is no, you did not consider pausing the rally, correct?”
Director Cheatle: “The people in charge of protecting the President on that day would never bring the Former President out if there was a threat that had been identified.”
Rep. Krishnamoorthi: “Well they did, I identified three points in the 20 minutes before the shooting when the threat emerged.”
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) stated that Director Cheatle has failed to be transparent and emphasized that Secret Service leadership has yet to hold any individual employee accountable for unacceptable security failures.
Rep. Sessions: “I’ve heard you say today, numbers of times ‘well you have to wait, you need to wait, wait for the final report’, when is the final report? When is the final, final going to happen? I mean how long do we have to wait before you can give us credible answers? You’ve been there 28 years, you’ve had a few days to draw your own analysis of this, you should understand the entire process, you talked about being on the team…you have talked about your experience in this, you have talked about the professional nature of the agency, that I don’t doubt…but I’ve not heard you say one thing about ‘my analysis is, I have asked these questions’ it’s always ‘I have to sit back and wait for someone else to decide that’ So I’m going to ask a question that maybe you can answer: have any employees been disciplined for their role in Butler PA?”
Director Cheatle: “No sir.”
Rep. Sessions: “So no employee has been disciplined and no employee has been placed in any position that would place their job in jeopardy?”
Director Cheatle: “We’re in a process of…”
Rep. Sessions: “That’s not what I asked, you’re the person that runs the place, you’re the person that knows right from wrong, good from bad. And you have had a number of days and now you come before this Committee, knowing you’re going to be before us, and you have to shift it off to someone else. Do you see where there was something that went wrong as a professional at an agency for 28 years or do you have to count on someone else to give you the final report?”
Director Cheatle: “I see that something went wrong, and I acknowledge that something went wrong…”
Rep. Sessions: “Then what went wrong? Was the special agent in charge not doing their job? Was the shooter give extra time? Was the sniper doing their job? These are things that people who have been around for 28 years can analyze quickly.”
Rep. Jake LaTurner (R-Kan.) pointed out that the lack of information provided by Secret Service Director Cheatle on the attempted assassination of President Trump has fueled conspiracy theories and misinformation online.
Rep. LaTurner: “Are you concerned with the increased prevalence of conspiracy theories, going on out there right now?”
Director Cheatle: “Yes.”
Rep. LaTurner: “I am too, you’ve been incredibly inconsistent with your answers before this Committee today and what you are willing to reveal. You’ve acknowledged that the shooter was identified with a range finder, that President Trump’s detail was sufficient for the threats he faced from Iran, that certain details were erroneously reported in your words, but you haven’t been willing to provide any information about the decision to place the building in question outside the perimeter, the explosives placed in the shooter’s vehicle, the use of a drone by the shooter, or when exactly the Secret Service identified the shooter as a threat. What is your standard today for what you’re willing to share and what you are not? Because you have been inconsistent.”
Director Cheatle: “I’m certain you can understand that some of the information that has been provided to you thus far has come from the FBI’s investigation and has come from information that we have released, I want to make sure that information that we provide to this Committee is consistent and factual.”
Rep. LaTurner: “But the question about the drone that the Chairman asked at the beginning of the hearing, he said ‘do you know this information?’, and you said ‘yes’ you do know this information, you just don’t want to tell us…What we want to know today and what should dispel some of the conspiracy theories out there is, what would increase trust in the American people, is for you to let facts out, for you to tell us what you know, and I want to understand from you, why is that a problem?”
Director Cheatle: “There are gaps that we need to make sure don’t happen again.”
Rep. LaTurner: “That’s unacceptable. That’s not enough.”
Representative Pat Fallon (R-Texas) discussed Director Cheatle’s inconsistent explanation for failing to position an agent on the sloped roof accessed by the gunman and highlighted that agents were placed on similar rooftops.
Rep. Fallon: “Does the Secret Service have a policy on sloped roofs?
Director Cheatle: “No.”
Rep. Fallon: “Then why did you act like there was one?! You were saying there was a safety concern with the roof the shooter accessed. But you put your counter snipers on a roof that was steeper than the other roof… All the law enforcement I have talked to recently are amazed there wasn’t an agent stationed on that roof. You are providing nothing but pathetic excuses.”
Representative Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) emphasized Director Cheatle had nearly a week to prepare for her testimony before Congress and still failed to provide any answers for the American people.
Rep. McClain: “How long did you prepare for this hearing?”
Director Cheatle: “I’ve been preparing for this hearing over the weekend and into last week.”
Rep. McClain: “Ok, so five days? Six days?”
Director Cheatle: “I’m not sure the date that I got the letter asking me to be here.”
Rep. McClain: “What are you sure of? Are you usure of the color of your hair? Are you sure of the color of your suit? Tell the American people what you are sure of, you aren’t even sure of when you started preparing for this hearing? I mean the biggest hearing of your life and you have no clue; you can’t remember? When you started preparing for this hearing? Do you understand why those words seem hollow to the American people? The people who are supposed to entrust their faith to you?”
Director Cheatle: “I assure you the moment I received notification…”
Rep. McClain: “But you can’t remember.”
Representative Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) pointed out the Secret Service has failed to hold a single press conference to deliver information or make an effort to reassure the American people that the Secret Service is prepared to fulfill its responsibilities.
Rep. Waltz: “How many press conferences have you held since the assassination attempt? Gone to the mic, taken questions from media and the public.”
Director Cheatle: “Zero.”
Rep. Waltz: “How many has DHS held?”
Director Cheatle: “I don’t know.”
Rep. Waltz: “Zero. How many has the FBI held? Zero. This is how misinformation flies. You still don’t have answers after nine days. We have national anchors and rumors online saying there were multiple shooters. Speculation there could have been foreign involvement. Have you done anything to clarify these things today? No, you haven’t. I would fire you. You are making this situation far worse and there is bipartisan outrage here.”
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