Secret Service Director Subpoenaed for Trump Assassination Attempt: Admits to Congress “We Failed”

“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13, we failed,” Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle testified before the House Committee. “As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse. We are fully cooperating with ongoing investigations. We must learn what happened.”

This week has been critical for the Secret Service, tasked with providing security to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his Washington, D.C. visit, while also overseeing security for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week.

By the end of the hearing, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the committee’s ranking member, echoed the call for Cheatle’s resignation, stating that the director “has lost the confidence of Congress at a very urgent and tender moment in the history of the country and we need to quickly move beyond this.”

Referring to Cheatle’s interview with ABC News two days after the assassination attempt, Comer criticized, “You answered more questions with an ABC reporter than you have with members of Congress.” Cheatle has stated she will not resign.

On Monday, Cheatle was asked about her previous statements to ABC News regarding the absence of agents on the roof of a building outside the rally’s security perimeter, from which the suspected shooter fired, due to its sloping nature. Cheatle stated there was “overwatch” for the roof but did not provide further details. “I should have been more clear in my answer when I spoke about where we placed personnel in that interview. What I can tell you is that there was a plan in place to provide overwatch, and we are still looking into responsibilities and who was going to provide overwatch, but the Secret Service in general, not speaking specifically to this incident, when we are providing overwatch, whether that be through counter-snipers or other technology, prefer to have sterile rooftops,” Cheatle explained.

She stated “If the detail had been passed information that there was a threat, the detail would never have brought the former president out onto the stage. That is what we do. That is who we are. We are charged with protecting all of our protectees. Distinguish between someone who is suspicious and someone who’s threatening. A number of times, protective events where suspicious people are identified, those individuals have to be investigated and determine what is it that identifies that person as suspicious.”

Cheatle also stated no personnel or assets were denied to Trump at the Butler rally. However, she was questioned about reports that her agency denied requested resources for Trump’s security detail in the two years prior to the event. Initially denied, this was later admitted by her agency.

“For the event in Butler, there were no requests that were denied,” Cheatle reiterated. She commended the agents who protected Trump during the shooting, saying that within three seconds, they shielded the former president and helped secure him. “I would grade the agents and officers who selflessly threw themselves in front of the president and neutralized the threat an A. I think that we need to examine the events that led up to and prior to that day,” she said.

She emphasized her willingness to hold accountable those responsible for the lapses. “I’ve been a Secret Service agent for nearly 30 years. I have led with integrity, and I follow our core values of duty, justice, honor, loyalty and courage, and I am doing that in this case, and I assure this committee that I will provide answers when we have a full and complete report, in addition to cooperating with all of the other investigations that are ongoing,” Cheatle said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., pressed Cheatle for answers despite her statement that the final report would not be ready for another 60 days. “This is about the safety of some of the most highly targeted and valued targets internationally and domestically in the United States of America,” Ocasio-Cortez told Cheatle. “So the idea that a report will be finalized in 60 days, let alone prior to any actionable decisions that would be made, is simply not acceptable. It has been 10 days since an assassination attempt on a former president of the United States, regardless of party, there needs to be answers.” Ocasio-Cortez emphasized that Congress is “flying blind” on any legislation they might consider as a result of the assassination attempt.

In a rare bipartisan statement, Raskin joined Comer in demanding that Cheatle testify after the Department of Homeland Security requested a delay in her appearance, leading Comer to issue a subpoena.

“In the days following the attempted assassination of former President Trump, some people have made public statements questioning the presence of women in law enforcement, including in the United States Secret Service,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other senior leaders said in a statement. “These assertions are baseless and insulting.”