Embattled Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle admitted on Monday that the near-assassination of former President Donald Trump was the “most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades” — but still refused to resign as she faced tough questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Embattled Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle admitted on Monday that the near-assassination of former President Donald Trump was the “most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades” — but still refused to resign as she faced tough questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13th, we failed,” Cheatle told members of the House Oversight Committee in a hearing. “As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse.”
Cheatle also offered her “sincerest condolences to the family of Corey Comperatore,” the father and volunteer fire chief who was killed in the shooting, and wished a “speedy recovery” to the two others who were wounded, David Dutch and James Copenhaver.
She claimed that “the level of security provided for the former president increased well before the campaign and has been steadily increasing as threats evolve” — contradicting whistleblower testimony about the “little resources” available to the agency following the NATO summit in Washington, DC.
