Cheatle resigns, but she’s not yet off the hook.
A whistleblower has disclosed that a Secret Service agent posted to the rooftop where former President Donald Trump’s would-be assassin left their post due to the heat.
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) revealed this in a July 22 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. According to the senator’s letter, the whistleblower’s claim ran contrary to the assertion by now-former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle regarding the roof of the American Glass Research building. Cheatle argued that the building’s roof was sloped at its highest point and they considered it a safety factor for the agent.
“Contrary to Cheatle’s public statement about the ‘safety’ of the sloped roof, one whistleblower with direct knowledge of Secret Service planning for the event alleges that there was supposed to be a law enforcement presence on the roof that day,” wrote Hawley. Unfortunately, this lack of security allowed 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks to position himself and shoot Trump.
The informant further alleged that concerns over the hot weather prompted law enforcement to station security personnel inside the building instead of the roof. This corroborated Cheatle’s earlier claim that a decision was made to secure the building from the inside.
On July 13, Crook attempted to assassinate Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting him in the right ear, killing one audience member and injuring two others.
Cheatle resigns, but she’s not yet off the hook
Following the horrendous incident, Cheatle received major backlash over the lack of apparently security during the July 13 campaign rally. On July 23, 10 days after the failed assassination attempt on Trump, she resigned from her post.
“The assassination attempt on Trump is the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades,” Cheatle admitted during a July 22 hearing of the House Oversight Committee. However, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), a member of the committee, blasted Cheatle for being “full of s**t” during the same hearing.
After Cheatle resigned, Mace announced that she would withdraw a motion to impeach the former Secret Service director. “Now that Cheatle resigned after getting her rear handed to her yesterday and our articles to impeach her, we’re withdrawing our motion to impeach,” said the congresswoman.
“Accountability is non-negotiable. This is what we call a mic drop.”
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) also promised that Cheatle’s resignation won’t be the end of this failure, vowing that she won’t “get to slither away and enjoy retirement.”
“Cheatle and Mayorkas will face accountability for actions, including possible criminal investigations. I won’t let this go unanswered,” the congresswoman for the Peach State continued.
On the same day as Cheatle’s resignation, U.S. Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK) introduced a bill called the Secret Service Readiness Act (SSRA). The SSRA seeks to create “a uniform fitness standard for Secret Service special agents and uniformed division officers.”
“We believe that there ought to be one set of standards for Secret Service agents. There shouldn’t be multiple different ways you can qualify based upon your sex or your political beliefs,” Brecheen said. “If people who are being protected by [the] Secret Service – if they want the opportunity to let those who can’t meet full historic standards on their details, let them handle it. Don’t force it upon everybody else and potentially make them more vulnerable to an assassination attempt.
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