A fiery congressional committee hearing on Monday saw Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle charged with failing to secure the rally site where former President Donald Trump was struck in the ear by a rifle round and nearly killed. Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) took his time with the microphone to pin Cheatle down on whether or not her agency diverted resources away from the rally to instead staff First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. Jordan, a staunch ally of President Trump, joined a chorus of calls from Republican lawmakers calling for the director’s resignation two weeks after the shooting by 20-year-old gunman Thomas Crooks. In previous interviews, Cheatle has defended her decision to not place a serviceman on the roof where Crooks was positioned, and the agency was forced to backtrack on a previous claim that it did not weaken Trump’s security force. The day after President Trump was shot, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, ‘The assertion that a member of the former president’s security team requested additional resources that the U.S. Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security rebuffed is absolutely false.’ The next day [DHS] Secretary Mayorkas said ‘That is an unequivocally false assertion. We had not received any requests for additional security measures that were rebuffed,” Jordan stated, pointing out that the Washington Post had uncovered just five days later that indeed Trump’s team had requested additional protection. Were you guessing or lying when you said you didn’t turn down additional requests from President Trump’s detail,” he asked. “Neither, sir, and I appreciate the question,” started Cheatle. “What I can tell you is, for the event in Butler there were no requests that were denied,” prompting Jordan to fire back, “Well maybe they got tired of asking!”
“How many times did you turn them down ahead of that?” he asked. A denial of request does not equal a vulnerability,” the director responded as she flailed to defend her agency’s handling of the shooting. “There are a number of ways that risks of threats can be mitigated, with a number of different assets whether that be through personnel, whether that be through technology.” Visibly agitated, the Republican lawmaker continued to challenge Cheatle on why her spokesman made a “huge change” in the agency’s public statements just five days later. “That’s pretty darn frustrating not just for me but for the American people!” he exclaimed. “I hear your frustration,” she replied.
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