Kimberly Cheatle, head of President Joe Biden’s Secret Service, argued that the building where suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks shot and killed former President Donald Trump was “outside” the area that needed to be secured, even though it was less than 500 feet from Trump.
During a House Oversight Committee hearing on Monday, U.S. Secret Service Surveillance and the Attempted Assassination of President Donald J. TrumpRep. James Comer (R-KY) Asked After failing to answer several other questions, Cheatle asked Crooks if he at least agreed that the building where Trump was shot should have been secured.
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“On the day of the visit, the building was outside the perimeter,” Cheatle responded.
Comer then questioned Cheatle about his “sloping roof” excuse.
“One of the things you said in the interview was that there were no operatives on the roof because it was sloped,” the congressman said. “Is that normal? And are you afraid that it immediately creates an opportunity for future assassins to seek out sloped roofs?”
“There were plans for surveillance,” Cheatle replied, adding that the Secret Service generally prefers to “keep the rooftop sterile.”
“We’re still investigating who is responsible and who will be doing the surveillance,” Biden’s Secret Service chief said.
Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents following an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Cheatle added, “The Secret Service generally, and not just in this case, when they’re doing surveillance, whether it’s countersniper surveillance or other technology, likes the rooftop to be sterile.”
“Did the Secret Service use drones for surveillance that day?” Comer asked.
“I’m not going to go into details,” Cheatle said.
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“I won’t go into specifics about the day, but the Secret Service may also deploy drone-like equipment during security operations,” she said.
The congressman then pointed out that “there were reports that a shooter had used a drone a few hours before the rally was scheduled to begin,” and asked Cheatle if that was accurate, to which Biden’s Secret Service director replied, “We’re still waiting for the final report.”
A police sniper returned fire after shots were fired at former President Donald Trump as he spoke at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (Photo by Gene J. Puskar/AP)
“If you can’t answer the question, that’s the answer,” Comer argued.
“But can you answer this,” the congressman continued, “Do you know if the shooter used a drone before opening fire?”
“That information was given to us by the FBI,” Cheatle responded.
As Breitbart News reported, article Published in The Wall Street Journal Prosecutors said Friday that Crooks “flew a drone shortly before the former president was scheduled to speak, enabling him to capture aerial footage of a fairgrounds in western Pennsylvania.”
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Elsewhere in the testimony, Cheatle did not answer Comer’s question about how many agents were at Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, saying he was “not going to go into any specifics about the number of agents that were there.”
The director of the Secret Service received a subpoena following his failure to prevent an attempted shooting at President Trump on July 13.
Cheatle, who was appointed by Biden in August 2022 and reports to impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, has faced calls for him to resign but said last week he has no plans to step down.
Notably, it was recently reported that top Secret Service officials have refused President Trump’s requests for increased security over the past two years.
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