By Olivia Land | New York Post
Secret Service Director Kimberly A. Cheatle confirmed she will testify Monday before the House Oversight Committee Monday on the failures leading up to the attempted assassination of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“The Secret Service is fully accountable for the safety of its protectees,” spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement Friday. “We are committed to better understanding what happened before, during, and after the assassination attempt of former President Trump to ensure it never happens again.”
“We are committed to better understanding what happened before, during, and after the assassination attempt of former President Trump to ensure it never happens again,” he added.
Cheatle has faced intense criticism since Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was able to climb a roof yards away from where Trump was speaking at a July 13 rally in Butler, Pa., and open fire.
Crooks’s shot grazed Trump’s ear, left volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore dead and two others critically hurt before he was shot dead by Secret Service snipes.
In the days after the shocking incident, Cheatle explained the Secret Service decided not to guard the roof that Crooks opened fire from because it was sloped.
“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.
But experts quickly decried the excuse — and echoed calls for Cheatle to step down.
“The Secret Service director said, ‘Don’t worry, we didn’t put someone on the roof because it could’ve created a dangerous situation.’ Like what? Someone getting shot in the head?” scoffed popular right-wing talk show host Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and NYPD cop.
A gaggle of four senators tried to confront Cheatle at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week by following the stone-faced director around the convention floor as media tagged along.
Everything we know about the Trump assassination attempt
- 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was identified as the shooter who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
- Crooks was shot dead by Secret Service agents.
- The gunman grazed Trump’s ear, killed a 50-year-old retired fire chief, and injured two other rally-goers.
- Investigators detailed Crooks’ search history to lawmakers, revealing that he looked for the dates of Trump’s appearances and the Democratic National Convention.
- Crooks’ search history also revealed a broad interest in high-profile people and celebrities, regardless of their political affiliation, FBI officials reportedly said.
- Trump exclusively recounted surviving the “surreal” assassination attempt with The Post at the rally, remarking, “I’m supposed to be dead.”
- High-profile politicians, including President Biden and Vice President Harris, addressed the nation about the shooting, calling it “a heinous, horrible and cowardly act.”
“Every one of us had questions that we wanted to ask. We thought we didn’t get any of the responses that were necessary,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), who chairs the Senate Republican Committee.
“Either you resign tonight or start answering our questions right now about the death threat to President Trump and allowing him to go on stage,” he added.30
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Cheatle responded that she would be happy to answer questions “in an appropriate format.”
