Written Testimony from Director Kimberly Cheatle to the Oversight Committee on the Attempted Assassination of Former President Trump
In her inaugural testimony before Congress since the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle acknowledged her agency’s failure to fulfill its principal duty: safeguarding the nation’s dignitaries.
Summoned by the House Oversight Committee following the shooting at Trump’s rally in western Pennsylvania, Cheatle faced lawmakers for the first time in her 29-year tenure with the Secret Service.
“The Secret Service’s sacrosanct mission is to shield our nation’s leaders. On July 13th, we faltered,” Cheatle confessed. “As the Director of the United States Secret Service, I bear full accountability for any security oversight.”
Cheatle assured legislators of the agency’s full cooperation with the FBI’s probe, congressional scrutiny, and its own internal examination. However, she refrained from divulging specifics regarding her investigators’ conclusions, citing the ongoing nature of the inquiry.
“We must ascertain the events that transpired and I will exhaust every effort to ensure a recurrence of the July 13th incident is averted,” Cheatle vowed.
This appearance marks a pivotal juncture for her tenure and the agency’s future.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., alongside other Republican leaders, has called for Cheatle’s resignation.
“This calamity was avoidable. The Secret Service’s mission is infallible, yet it faltered on July 13 and in the days preceding the rally,” Comer stated. “The Secret Service boasts a substantial workforce and a considerable budget, but it has now epitomized ineptitude.”
Comer further lamented that Americans have been deprived of the necessary answers, and someone must be held accountable for this “unprecedented failure.”
“Director Cheatle, it is my resolute conviction that you should resign. Nonetheless, in sheer defiance, Director Cheatle has asserted she will not resign,” Comer declared. “Therefore, she will address inquiries today from Members of this Committee aiming to elucidate for the American public how these events were permitted to unfold.”
The sentiments are anticipated to resonate throughout what is expected to be a protracted hearing, extending for much of the day. This follows a succession of investigations into the shooting and the Secret Service’s role.
Secret Service turned down some Trump security requests
Over the weekend, both the Washington Post and the New York Times disclosed that the Secret Service rebuffed multiple entreaties from the Trump team for augmented resources prior to the rally in Butler, Pa.
Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service spokesman, corroborated to NPR that, over a span of two years preceding the rally, the agency had rejected at least six additional security requests from Trump’s entourage.
These denials encompassed several requests for magnetometers at public gatherings, such as a 2023 event in Michigan, Bronx County, N.Y., and rallies in Wildwood, N.J., in May. Additionally, the Secret Service was unable to deploy countersniper units for a July 2023 rally in South Carolina, necessitating local law enforcement to fulfill the request instead.
“In instances where specific Secret Service specialized units or resources were not allocated, the agency implemented modifications to ensure the protectee’s security,” Guglielmi stated to NPR. “This could involve enlisting state or local partners for specialized roles or identifying alternative measures to mitigate public exposure of the protectee.”
Previously, Guglielmi, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and, as reported, Cheatle had refuted claims that the agency denied additional security requests from the Trump team.
“Both before and after the events of this past weekend, the Secret Service enhanced former President Trump’s protection, in response to the evolving nature of threats to the former President and his imminent transition from presumptive nominee to nominee,” Mayorkas asserted in a July 15 press briefing at the White House.
Guglielmi regarded the new updates as a “clarification” of his prior statement.
A growing list of investigations
Late Sunday, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appointed a panel of experts to undertake an independent examination of the attempted assassination.
The panel comprises Janet Napolitano, former DHS Secretary under President Obama; Fran Townsend, Homeland Security advisor to President George W. Bush; ex-federal Judge Mark Filip, who served as Bush’s Deputy Attorney General; and David Mitchell, the former Superintendent of Maryland State Police and past Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security for Delaware. Additional experts may be included in the panel in the coming days.
“We are steadfast in uncovering the truth about the events of July 13, and I am thankful to the esteemed members of this independent panel, who bring extensive experience in law enforcement and security operations to this crucial investigation,” Mayorkas stated. “This independent review will scrutinize the incident and deliver actionable recommendations to ensure the agency fulfills its no-fail mission most effectively and to prevent a recurrence of such events.”
The Secret Service’s conduct in the lead-up to and on the day of the assassination attempt on Trump has faced intense scrutiny. President Biden has mandated an independent review of the incident. Mayorkas announced that the panel would execute a 45-day review of the planning and actions executed by the Secret Service, as well as state and local authorities, before, during, and after Trump’s rally.
A series of investigations
The review coincides with additional congressional investigations led by the Democratic-controlled Homeland Security panel and their Republican counterparts in the House. Today, a bipartisan contingent from the House Homeland Security panel will visit the Butler shooting site and discuss their preliminary findings after the tour.
The House Homeland Security panel has also summoned law enforcement officials from the Pennsylvania State Police and Butler County to provide testimony.
Furthermore, the panel’s chairman, Tennessee Republican Mark Green, has requested additional testimony from Cheatle, along with senior FBI and Homeland Security officials. However, Cheatle has yet to accept the invitation.
On Monday, Green joined other Republican calls for Cheatle’s resignation.
“While the American public still seeks answers, we have sufficient evidence to conclude that Director Cheatle should no longer retain her position,” Green stated. “The Committee has earnestly sought answers since July 13th.
In response, Director Cheatle has declined to testify before our Committee, and the DHS has been anything but transparent or forthcoming.”
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