How could the assassination attempt on Donald Trump have happened? Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle has now provided Congress with initial answers in a survey.
The head of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, has been under massive pressure since the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump. Now, at a hearing before a committee in the US Congress, she has admitted that her agency failed. “The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders,” Cheatle said on Monday before the body responsible for overseeing federal agencies. “On July 13, we failed.”
The assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally in the state of Pennsylvania represents the “most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades,” said Cheatle. As head of the agency, she takes “full responsibility for any security breach.” The Secret Service is responsible for protecting high-ranking politicians in the USA, including current and former presidents.
In the attempted assassination in the town of Butler, the suspected perpetrator opened fire on Trump with his semi-automatic rifle. Trump barely survived and was hit by a bullet in the right ear. A man in the audience was killed and two other participants in the rally were seriously injured. The suspected perpetrator, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper – 26 seconds after he fired the first eight shots at Trump.
Attempted assassination attempt on Donald Trump was “avoidable”
Immediately after the assassination, questions were raised as to how Crooks had been able to position himself with his weapon only about 150 meters away from Trump. According to investigators, he acted alone and without any ideological or political background.
“This tragedy was preventable,” said Republican committee chairman James Comer at the opening of the hearing. He called on Cheatle to resign. The Secret Service has a “zero-error mission,” said Comer. The agency failed on July 13 and in the days leading up to the campaign event.
Republican Representative Michael Turner of Ohio also called on the agency chief to resign. “Not only should you resign, but if you refuse, President (Joe) Biden must fire you because his life, the lives of Donald Trump and all the other people you protect are in danger,” he said.
Cheatle was appointed head of the Secret Service by Biden in 2022. She had previously worked for the agency for 27 years before becoming chief of security for the North American division of beverage company PepsiCo in 2021.
Allegations that Trump is not adequately protected
The incident was an escalation in the already heated US election campaign and raised serious questions about whether the former president and current presidential candidate Trump was adequately protected. The Secret Service has since admitted that in the past it has not always complied with requests for additional resources for Trump’s protection. The agency’s spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, initially rejected such allegations immediately after the assassination attempt.
Now, when asked, he explained: “In some cases where certain Secret Service special units or resources were not made available, the agency has made changes to ensure the safety of the person being protected.” This includes, for example, other agencies taking on special tasks. This is also likely to play a role in the further questioning of Cheatle.
Note: This message has been updated with additional information.
