As congressional hearings go, the July 22 testimony and cross-examination of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle by the House Oversight Committee was somewhat remarkable. Instead of the tiresome rhetoric and finger-pointing back and forth across the aisle, the Republicans and most of the Democrats on the committee were surprisingly nonpartisan – and bipartisan — in their condemnation of the agency’s dismal failure to protect former President Donald Trump from an assassination attempt. As for Cheatle, she gave so few straight answers to the committee’s many questions, that Americans may now have figured out how her agency got its name.
The director’s testimony shed no light whatsoever on the security failures prior to, and during, Trump’s recent rally in Butler, PA. Though Cheatle used the excuse that multiple inquiries and investigations at both the Secret Service and the FBI prevented her from revealing details and providing comprehensive answers, most of the committee wasn’t buying it.
Surprisingly, Democrats Pounce
Several Democrats at the hearing – notably, Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan – decided to use their allotted time to rant about gun violence, access to firearms, and the horrors of allowing civilians to own AR-15s. At one point, Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA) began to virtually scream at Cheatle because she refused to give him the answer he wanted to one question. The question was: Does “the ubiquity of weapons … guns” in America make the protective duties of the Secret Service more complicated or less so? Connolly tried bullying Cheatle into saying that civilian-owned firearms made the Secret Service’s job more complicated, and when she wouldn’t directly agree, the Democrat practically lost his mind.
Many others, though, focused on how badly the Secret Service had performed its duty to protect a former president – and likely next president.
Those Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, did not go lightly on the Secret Service boss. They grilled her on why Trump was allowed to take the stage at the rally, even after a potential threat had been identified; they demanded to know why that threat wasn’t neutralized before shots were fired, and they lambasted Cheatle for not answering their questions. Some of them, along with most of the Republicans, called on the director to resign or be fired.
Secret Service Boss Clarifies Nothing
So, what can we take away from Cheatle’s testimony and the answers she gave – such as they were? During their advance security survey of the rally site, Secret Service agents did identify the rooftop from which the would-be assassin opened fire as a potential risk. It is still not at all clear to anyone with knowledge of protective operations why nobody – not even a local law enforcement officer – was posted up on that rooftop. Cheatle said it was covered by their “overwatch” plan, meaning, as the word suggests, that the rooftop was to be observed from another vantage point by a counter-sniper team. Clearly, this did not work out very well. Before the rally started, agents were made aware that an individual had been spotted with a rangefinder. The director said this was classed as suspicious activity, rather than a threat, and no follow-up action was taken. Rangefinders are not prohibited items at such events because some people use them if they’re at the back of the crowd and want to more closely observe the speaker.
At some point, the individual was seen observing the rooftop from which he fired. Again, though, this was considered merely suspicious. Nobody was acting out of an abundance of caution and putting two and two together, apparently. When the shooter gained access to the roof during the rally, he was still considered only suspicious, rather than a threat, Cheatle claimed, inexplicably.
We still do not know why the counter-sniper teams failed to neutralize the shooter until after he had gotten off seven or eight rounds, wounded the former president and two rallygoers, and killed another. Did they not see that he had a long gun? If they did, were they waiting for an order to fire? That second question doesn’t even need to be asked – in that situation, a counter-sniper has the authority to fire at his or her discretion. At that time – just a minute or two before he opened fire – the shooter was spotted and even videoed by rallygoers on the ground who were pointing him out to either law enforcement officers or Secret Service agents.
The Secret Service director repeatedly claimed that she could not answer these questions until the FBI finished its criminal investigation and the Secret Service completed its own report, which she anticipated would take several weeks.
Failed Testimony, Failed Leadership
Cheatle said nothing that will stifle the many conspiracy theories swirling around the attempted assassination of the 45th president. At this point, it is still not clear whether the Secret Service denied Trump campaign requests for additional protective assets or measures. This is a bit of a gray area, however. It could be that Trump campaign staffers, who know little about this kind of security work, were requesting things the Secret Service reasonably believed were an unnecessary or inappropriate use of resources. Still, the mere fact that there are conflicting reports and statements about whether such requests were denied is unsettling.
By the time she was halfway into her hearing, Cheatle was wilting under the barrage of criticism. To make matters worse, she clearly believed it was sufficient for her to merely state that she bears responsibility for the security failures. She refused to clarify whether anybody at the Secret Service would in fact be held accountable or lose their jobs. Cheatle was firm in her intention to stay on as Secret Service director. It seems, however, that her time at the head of the agency is likely to come to an end when the final report is released – if not sooner. It would appear the only question is whether she will resign before she is fired.
