U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has made her first public statement since the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, saying that her agency will “participate fully” in the review that President Joe Biden ordered and that she is “confident” in her team’s “strengthened” security plan for the Republican National Convention (RNC).
In a statement from the Secret Service’s media relations office, Cheatle first extended her “deepest condolences” to the family and friends of Corey Comperatore, the man who was fatally shot while attending the Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump rally on Saturday.
“Secret Service personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our counter sniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of former president Donald Trump,” the director continued.
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C-SPANCheatle went on to say that she has been in “constant contact with Secret Service personnel in Pennsylvania who worked to maintain the integrity of the crime scene until the FBI assumed its role as the lead investigating agency into the assassination attempt.”
“I have also been coordinating with the protective detail for former President Trump and have briefed President Biden on the details of the incident,” she noted, voicing her commitment to participating in an investigation:
The Secret Service is working with all involved Federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again. We understand the importance of the independent review announced by President Biden yesterday and will participate fully. We will also work with the appropriate Congressional committees on any oversight action.
While she acknowledged that the shooting — which also seriously injured two other audience members and grazed Trump’s right ear — would “understandably” lead to questions about changes to the security detail for the RNC in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Cheatle stated that the Secret Service will remain on the job:
The incident in Pennsylvania has understandably led to questions about potential updates or changes to the security for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The U.S. Secret Service, in conjunction with our Federal, state and local law enforcement and public safety partners, designs operational security plans for National Special Security Events (NSSE) to be dynamic in order to respond to a kinetic security environment and the most up-to-date intelligence from our partners.
I am confident in the security plan our Secret Service RNC coordinator and our partners have put in place, which we have reviewed and strengthened in the wake of Saturday’s shooting. The security plans for National Special Security Events are designed to be flexible. As the conventions progress, and in accordance with the direction of the President, the Secret Service will continuously adapt our operations as necessary in order to ensure the highest level of safety and security for convention attendees, volunteers and the City of Milwaukee. In addition to the additional security enhancements we provided former President Trump’s detail in June, we have also implemented changes to his security detail since Saturday to ensure his continued protection for the convention and the remainder of the campaign.
Cheatle ended her statement with, “The Secret Service is tasked with the tremendous responsibility of protecting the current and former leaders of our democracy. It is a responsibility that I take incredibly seriously, and I am committed to fulfilling that mission.”
Her comments come after her agency has been heavily criticized for allowing Saturday’s gunman, whom the FBI identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, to climb onto a roof and fire off multiple shots at Trump and the crowd.
In a statement to CNN, a spokesman for the Secret Service said the agency did not sweep the building Crooks was on, relying on local law enforcement to secure that location instead.
The spokesman did not clarify which local agency was responsible for that building, which was roughly 150 meters from Trump’s podium.
Law enforcement sources have reported that a local police officer encountered Crooks moments before he opened fire, Breitbart News detailed.
The shooting will also be probed by the bipartisan Senate Homeland Security Committee as well as the U.S. House, with Speaker Mike Johnson promising a “full investigation,” CNN reported.
