Secret Service Director Cheatle resigns in connection with Trump rally shooting

[CarolinaHawkeye]

😂 you are such a fukin woman

And a turnip is smarter than you.

 

[NorthernHawkeye]

With all due respect. The killer was dead. MANY of the questions they asked were very simple and should have been answered. She kept evading in the worst way and I feel no sympathy toward her at this point.

The investigation is ongoing, many facts to be determined, and thus she needed to be careful not to speculate/guess. She's trying to prevent these same people from coming after her if it's later determined that an answer she provided was inadvertently false.

This hearing was way too soon.

 

[goldmom]

😂 you are such a fukin woman

Explain…

 

[sober_teacher]

With all due respect. The killer was dead. MANY of the questions they asked were very simple and should have been answered. She kept evading in the worst way and I feel no sympathy toward her at this point.

The investigation is ongoing, many facts to be determined, and thus she needed to be careful not to speculate/guess. She's trying to prevent these same people from coming after her if it's later determined that an answer she provided was inadvertently false.

This hearing was way too soon.

Agreed on both counts. There were better ways on her part to offer non-responses, particularly for ones where they’re still determining what actually happened, but several reps wanted their pound of flesh.

For my money, I think at the heart of what happened were major breakdowns in communication.

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

If Secret Service Director John R. Simpson was called on the carpet and forced to resign after John Hinckley was able to get off 6 shots and almost killing President Reagan, there's no explanation for why current director Kimberly Cheatle should escape similar scrutiny.

Wait . . . what's that?

Simpson didn't resign after the security failure? He was allowed to keep his job until he retired in 1992?

While I have zero problems with the notion of Cheatle ultimately losing her job, yesterday's hearing was pure political theater. Asking for definitive answers while the investigation is on-going is pure folly. And the political theater existed on "both sides of the aisle."

Heaven forbid any politician refuse to jump at the opportunity to, on camera, stir the flames of political outrage. And, again, it was "on both sides of the aisle."

To be clear, I did not appreciate the obvious grandstanding by some of the Congressional questioners, but some of that was brought out by her refusal to give clear answers at times. So, yes, there was some political theater...but I think it is a mistake to chalk it all up to political theater. After 9 days of investigation, she should have been able to address much more than she did.

FWIW, the element of the shooting that concerned me the most was that there was no "shut down" of the stage once a very suspicious person was observed laying on a nearby roof with a gun, etc. The protocol has to be that SOMEBODY calls a "Code Red" and they IMMEDIATELY get the prospective target off the stage and/or behind some form of protection.

The "human wall" did put some amount of bravery on display for those SS Agents that placed themselves in harms way due to their duty, but it was far from iron clad. If there was another shooter, they would have had several more "good" chances to take out their target. And yes, Trump contributed to those "openings" too.

Why is there not 3 or 4 Kevlar shields/cloaks on the floor in front of the podium that SS Agents could rapidly employ?

 

[goldmom]

Her demeanor during her testimony didn’t help her either. Someone should have prepped her in advance.

 

[MikeyHawk]

There was political theater, but, citizens and those in congress have the right to be pissed off. A presidential candidate was almost killed and the Secret Service has one task. Wouldn't the director at least know there were threats and that there was a big outdoor rally and make sure everything was in order?

 

[AuroraHawk]

To be clear, I did not appreciate the obvious grandstanding by some of the Congressional questioners, but some of that was brought out by her refusal to give clear answers at times. So, yes, there was some political theater...but I think it is a mistake to chalk it all up to political theater. After 9 days of investigation, she should have been able to address much more than she did.

IMO, you are grossly underestimating the political climate.

On July 15th, via a letter, the oversight committee asked for a list of all SS personnel and for all video in SS' possession. One week later, the director is called to testify - under oath.

Nancy Mace: "Have you provided a list of all SS personnel who were on site? Yes or no?"
Cheatle: "I'll have to get back to you with that answer."
Mace: "That's a 'no.'"
Mace: "Have you provided all video in SS' possession? Yes or no?"
Cheatle: "I'll have to get back to you with that answer."
Mace: "That's a 'no.' You're full of shit today."

Nancy Mace demanded absolute answers. Cheatle responded in a fashion as one would expect who could not provide an absolute answer. If she said "yes" and add'l video surfaces, Mace will be calling on her to be charged with perjury. If she answers "no," then Mace will say that the SS is no cooperating.

The idea that, in an investigation into the attempted assassination of a former President, the director of the SS would have absolute answers to those questions is nonsense. Now . . . if Cheatle was my client and I was prepping her for a hostile interrogation, I would have recommended that she respond with "In the week that has transpired since you sent the letter to me, the Secret Service has - in addition to continuing its investigation of this horrendous event - provided Congress with a list of SS personnel whom it believes to be on site. Our inquiries continue and I will have to get back to you with whether the personnel identified is the absolute list of any SS personnel on site that date."

Cheatle did herself no favors but, IMO, she sat there and took the hits. Plenty of areas to push back on the grandstanding but she decided to let the members of Congress create their sound bytes. Hell, now Mace is probably better known for the "you're full of shit" comment as opposed to bragging about her horny boyfriend wanting to f--k her before a Christian prayer breakfast. Mission accomplished.

IMO, our society's thirst for political vengeance and immediate answers is quite troubling.

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

IMO, you are grossly underestimating the political climate.

On July 15th, via a letter, the oversight committee asked for a list of all SS personnel and for all video in SS' possession. One week later, the director is called to testify - under oath.

Nancy Mace: "Have you provided a list of all SS personnel who were on site? Yes or no?"
Cheatle: "I'll have to get back to you with that answer."
Mace: "That's a 'no.'"
Mace: "Have you provided all video in SS' possession? Yes or no?"
Cheatle: "I'll have to get back to you with that answer."
Mace: "That's a 'no.' You're full of shit today."

Nancy Mace demanded absolute answers. Cheatle responded in a fashion as one would expect who could not provide an absolute answer. If she said "yes" and add'l video surfaces, Mace will be calling on her to be charged with perjury. If she answers "no," then Mace will say that the SS is no cooperating.

The idea that, in an investigation into the attempted assassination of a former President, the director of the SS would have absolute answers to those questions is nonsense. Now . . . if Cheatle was my client and I was prepping her for a hostile interrogation, I would have recommended that she respond with "In the week that has transpired since you sent the letter to me, the Secret Service has - in addition to continuing its investigation of this horrendous event - provided Congress with a list of SS personnel whom it believes to be on site. Our inquiries continue and I will have to get back to you with whether the personnel identified is the absolute list of any SS personnel on site that date."

Cheatle did herself no favors but, IMO, she sat there and took the hits. Plenty of areas to push back on the grandstanding but she decided to let the members of Congress create their sound bytes. Hell, now Mace is probably better known for the "you're full of shit" comment as opposed to bragging about her horny boyfriend wanting to f--k her before a Christian prayer breakfast. Mission accomplished.

IMO, our society's thirst for political vengeance and immediate answers is quite troubling.

I acknowledge that there was grandstanding, but there were also plenty of very legitimate and pertinent questions that were asked that she didn't answer and/or couldn't answer. Both things were true.

But my primary rationale as to why she should step down aren't all that related to her testimony yesterday.

 

[ANYCHawk]

IMO, you are grossly underestimating the political climate.

On July 15th, via a letter, the oversight committee asked for a list of all SS personnel and for all video in SS' possession. One week later, the director is called to testify - under oath.

Nancy Mace: "Have you provided a list of all SS personnel who were on site? Yes or no?"
Cheatle: "I'll have to get back to you with that answer."
Mace: "That's a 'no.'"
Mace: "Have you provided all video in SS' possession? Yes or no?"
Cheatle: "I'll have to get back to you with that answer."
Mace: "That's a 'no.' You're full of shit today."

Nancy Mace demanded absolute answers. Cheatle responded in a fashion as one would expect who could not provide an absolute answer. If she said "yes" and add'l video surfaces, Mace will be calling on her to be charged with perjury. If she answers "no," then Mace will say that the SS is no cooperating.

The idea that, in an investigation into the attempted assassination of a former President, the director of the SS would have absolute answers to those questions is nonsense. Now . . . if Cheatle was my client and I was prepping her for a hostile interrogation, I would have recommended that she respond with "In the week that has transpired since you sent the letter to me, the Secret Service has - in addition to continuing its investigation of this horrendous event - provided Congress with a list of SS personnel whom it believes to be on site. Our inquiries continue and I will have to get back to you with whether the personnel identified is the absolute list of any SS personnel on site that date."

Cheatle did herself no favors but, IMO, she sat there and took the hits. Plenty of areas to push back on the grandstanding but she decided to let the members of Congress create their sound bytes. Hell, now Mace is probably better known for the "you're full of shit" comment as opposed to bragging about her horny boyfriend wanting to f--k her before a Christian prayer breakfast. Mission accomplished.

IMO, our society's thirst for political vengeance and immediate answers is quite troubling.

A lot of this is silly.

It's been over a week. You should be able to answer basic questions and she avoided them all. If your local police took a week to say anything when someone was murdered, the town would be livid. Sure its noting to be final I think most people get that. But not being able to answer basic questions under oath about the investigation is a failure and unacceptable.

On the list example, why could you not say here it is pending any further development/discovery/investigation. That opens it up is not complete but provides what we know today. By a BS " Our inquiries continue and I will have to get back to you with whether the personnel identified" makes you look like a dope and liar who doesn't know who is working there.

 

[RicoSuave102954]

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday in connection with the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, according to a copy of a letter sent to agency staff obtained by The Washington Post.

“As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” Cheatle wrote. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that, I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director.”

The attack was the first against a U.S. leader on the elite protective agency’s watch in more than 40 years. Cheatle, a veteran Secret Service agent, had called the security failure involving a gunman shooting from an apparently unsecured roof at a Trump presidential campaign rally July 13 unacceptable and acknowledged that “the buck stops with me.”



She initially had said she would not resign and would cooperate with investigations into the shooting. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said last week that he had “100 percent confidence” in her abilities as Secret Service director, and a spokeswoman for President Biden said he supported her as well.
At a House oversight hearing Monday Cheatle signaled that she hoped to stay on the job and believed she was the best person for the position. But several lawmakers in both parties disagreed, saying she failed to answer detailed questions about what went wrong at the Trump rally and had lost their confidence
Several Republican lawmakers called on Cheatle to step aside, saying they had lost confidence in her ability to lead the agency that safeguards U.S. and foreign leaders.

“Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle should resign immediately,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) wrote Monday on X.


Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called for new leadership at the agency on Wednesday as Cheatle oversaw protective services at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
“Last week’s near-assassination of former President Trump was a grave attack on American democracy,” he wrote on X. “The nation deserves answers and accountability. New leadership at the Secret Service would be an important step in that direction.”
On Wednesday night, a group of Republicans furious over the assassination attempt trailed Cheatle through Fiserv Forum at the convention, demanding that she explain the security failures.

“This was an assassination attempt!” yelled Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, according to a video of the confrontation obtained by The Washington Post. “You owe the people answers! You owe President Trump answers!”


She and others expressed frustration that Cheatle did not answer their questions about the lapses.
“This is one of the greatest security failures in the history of the agency,” Blackburn said in a statement. “She can run but she cannot hide. She is a failed leader and she needs to immediately step down from her position.”
Trump, who has said he was struck by a bullet that “pierced” his right ear, wore a bandage over it as he attended the convention. The attack killed one man and gravely wounded two others.

The shooting was the first time in decades that a U.S. leader was attacked while under Secret Service protection. In 1981, a gunman fired at President Ronald Reagan in Washington, wounding the president and three others.
Top officials at the U.S. Secret Service repeatedly denied requests for additional personnel and equipment sought by Trump’s security detail in the two years leading up to the rally shooting in Pennsylvania, according to four people familiar with the requests.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/07/23/secret-service-director-cheatle-scrutiny/

I'm shocked since she and Kamala Harris are such close buddies.