The Director of the United States Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, has agreed to testify on July 22nd before the House Oversight Committee regarding the shooting incident involving former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday (16th), Cheatle stated that the Secret Service was fully responsible for the planning, implementation, and execution of the security measures at the rally for the Trump campaign team last Saturday.
Cheatle described the incident as a terrible event that should never have happened. She pledged to ensure that all lessons are learned and appropriate adjustments made in the future.
She mentioned that the number of law enforcement personnel deployed that day was higher than usual due to intelligence reports of an Iranian plot to assassinate Trump. However, despite initial suspicions, the shooting incident does not seem to be linked to Iran.
Cheatle expressed satisfaction with the evacuation actions taken after the shooting incident. She commended the work of the Secret Service agents who shielded and evacuated the President, stating, “The protective and evacuation agents, as well as the counter-sniper team, performed their duties perfectly, and I am very proud of their actions.”
On Saturday (13th) afternoon, Trump was shot at during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, sustaining a bleeding injury to his right ear. One person in the audience was killed, and two others were injured. The shooter was killed on the spot.
The FBI has classified this shooting incident as an “assassination attempt” against Trump and has initiated an investigation into the incident. The shooter was identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old man from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, although his motive remains unclear.
Following the incident, security at Republican presidential candidate rallies has become a focal point. The Secret Service is facing scrutiny, including how the shooter was able to climb onto the roof and have a clear view of Trump, among other questions.
The Wall Street Journal described this as possibly the Secret Service’s most significant security crisis since the assassination attempt on then-President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee stated on Wednesday (17th), “Americans demand and deserve answers from Director Cheatle regarding the attempted assassination of President Trump and the serious failures of the Secret Service.”
President Biden announced on Sunday that he had ordered an independent review of the security measures at the Trump rally on July 13th, and the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s website stated on Wednesday (17th) that an investigation into the Secret Service’s security measures has been launched.
The United States Secret Service, a component of the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for protecting the President, Vice President, their families, former presidents and their spouses, foreign heads of state visiting the US, designated national security personnel, and other individuals of special security interest designated by the Department of Homeland Security.