Pressure mounts on Secret Service after Donald Trump assassination attempt. The security flaws set up for the rally on Saturday, July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, are being scrutinized by Congress. The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Republican Representative James Comer, has summoned Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
Cheatle is scheduled to testify Monday, July 22, in Washington. Comer explained his decision by saying that Cheatle’s “lack of transparency and failure to cooperate” with the committee called into question his ability to lead the Secret Service and made the subpoena necessary.
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green also called on Cheatle to answer questions. She was joined by FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The investigations become two
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security will also open an investigation into the actions of the Secret Service. According to a brief statement published on the department’s website, the investigation will focus on “measures taken to ensure the safety of President Trump during the July 13 rally.”
The investigation adds to the independent investigation ordered by President Joe Biden into the actions of all security agencies present at the rally and the investigation into the shooting, which is being coordinated by the FBI.
Speaker Johnson: “Secret Service Director Must Resign”
The issue also becomes political. The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has called for the resignation of the director of the Secret Service. The Republican leader then announced that he will create a congressional task force to coordinate investigations into alleged failures in the security apparatus.
“I will also ask for her resignation, her behavior is inexcusable,” Johnson said in an interview with Fox News, speaking of Cheatle. On Tuesday, it was the Republican majority leader in the House, Steve Scalise, who asked for the resignation of the woman who heads the body responsible for protecting presidents and former presidents.
In particular, Johnson criticized the fact that, in an interview with ABC News, Cheatle justified the fact that there were no agents stationed on the roof where Thomas Matthew Crooks – the 20-year-old sniper who wounded Trump – climbed by explaining that it was “a sloping roof” and therefore it was dangerous to climb up there.
But it was noted that the Secret Service snipers were stationed on other sloping roofs. “It doesn’t hold water,” the Speaker said. “I think you’ve demonstrated your priorities. We’ll have a lot of questions to ask you.”
Eric Trump Calls for ‘Accountability’
Cheatle is also criticized by the Trump family. “True accountability,” Eric Trump called for after Saturday’s attack on his father. “The men and women on that stage, at that moment, are the greatest people in the world,” the son of the former American president said in an interview with CBS, speaking of the Secret Service agents who protected the tycoon who is aiming to return to the White House.
“I know many of them personally and they are phenomenal people,” he said. “I’m sure they will get to the bottom of the matter and it would be better if there was a real assumption of responsibility.”It can’t be that there are former presidents who get bullets in the ear“, he added.
On Monday, Cheatle defended the actions of the agents protecting the tycoon during the attack in Pennsylvania. “The Secret Service has a tremendous responsibility to protect the current and former leaders of our democracy,” she said. “It’s a responsibility I take incredibly seriously, and I’m committed to carrying out my mission.”
#Trump #Attack #Secret #Service #Overwhelmed #Investigations #Resignations #Storm #Number