Secret Service director, grilled by lawmakers on the Trump assassination attempt, says 'we failed'

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, FARNOUSH AMIRI and CLAUDIA LAUER
Updated 12:14 PM CDT, July 22, 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said Monday that her agency failed in its mission to protect former President Donald Trump during a highly contentious congressional hearing with lawmakers of both major political parties demanding she resign over security failures that allowed a gunman to scale a roof and open fire at a campaign rally.

In her first congressional hearing over the July 13 assassination attempt, Cheatle repeatedly angered lawmakers by evading questions, citing ongoing investigations. She called the attempt on Trump’s life the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure” in decades. Cheatle acknowledged that the Secret Service was told about a suspicious person “between two and five times” before the shooting.

Yet, Cheatle gave no indication she intends to resign even as she said she takes “full responsibility” for any security lapses at the Pennsylvania rally. Cheatle vowed to “move heaven and earth” to ensure that nothing like it ever happens again.

“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13th, we failed,” Cheatle said.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/secret-service-trump-rally-shooting-kimberly-cheatle-fabaf9a0e57d5545e5b60f0b2215778f

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. I hope she pointed out they warned dumb shit

If he keeps holding events like this out in the open to save money something bad might happen.

[lapfog_1]

2. unfortunately for her, someone in the SS detail let her down

and they muffed the protection. big time. And the buck stops at the top.

She will need to resign. Despite probably doing nothing wrong.

Don't know why the SS did not have like 4 drones over the event watching everything. It would have been ( I think ) an obvious addition to SS protection details for outdoor events, little manpower involved. not a huge cost. And watching the war in Ukraine, we now see the value of low cost drones.

[LiberalFighter]

5. No reason to resign.

Would be a bad time to do it.

[lapfog_1]

7. there is never a good time for an administration official to resign.

But resigning ends the matter. People will move on. And this was a pretty massive security failure by the SS.

It's not like there was a coordinated hit team trying to take down a candidate... like you see in the movies. This was a 20 year old incel kid with a AR-15... and he was completely visible to a number of people... and climbing up the outside of a structure that should have been blocked off and manned ( or at least covered ) by the SS. Way too close to the venue.

The SS is the best trained armed guards in the history of the world. ( To quote The West Wing ). They really should have done better.

[IbogaProject]

9. But T45s grift stretches them and the local communities thin

I'm blaming the GOP for this, since they have "the power of the purse" currently. I don't even care if that isn't the reason, if the budget was short that may have impacted their capabilities to protect him. He uses them as an income stream fyi making us pay over priced charges for his own rooms.

[lapfog_1]

10. I don't know if his campaign pays for the community security ( state and local police )

but it doesn't pay for the Secret Service. Yes, they depend on local law enforcement, and if it can be proven that the building and the roof were the responsibility of the local cops and they failed... that would be one thing. But even then the SS should have had eyes on that rooftop. And they didn't.

[IbogaProject]

11. His Detail has some kind of budget, which has been limited by the last budget deal

And he is constantly fleecing us taxpayers by overcharging on the Secret Service's accommodations. We have to spin and deflect like they do. They always shift and ask, "What about" to deflect, shift the focus back on the GOP grifting nominee.

[LudwigPastorius]

18. Accountability is not a bad thing.

For better or worse, she is in charge of the agency and this was a near-disastrous breakdown in protection. (and, a complete disaster for the dead and wounded)

If this punk had gotten shots off against Joe, I think you might have a different opinion.

[Festivito]

19. Kinda like the SS during JFK's last seconds. eom

[BigDemVoter]

3. I saw Gym Jordan squealing like a little pig

and trying to act tough. . . He is so fucking stupid. . .

[SouthBayDem]

4. As deserved a tongue lashing as the director got,

Who allowed Paulina Lunatic, Empty Greene, and Gropert to ask questions in this committee? What moral legs do they have to stand on to call OTHER people “incompetent”?

Funny how they are never included in complaints about “DEI hires”.

[ificandream]

6. Notice how the Repubs kept interrupting her?

They didn't want her to answer even though they said they did.

[IbogaProject]

8. Was the agency under funded?

T45's rallies every week are a huge expense, that last budget was tight with funding, and I'd suspect they probably underfunded the Secret Service forgetting Mr TurdSlinger needs them to prop up his income by having them pay inflated rates for his rooms.

[Seeking Serenity]

12. The Chairman and the Ranking Member of the committee have asked for Cheatle's resignation

https://archive.ph/Yd3cy

[onandup]

14. "Full responsibility" should entail consequences

Resigning is not only the correct thing to do, I believe it helps us politically. Put the matter to bed.

[ViewObsessed]

15. She is a good friend to Dr. Jill!

We need unity!

[Bengus81]

16. So the agents that stopped at least 2-3 times for the Trump fist pump get to keep their jobs??

Total BS.... But using a woman as a scapegoat will always work for Republicans.

[Wonder Why]

17. What's this "we" stuff, boss?