Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle faced a grilling from the House Oversight Committee on Monday, struggling to explain how her agency missed the warning signs of a suspicious threat during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The public had already pointed out a man on a roof minutes before former President Trump was shot, yet the Secret Service seemed clueless.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., took his turn questioning Cheatle and started with a video showing people in the crowd alerting law enforcement to a man on the roof just moments before shots were fired. Despite this, the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, started shooting at 6:11 p.m., even though state police had warned the Secret Service about him 20 minutes earlier.
Krishnamoorthi asked Cheatle if the rally had been paused at 5:53 p.m., when the Secret Service was notified about the gunman. Cheatle’s response was a flat “no.” He then pushed further, showing the video where the crowd was pointing out the gunman just two minutes before the shots rang out.
“Two minutes before the shots started. Director Cheatle, yes or no,” Krishnamoorthi pressed, demanding to know if the rally would have been halted if the threat was identified. Cheatle defended her team, saying, “The people responsible for protecting the president would never have brought him out if there was an identified threat.”
Krishnamoorthi wasn’t satisfied. “Well, they did, because we’ve identified three instances in the 20 minutes before the shooting where the threat was evident.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., didn’t mince words, accusing Cheatle of perjury and obstructing the committee’s investigation. She bluntly told Cheatle that her leadership left protectees like “sitting ducks.”
Luna questioned Cheatle about the Secret Service’s awareness of the threat at 5:59 p.m., citing law enforcement communications that indicated the agency had been informed. Cheatle attempted to split hairs between “threat” and “suspicious,” but Luna was having none of it. “But you knew at 5:59 p.m., according to those chats, that there was a suspicious person, correct?” Luna demanded.
“Ok,” Cheatle conceded, seemingly cornered.
Luna then addressed Chairman James Comer, expressing her belief that Cheatle had committed perjury and calling for a full review of the transcripts. She insisted that if perjury was found, charges should be pursued against Cheatle.
Turning her focus back to Cheatle, Luna was blunt. “You’ve been stonewalling our efforts to get answers for the American people. None of us in Congress feel safe with you at the helm of the Secret Service. You’ve heard it before, and I’ll say it again: under your direction, we are sitting ducks. Worse, this sends a message to our enemies that we are vulnerable. As one of the strongest nations in the world, this is unacceptable. Therefore, I am asking you to step down.”
Cheatle’s testimony did little to reassure anyone, and her future as Secret Service Director is now in serious doubt.
