U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign event in Pennsylvania, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 22, 2024. AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.
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Live Special Coverage: Oversight of the Secret Service and the Trump Assassination Attempt
Live Special Coverage: Trump Assassination Attempt Hearing NTD
The director of the Secret Service has faced intense scrutiny as well as calls to step down since the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. NTD will have live coverage of Kimberly Cheatle’s testimony before Congress today.
House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed Ms. Cheatle last week, and promised the hearing would be extensive and detailed. Ms. Cheatle will be asked how her agency failed to stop the attempt on former President Trump’s life on July 13. It will be her first time before Congress since the assassination attempt. The Secret Service has pledged complete cooperation with Congress.
Republican, Democrat Leaders Say Cheatle Should Resign
The chairman and ranking member of the House Oversight Committee called on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign in a rare bipartisan joint statement on Monday, following hours of questioning the agency director.
In a letter to Ms. Cheatle, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said she "failed to provide answers to basic questions regarding that stunning operational failure" during hours of questioning.
“In the middle of a presidential election, the Committee and the American people demand serious institutional accountability and transparency that you are not providing,” the two wrote.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Oversight Committee Democrat, closed out Monday's hearing by stating that he agreed with calls for Ms. Cheatle to resign.
“I think that this relationship is irretrievable at this point, and I think that the director has lost the confidence of Congress at a very urgent and tender moment in the history of the country,” Mr. Raskin said.
His comments marked a rare moment of solidarity between him and the committee’s Republican chairman, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, who advised that the pair will be requesting Ms. Cheatle’s resignation via letter.
Cheatle: Assailant Considered a Threat Only Seconds Before Shooting
Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) asked Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle when former President Donald Trump’s would-be assassin was officially deemed a threat by authorities on the scene.
“People can be suspicious, but they’re not a threat until a certain point in time. So, when did that happen?” Mr. Fry asked.
Ms. Cheatle answered that she believed it was just “seconds before the gunfire started.”
Snipers stand on a roof at Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. Glen Van Tryfle/TMX via Reuters
Former Sniper Rep. Crane Raises Questions at Rally Site
After touring the site where former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated, Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) said “many questions still remain” as to how the shooter was not stopped before he opened fire.
“I’m on the roof of the building in Butler, PA where shots were fired in an attempt to assassinate President Trump,” Mr. Crane wrote in an X post.
“As a former Navy SEAL sniper, it was clear to me that many security measures were dropped making Pres. Trump extremely vulnerable.”
Cheatle Does Not Have Detailed Timeline of Trump Shooting
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle shocked members of the House Oversight Committee with her admission that she does not have a detailed timeline of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
While under questioning by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Ms. Cheatle was asked if she had received any timeline of events from the July 13 rally.
“I have a timeline that does not have specifics,” Ms. Cheatle replied, drawing gasps of surprise from members of the committee.
Ms. Cheatle testified that she has spoken to every agent who was at the July 13 rally.
The Secret Service director largely declined to delve into specifics of the discussions when pressed by Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.).
"We are putting together a comprehensive report, so that I can identify the gaps and failures," she said.
United Sates Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee during a hearing at Capitol on July 22, 2024. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The Secret Service has increased the protection for some individuals in the wake of the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Trump, the agency's director said.
The agency currently provides protection for 36 individuals, including President Joe Biden and former President Trump.
"Some of it has been as a result of the tragic incident that occurred on the 13th," Ms. Cheatle, the Secret Service director, told lawmakers, referring to the Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Secret Service Investigating Why Threat of Trump Gunman Wasn’t Communicated, Director Says
Secret Service snipers return fire after former President Donald Trump was shot at the campaign event. Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told a House Oversight panel Monday that her agency is still investigating questions about why a Trump rally was allowed to continue even though members of the crowd saw Thomas Matthew Crooks on the roof of a building.
“We are still combing through communications and when communications were passed,” Ms. Cheatle said, adding that the Secret Service would have stopped the rally if they knew there was an actual threat to former President Donald Trump on July 13.
She added, “I don’t know all of the communications” on that day, adding officials are “going back and looking at communications to know when the information about a suspicious person was passed to Secret Service personnel.”
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told members of the House Oversight Committee that she has not visited the site where former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated.
Her admission shocked Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas).
“Nine days and you have not visited the site. You should have been there that night,” Mr. Fallon said.
The building from which the shooter fired at former President Trump was one of multiple nearby buildings that were placed outside the Secret Service's security perimeter, Ms. Cheatle told members.
The building was about 430 feet from the rally stage.
The director declined to delve into specifics of the Butler rally's perimeter but said that in general when Secret Service agents develop security plans and leave out buildings or other nearby areas of concern, they implement "overwatch" as a mitigation tactic.
Amid a series of yes or no questions from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle admitted that the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was preventable.
When asked if she thought that was the case, she said, “Yes.” And her response was the same when asked if the Secret Service had been transparent with the committee.
But on that response, Ms. Mace disagreed with the director.
Secret Service Investigation Estimated to Take 60 Days
The final report of an internal Secret Service investigation into the assassination attempt and how the service handled the matter is slated to take 60 days, Ms. Cheatle told members.
Ms. Cheatle said that the agency is still conducting interviews as she declined to tell Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) her personal analysis of what went wrong in Pennsylvania where former President Trump was shot.
Lawmakers criticized the two-month timeframe of the investigation.
Security Agencies Protecting Trump Did Not Communicate Directly During Rally: Report
Former President Donald Trump leaves after officially accepting the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., on July 20, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump found that the various groups tasked with protecting him, including snipers, SWAT teams, and the Secret Service, had no direct communications with each other and were operating on separate channels.
The attempt to assassinate former President Trump took place on July 13 at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The event was put under the protection of various agencies, including the Secret Service, Butler County Emergency Services (Butler ESU), snipers from Washington County and Beaver County, and local SWAT teams, a July 21 report from Mr. Johnson said.
Communications between the different entities at the rally were “siloed,” meaning they talked mostly among themselves and were cut off from each other, local law enforcement officials told Mr. Johnson’s office.
Cheatle: No Employees Disciplined Over Trump Shooting
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said no agency employees have been disciplined over the security failures at former President Donald Trump’s July 13 rally.
The reason, she said, is that the FBI investigation is still underway.
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) was dissatisfied with that response.
Ms. Cheatle several times during the hearing said she will not be stepping down.
"I think I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time," she said at one point.
Ms. Cheatle added later, when questioned if she believes the majority of Americans have confidence in her leadership, "I believe that the country deserves answers, and I am committed to finding those answers, and providing those answers."
A photograph of Former President Donald Trump by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci is seen as United Sates Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee during a hearing at Capitol on July 22, 2024. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Agency Investigating Why Threat of Shooter Not Communicated
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told a House Oversight panel Monday that her agency is still investigating questions why a Trump rally was allowed to continue even as witnesses of the crowd saw Thomas Matthew Crooks on the roof of a building with a direct line of sight to the former president.
“We are still combing through communications and when communications were passed,” Ms. Cheatle said, adding that the Secret Service would have stopped the rally if they knew there was an actual threat to former President Donald Trump in the July 13 shooting.
She added, “I don’t know all of the communications” on that day, adding that officials are "going back and looking at communications to know when the information about a suspicious person was passed to Secret Service personnel."
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said the rally was not paused because agents on the ground did not identify a threat before shots were fired at former President Trump.
"The Secret Service would have paused the rally had they known ... there was an actual threat," Ms. Cheatle told Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.).
Mr. Krishnamoorthi highlighted how state police informed Secret Service agents of concern about the shooter about 20 minutes before the man fired the shots, that the Secret Service notified its snipers about the gunman shortly after, and two minutes before the shots were fired, people at the rally were shouting about the man being on the roof of a nearby building.
Several Democrats on the Oversight Committee focused their questioning of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on highlighting their preference for stricter gun laws.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the committee’s top Democrat, noted that former President Donald Trump’s shooter was identified by the serial number of his AR-15 thanks to a controversial tracing system that gun rights activists oppose.
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), meanwhile, lamented that Republican lawmakers have sought to block and repeal strict Washington gun laws, including bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Referencing the 2025 appropriations bill for the federal government, Ms. Norton noted that the bill would allow anyone with a state-issued permit to carry a concealed firearm to do so in Washington as well.
Director: Secret Service Is 1,500 Personnel Short of What It Needs
The Secret Service has about 8,000 employees, which is short of what the agency needs, Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle said.
"We are still striving towards a number of 9,500 employees, approximately, in order to meet future and emerging needs," she told Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.).
The House of Representatives in a 2015 investigative report said it found the Secret Service was experiencing a staffing crisis that started in 2011 with the number of employees dropping across all categories of employment.
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said that FBI Director Christopher Wray was “incensed” when he learned that the Secret Service’s threat assessment for former President Donald Trump’s July 13 rally did not take recent Iranian threats on his life into account.
“He was incensed. He was shocked that the threat assessment of Iran did not seem to be, as we discussed, baked in to your security footprint and your threat assessment,” Mr. Turner said, citing committee members’ briefing on the investigation from the FBI last week.
Mr. Turner also referenced other comments made by Mr. Wray at recent hearings pointing to the crisis at the southern border as a national security threat that could lead to potential terrorist attacks.
Cheatle Doesn’t Say How Many Times Agency Declined Trump Requests
Under questioning from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said that "there were no requests that were denied" at the Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
"A denial of a request does not equal a vulnerability ... threats can be mitigated" with technology and other resources, Ms. Cheatle said.
Mr. Jordan had made reference to a statement issued by Secret Service spokesman Anthony Gugliemi over the weekend that suggested the agency had denied the Trump campaign's requests for more Secret Service security, going back on an earlier statement that said such requests were never denied.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is sworn in before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign event in Pennsylvania, at the Capitol on July 22, 2024. AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.
Cheatle Confirms Shooter Was Identified by Rifle Serial Number
Citing news reports, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) asked Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle about the information that led to law enforcement identifying the shooter.
“It’s been reported that the shooter was not carrying a driver’s license or any form of identification,” Mr. Raskin noted. “They had no idea who he was, but then he was quickly identified, I think within 30 minutes, by using the serial number on the AR-15 under a tracing system that is now controversial.”
Asked to confirm if those reports were true, Ms. Cheatle replied: “That is my understanding, sir, yes.”
Cheatle Doesn’t Answer If Secret Service Had Anyone on Roof
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) kicked off his line of questioning by asking U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle if any Secret Service agents were stationed on the roof the shooter was positioned on.
Referencing the ongoing investigation, Ms. Cheatle did not answer that question. She also declined to say how many agents were assigned to former President Donald Trump for the event but did note that she thought it was “a sufficient number.”
She would not say whether the Secret Service deployed drones to secure the event.
Secret Service Director Admits ‘Significant Operational Failure’ in Trump Assassination Attempt
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is seen in a file photo. Kamil Krzaczynski/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
The director of the U.S. Secret Service told a House panel on Monday that her agency failed during the assassination attempt targeting former President Donald Trump.
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13th, we failed. As the Director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse,” Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told the House Oversight Committee in prepared remarks after she was subpoenaed, adding that the shooting was the “most significant operational failure in decades.”
During the July 13 incident at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a gunman fired at the former president, striking him in the right ear as well as killing one person and wounding two others.
Cheatle on Secret Service’s ‘Most Significant Operational Failure’ in Decades
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle opened her remarks by describing the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump as “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.”
Offering the former president and other victims from that day her thoughts and condolences, Ms. Cheatle acknowledged that the Secret Service had failed in its mission to protect the nation’s leaders at the former president’s July 13 rally in Pennsylvania.
“As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency,” she said. “We are fully cooperating with ongoing investigations. We must learn what happened, and I will move heaven and earth to ensure that an incident like July 13 does not happen again.”
Oversight Hearing Kicks Off With Speaker Johnson Present
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was in attendance as the first Oversight Committee hearing to investigate the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life began.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will testify to the failings that allowed a would-be assassin to fire off several shots at a Pennsylvania rally, killing one attendee and injuring several others, including the former president.
Ahead of the hearing, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) revealed via social media that Ms. Cheatle did not provide the committee with her written testimony, as is customary. The congresswoman also noted that the director failed to provide audio recordings from the July 13 shooting and the names of those on the former president’s Secret Service detail, despite the committee’s requests for those materials.
Secret Service Director: ‘Eager to Cooperate’ With Independent Review
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle speaks during a press conference at the Secret Service's Chicago Field Office in Chicago, on June 4 2024. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said Sunday that she is “eager to cooperate with the independent security review” of the agency’s failure in preventing the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13.
In a statement, Ms. Cheatle expressed her full support for an independent review conducted by a “Blue Ribbon Panel” that will add to investigations by Congress, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General over the Secret Service’s actions after former President Trump came within an inch of being assassinated by a 20-year-old male shooter in Pennsylvania.
“I look forward to the panel examining what happened and providing recommendations to help ensure it will never happen again,” the director said.
Live Special Coverage: Oversight of the Secret Service and the Trump Assassination Attempt
Live Special Coverage: Trump Assassination Attempt Hearing NTD
The director of the Secret Service has faced intense scrutiny as well as calls to step down since the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. NTD will have live coverage of Kimberly Cheatle’s testimony before Congress today.
House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed Ms. Cheatle last week, and promised the hearing would be extensive and detailed. Ms. Cheatle will be asked how her agency failed to stop the attempt on former President Trump’s life on July 13. It will be her first time before Congress since the assassination attempt. The Secret Service has pledged complete cooperation with Congress.
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