Members of Congress from both parties appeared visibly frustrated with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle at a Monday congressional hearing to probe what she called her agency’s “failure” to prevent the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Cheatle appeared before Congress nine days after Thomas Crooks of Bethel Park, Pa., nearly killed the Republican nominee for president at a rally at the Butler Fairgrounds near Butler, Pennsylvania.
Two Keystone State representatives questioned Director Cheatle, Republican Rep. Scott Perry and Democratic Rep. Summer Lee.
Under questioning from Rep. Perry, the Secret Service director conceded that she is receiving regular updates from the FBI on the course of the investigation. Rep. Perry asked if Crooks was the only person who fired on former President Donald Trump. “That is the information we have at this time,” the director replied.
Perry went on to inquire about how the Secret Service tracks suspicious people and whether the building where Crooks fired from, the AGR building, was the tallest building in the area. Cheatle confirmed that the tallest building in the area of the rally was occupied by the Secret Service counter sniper team.
Perry appeared visibly exasperated with Director Cheatle’s evasive testimony and grew more frustrated with her as his questioning block went on. Perry expressed disbelief that Cheatle has not yet visited the site of Trump’s near-murder.
The Harrisburg-area Congressman concluded his interrogation of the director by asking why agents of the same size as President Trump were not assigned to his detail and if ability to carry Trump if necessary was something considered when assigning agents to his detail. Cheatle did not directly answer Perry’s question.
“I don’t think any of our concerns have been addressed today, and what little we’ve learned has not inspired much confidence,” said Rep. Lee at the beginning of her remarks before linking the attack on Trump to gun violence that affects communities in her district.
The Pittsburgh-area congresswoman used her time to try to get Cheatle to clarify how the Secret Service determines how someone is considered suspicious and how the Secret Service organized the inter-agency coordination in place at the Butler rally.
Rep. Lee pointed out that since the Secret Service received millions more in funding than it requested in the most recent budget, their failures can’t be attributed to a lack of funds. Rep. Lee castigated the director for avoiding questions and failing to provide the committee with answers.
