The Secret Service has come under much-deserved scrutiny in the wake of the nearly successful assassination attempt on Donald Trump on Saturday. Critics have pointed out that authorities should have secured the building where the shooter was perched when he shot at Trump. We've heard calls for investigations, but many aren't expecting any real accountability.
For starters, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, whom Joe Biden appointed back in 2022, is refusing to resign.
In an ABC News interview that aired Monday, Cheatle acknowledged the gravity of the recent assassination attempt on the former president, stating, "This is an event that should have never happened." When Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas asked her who was responsible, Cheatle replied, "The Secret Service is responsible for the protection of the former President."
Thomas followed up with, "So the buck stops with you?"
Cheatle affirmed, "The buck stops with me. I am the Director of the Secret Service. It was unacceptable, and it’s something that shouldn’t happen again."
Thomas noted that there have been calls for her resignation from some members of Congress, and when Thomas asked her if she planned to stay on, Cheatle confirmed, "I do plan to stay on."
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle: "I do plan to stay on."
— Matt Margolis (@mattmargolis) July 16, 2024
Disgraceful. pic.twitter.com/xNtsPWejvA
I don't doubt that she won't resign or that the administration won't force her out. But she should, especially in light of new revelations exposing that the security lapses that nearly resulted in Trump's assassination are even worse than we previously knew.
The Pittsburgh-based Channel 11 News uncovered dramatic new details Monday about the moments leading up to the assassination attempt on Trump. According to multiple law enforcement sources, law enforcement spotted Thomas Crooks on a roof nearly 30 minutes before shots were fired.
Trump shooter spotted by law enforcement nearly 30 minutes before shots fired (via @WPXI) pic.twitter.com/Xd8arEPCbS
— Matt Margolis (@mattmargolis) July 16, 2024
Channel 11′s Nicole Ford confirmed that Beaver County’s ESU team had eight members at the rally, including snipers and spotters. According to Ford’s sources, one of them noticed a suspicious man on a roof near the rally at 5:45 p.m., called it in and took a picture of the person. We have learned from our sources the person in that picture is Thomas Crooks. We’re told it’s not clear if Crooks had a gun with him at that point.
According to multiple sources, a law enforcement officer had also previously seen Crooks on the ground and called him in as a suspicious person with a picture prior to 5:45 p.m. Our sources tell us an officer checked the grounds for Crooks at that point, but did not see him where the first picture was taken.
26 minutes after the second picture of Crooks was taken by law enforcement and the information called in, shots were fired from the roof of the American Glass Research building. Seconds later, a Secret Service sniper returned fire and killed Crooks.
The Associated Press also reported that a local police officer “climbed to the roof and encountered Crooks, who pointed his rifle at the officer. The officer retreated down the ladder, and Crooks quickly took a shot toward Trump.”
Meanwhile, Cheatle is making terrible excuses for the lack of security.
Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, on why they weren't stationed on the roof where the assassin fired from: "That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there's a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn't want to put…
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) July 16, 2024
How much worse is this going to get?
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