Comer, Raskin call on Secret Service Director Cheatle to resign

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle did not instill confidence in her leadership during a hearing on Capitol Hill Monday, July 22. Members on both sides of the aisle called on her to resign or be fired for her agency’s failure to stop the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. 

“It is my firm belief, Director Cheatle, that you should resign,” Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said. 

“If you have an assassination attempt on a president, a former president or a candidate, you need to resign,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said. 

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Cheatle indicated she doesn’t plan on going anywhere and will continue leading the investigation. 

“I think that I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time,” Cheatle told lawmakers. 

Members were openly frustrated with Cheatle and demanded answers about the agency’s planning for the rally and the ongoing investigation into the shooting. She was largely unable or unwilling to provide information. 

“I’m unable to answer details of exactly how the individual accessed the roof at this time,” Cheatle said. 

“I personally do not review security plans for events that take place across the country,” she told another lawmaker. 

Cheatle also dodged questions from Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., which he appeared to be asking in an attempt to make a point about gun violence. However, she kept dodging, drawing his ire. 

“I’m asking you, did the availability of that AR-15, which is replicated all across America, make your job harder or easier,” Connolly questioned. “And you’re not willing to answer that question. And you think, and you wonder, why we might have a lack of confidence in your continued ability to direct this agency.”

Cheatle was also asked about inconsistencies with information that has been released. For instance, the day after the shooting, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, “There’s an untrue assertion that a member of the former president’s team requested additional resources and that those were rebuffed. This is absolutely false.”

A week later Guglielmi put out another statement acknowledging some additional assets had been denied, but not for the rally. 

“In some instances where specific Secret Service specialized units or resources were not provided, the agency made modifications to ensure the security of the protectee,” Guglielmi told The New York Times. “This may include utilizing state or local partners to provide specialized functions or otherwise identifying alternatives to reduce public exposure of a protectee.”

“What a change from ‘absolutely false, unequivocally false’, to, ‘Oh, by the way, there were some times where we didn’t give them what they wanted.’ That’s a huge change in five days,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said. “And the fact that you can’t answer how many times you did that, that’s pretty darn frustrating, not just for me, but for the country.” 

The Department of Homeland Security announced the creation of an independent review panel, which will take 60 days to lead an inquiry into the planning and failures at Trump’s campaign event. 

Panel members will include: former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, former adviser to President Bush Frances Townsend, former Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip and David Mitchell, who has held state level law enforcement positions in both Delaware and Maryland.