President Joe Biden’s Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle claimed the building from which shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks shot former President Donald Trump was “outside the perimeter” of what needed to be secured — despite that building being less than 500 feet away from Trump.
During Monday’s House Oversight Committee at a hearing, titled, Oversight of the U.S. Secret Service and the Attempted Assassination of President Donald J. Trump, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) asked Cheatle — after she failed to answer several other questions — if she could at least agree with him that the building from which Crooks shot Trump should have been secured.
WATCH — “Well… That’s Bullsh*t” Rep. Nancy Mace Blasts Secret Service Director for Her Answer:
Committee on Oversight and Accountability“The building was outside of the perimeter on the day of the visit,” Cheatle replied.
Comer then asked about Cheatle’s “sloped roof” excuse.
“One of the things that you said in an interview that there wasn’t an agent on the roof because it was a sloped roof,” the congressman said. “Is that normal? And do you fear that that immediately creates an opportunity for future would-be assassins to look for a slanted roof?”
Cheatle replied by stating, “There was a plan in place to provide overwatch,” adding that the Secret Service generally prefers “to have sterile rooftops.”
“We are still looking into responsibilities and who was going to provide overwatch,” Biden’s Secret Service director said.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents after as assassination attempt at a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Cheatle added that “the Secret Service in general — not speaking specifically to this incident — when we are providing overwatch, whether that be through counter snipers or other technology, prefer to have sterile rooftops.”
“Did the Secret Service use any drones for surveillance that day?” Comer asked.
Cheatle replied by saying she was “not going to get into specifics.”
WATCH — “Not Acceptable” AOC Blasts Secret Service Director for 60 Day Duration to Provide Report About Trump Assassination Attempt:
Committee on Oversight and Accountability“I’m not going to get into specifics of that day in itself, but there are times during a security pan that the Secret Service does deploy an asset like a drone,” she said.
The congressman then noted, “There were reports that the shooter used a drone just a few hours before the rally’s start-time,” asking Cheatle, “Is that accurate?” to which Biden’s Secret Service director replied that she is still “waiting for the final report.”
Police snipers return fire after shots were fired at former President Donald Trump as he was speaking at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
“If you can’t answer the question, that’s your answer,” Comer asserted.
“But can you answer this,” the congressman continued. “Do you know if the shooter used a drone before the shooting?”
Cheatle responded by saying, “That information has been passed to us from the FBI.”
As Breitbart News reported, an article published in the Wall Street Journal on Friday revealed Crooks “was able to fly a drone and get aerial footage of the western Pennsylvania fairgrounds shortly before the former president was set to speak there.”
WATCH — Secret Service Director Refuses to Answer if There Was More Than One Shooter:
Committee on Oversight and AccountabilityElsewhere in her testimony, Cheatle failed to answer Comer’s questions about how many agents were present at Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, saying, “I’m not going to get into the specifics of the numbers of personnel that we had there.”
The Secret Service director was subpoenaed following her failure to prevent a sniper from shooting at President Trump on July 13.
Cheatle, who was appointed by Biden in August 2022 and reports to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas — who has been impeached — is facing calls for her resignation, but said last week that she has no intentions to step down.
Notably, it was recently reported that top officials within the Secret Service have denied requests to increase the security for President Trump over the past two years.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
