Embattled United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle faced pointed bipartisan criticism before she even began her testimony in front of the House Oversight Committee on Monday morning — and then proceeded to justify such criticism by claiming she was unable to answer even the most basic of questions.
Chairman James Comer (R-KY) lambasted Cheatle in his opening statement for failing to prevent the "catastrophic" and "deadly" attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and said Butler no longer deserves to lead the USSS.
Watch House Oversight Chairman Comer’s opening statement as the committee prepares to question Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 22, 2024
"The Secret Service has thousands of employees and a significant budget, but it has now become the face of incompetence." pic.twitter.com/vqL1GEZwsn
Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), even, slammed Cheatle for being at the helm while such "stunning security failures" took place — before launching into a demand for firearm bans and stricter screening for purchasers without explaining which additional law or laws would have prevented the shooter from carrying out his attack. Democrats, it turned out, were there not to get answers or hold the Secret Service accountable as much as they were to renew their rabid anti-firearm narratives.
Ranking Member Raskin uses the Trump assassination attempt to call for more gun control, specifically banning “assault weapons” like the AR-15. pic.twitter.com/pjB5oucve7
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 22, 2024
In her opening statement, Director Cheatle admitted the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13 was the "most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades" and insisted she takes "full responsibility for any security lapse" in her agency's "no-fail mission."
Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle admits the Trump assassination attempt was "the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades."
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 22, 2024
Watch her full openings statement below ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/54zyWv191W
Still, Director Cheatle refuses to resign from her post despite admitting July 13 was a stunning failure and insists she accepts full responsibility for those failures. She further undermined her ability to continue as director by refusing to provide information responsive to lawmakers' inquiries.
With excuses ranging from "we're only nine days out" from the assassination attempt to "there's still an ongoing investigation," Cheatle failed again to show any of the accountability she claims to be taking.
On question after question, from where USSS agents were to how many people were on Trump's detail and how the rally site has been processed, Cheatle obfuscated, played a know-nothing, or was unresponsive.
USSS Director Kim Cheatle is already dodging questions about the Secrete Services failures on the day of the Trump assassination attempt.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 22, 2024
COMER: "At any point on Saturday did Secret Service have agents on top of that roof?"
CHEATLE: "We're just nine days out from this… pic.twitter.com/iCKVgIo7QU
COMER: How many Secret Service agents were assigned to President Trump on the day of the rally?
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 22, 2024
CHEATLE: I'm not going to get into the specifics, but we feel there was a sufficient number of agents assigned. pic.twitter.com/7HrGG8FrLB
Rep. Jim Jordan has NO patience for Kim Cheatle and her inability to provide answers to basic questions:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 22, 2024
"You didn't get briefed on how many times you turned down the Trump detail when they asked for additional help? You didn't get briefed on that before you came to this hearing… pic.twitter.com/CjUb5xqIYh
LYNCH: Did they confront [the gunman]? Did they go up to him? Did they talk to him?
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 22, 2024
CHEATLE: I don’t have those details at this time.
LYNCH: Those are important details. pic.twitter.com/cA7iAG1zB6
If Director Cheatle thought appearing before the Oversight Committee might shore up her image and take some of the heat off of her leadership of the Secret Service, she was sorely mistaken. As Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) put it succinctly, Cheatle looks "incompetent" in the wake of the deadly attempted assassination of Donald Trump — and if the former president "had been killed, [she] would have looked culpable."
Rep. Mike Turner to Dir. Cheatle:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 22, 2024
"Because Donald Trump is alive — and thank God he is — you look incompetent. If Donald Trump had been killed, you would have looked culpable." pic.twitter.com/707bLFtFmB
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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