Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle during Monday's Congressional hearing.

Following Monday’s contentious congressional hearing where Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle admitted that the failed assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump was “the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades,” Cheatle turned in her resignation this morning.

“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in an email to staff. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”

Cheatle also said in the letter to Secret Service employees that the agency had failed in its mission on the day when the would-be assassin managed to shoot Trump in the ear.

“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure,” Cheatle said in a letter to her staff. “On July 13th, we fell short on that mission. The scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases. As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse.”

During Monday’s hearing into the assassination attempt, Cheatle admitted that before Trump took the stage at the rally the Secret Service had been notified “between two and five times” that there was a suspicious person in the area. Still, no measures were taken until after the would-be assassin climbed atop the building and managed to hit Trump in the ear, as well as wound two other people and kill another. Secret Service snipers then immediately killed the gunman.

The would-be assassin had even been spotted with a rangefinder prior to climbing the roof of a nearby manufacturing building and Trump taking the stage.

ABCNews reported the following timeline of events:

  • 5:10 p.m. Crooks was first identified as a person of interest
  • 5:30 p.m. Crooks was spotted with a rangefinder
  • 5:52 p.m. Crooks was spotted on the roof by Secret Service
  • 6:02 p.m. Trump takes the stage
  • 6:12 p.m. Crooks fires first shots

That Trump was still allowed to take the stage in light of these revelations was astonishing and has served to fuel conspiracy theories that it appears the Secret Service almost wanted to let events play out. There is no evidence to support that notion, but certainly Cheatle’s testimony did little to assuage such theories. At a minimum, the congressional committee continues to have serious concerns about the operational breakdown that occurred July 13.

While two days after the shooting Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he supported Cheatle “100%,” calls for her to resign were increasing on both sides of the political aisle. On Monday, Republican Rep. James Comer and Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin, leaders of the oversight committee looking into the assassination attempt, sent Cheatle a letter asking for her resignation.

“Today, you failed to provide answers to basic questions regarding that stunning operational failure and to reassure the American people that the Secret Service has learned its lessons and begun to correct its systemic blunders and failures,” the letter stated. “In the middle of a presidential election, the Committee and the American people demand serious institutional accountability and transparency that you are not providing. We call on you to resign as Director as a first step to allowing new leadership to swiftly address this crisis and rebuild the trust of a truly concerned Congress and the American people.”

During the hearing, Rep. Raskin, of Maryland, had joined Republicans in calling for the director to resign.

“This relationship is irretrievable at this point and I think that the director has lost the confidence of Congress at a very urgent and tender moment in the history of the country, and we need to quickly move beyond this,” Raskin said.

Cheatle was sworn into office in September 2022 after President Joe Biden appointed her director of the agency.

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39 COMMENTS

  1. This wasn’t a blunder. They tried to kill President Trump. In what freaking world is an elevated perch with a direct line of sight to the target and less than 200 yards from said target not within the “perimeter”.

    • Certainly not by design but by bureaucratic delays and neglect an opportunity was created. The Secret Service and county mounties thought no assassin would use such a position. The perp thought otherwise.

      • Bullshit!
        Here’s a scenario for you.
        We all hate Trump with a passion.
        We talk quietly face to face.
        We are few.
        We don’t talk to the team closest to Trump.
        We pretend to be so fucking inept that we don’t cover a perimeter that anyone without their heads up their asses would have assets on.
        We play stupid and hope to get lucky.
        No they aren’t stupid.
        The incel was on radar and the Stasi was notified.
        Take the shot you dumfuk and die a hero (zero).
        Because even if you don’t know it now we are going to kill you.

        “The Secret Service and county mounties thought no assassin would use such a position. The perp thought otherwise.”
        Southern please…get a clue. Not trying to denigrate just educate. These people are evil and until the our electorate wakes up our country is on the same path as Australia took.

  3. She should be Kamals VP.
    We can defend democracy worldwide using girl boss power!!
    I know, I know. She’s white. Would be a drag on the ticket.
    Maybe she’s a wiccan or a minor attracted person or something. That would boost her appeal.

  4. Honestly in all my 70 years have I ever seen such bi-partisan abuse of a gubmint (DEI) hire!😀 She’ll end up somewhere else in Washington🙄

  6. This is an outstanding example of what use to be called “an affirmative action hire.”

    But this is what you get when you lower standards. In order to get lower qualified ho.mosex.ua.ls, dark skin people, and lower qualified females. Into positions of responsibility.

    And in this example a former president was wounded and nearly killed. But a husband and father was killed, along with two others being shot.

    And there are many examples of how the lowering of standards, has gotten other people killed and injured.

    It’s not much of a consolation prize to conservatives. Who were correct to fight to uphold standards, when latter people would die.

    • My initial read of this was that you were saying that the only way anyone who wasn’t a straight white male could meet the standards was by lowering the standards. I don’t think that’s what you meant.

      Paraphrasing and clarifying, the standard should be the standard, and it should be performance-based and very high for these agents. They’re the best of the best of the best, to quote MiB. There should not be a different standard for people based on their demographics.

      • Different standards for different demographics? Universities do this to get more diverse students. How many of these diverse students actually pass the courses and graduate?

        • Southern,

          As I’m sure you are aware (I assumed it was a rhetorical question), the “pass rates” aren’t comparable (see, for example, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/raceindicators/indicator_red.asp ). I have long felt that one of the most debilitating impacts on “students of color” was to use ‘affirmative action’ to elevate them into post-secondary schools (particularly “elite” schools) that they simply lack adequate preparation for.

          I agree; all students should receive comparable education through high school, and I agree that they currently don’t. The “why” on that is far more fraught than the Leftist/fascists and teacher’s unions (ah, but I repeat myself) are willing to admit. A simple comparison of ‘expenditures per student’ compared to actual performance, graduation rates, literacy, numeracy, etc. clearly demonstrates that money is NOT the answer – some of the worst performing schools in the country have some of the highest expenditures per student.

          School choice would help a lot (like the Commies and teacher’s unions (again, I repeat myself!!) would ever permit that!), but it is not a sufficient answer. A radical revamp of the pre-12 curriculum, and getting rid of all the trendy, stupid, woke sh*t, would also help.

          Unfortunately, don’t know about all of you down there in OZ, but WE let our schools fall into this state of disrepair, and the forces determined to keep the status quo (again, the Leftist/fascists and the teacher’s unions) will die on the hill of maintaining the status quo.

          Gonna be a long, nasty fight!

      • It’s assumed that “they” only want white men for a job. Or any job. And gays don’t count. Because there “in the closet.” So it’s always only been whilte men. Gay AND straight. Got hired.

        Yes there is favoritism. Yes there is nepotism. And Yes, it’s always best to be “in the club.”

        And I will say that the accusation of racism or being called a homophobe, was used as a weapon. In order to force anyone into lowering their standards.

        It’s what the libertarians liberals and the left have always done. In order to change our society, into their perverted vision of what the world should be. To them.

        So call me names if that makes anyone happy.

        For example

        The standard was lowered when people are allowed to urinate and defecate in public, like they do in San Francisco.

        The standard was lowered when people are allowed to walk into any retail store. Fill up a trash bag full of goods. And walk out without paying.

        I believe that white people, mostly liberal, who want to lower standards are very racist and Evil people actually.

          • Walter E Williams was an economics professor at George Mason University. He also was a regular guest host on the Rush Limbaugh national radio show.

            Professor Williams said that the american public welfare system and affirmative action, were the most destructive things to black folks.

            He said the KKK could have created it. But it was really designed and built by s.0cial.ist pr.og.ress!ve white liberals.

            The white liberal is the greatest threat to freedom in this country.

    • If we want to ensure the end of the National Firearms Act, just task me with starting the legal unconstitutional process to acquire one or two firearm suppressors and/or one or two arbitrarily defined “short-barreled” rifles or shotguns. As soon as fedzilla cashes my $200 checks, some federal appellate court will strike down the NFA.

  8. Somehow I don’t think the Secret Service Director planned and executed the event security. She is the HMFIC so she has to go. Who was the on site commander? What the block diagram version of the approval process? How many people are in the chop chain to approve the plan? Why haven’t any of those people been called to testify?

    Screw this theater BS. A real investigation is required and not this gotcha sound bite crap.

    • The Government is utterly awash in Democrat Stooge Fanatics……..most of Trump’s few fubars during office were the result of moles giving him bad information on purpose. Mass vetting and firings of government workers is needed.

  9. Hire a competent director with experience.

    Update the SOP to require that all public events have a commander who monitors communications, the placement of agents, the changing threat picture, etc., from a position within verbal range of the protectee.

    Update the SOP for pre-event planning to include a sign-off by a second official.

    Put all current agents under scrutiny and retrain those who cannot put a pistol in a holster or respond to crisis situations. Reassign those who cannot do the job to Fish and Wildlife or the Postal Inspection Service.

    Consider having an “escape capsule” for the protectee that is within 50 feet or so of the podium, out of sight but accessible. The threat now includes things like rocket launchers and FPV drones; the wall of bodies may not be sufficient.

    No more outdoors campaigning venues.

    Detail a couple hundred federal police officer/agents to the USSS for the remainder of this year’s campaigning season – muscle, talent, fresh eyes.

    Consider re-assigning the USSS to the Treasury Department. The DHS environment is too fetid, political, partisan, etc., to do the job.

  10. I will say it because nobody else will. The job of the Secret Service, a civilian entity, their only job, is to kill people.

    That is what they are hired to do. To kill anyone who tries to harm the President.

    All other law enforcement in this country, their job is to take criminals into custody. The Secret Service does not do that. They certainly can. And have taken suspects into custody.

    But there primary job is to kill direct threats to the president. But now it seems they are No longer allowed to do that.

    Stand down order???

    Not allowed to shoot first???

  13. Wow, I literally can’t post anything without being modded for no reason.

    Your site’s gone to utter trash TTAG. Complete fucking garbage.

  14. “served to fuel conspiracy theories that it appears the Secret Service almost wanted to let events play out. There is no evidence to support that notion”

    No evidence? That is in fact, what they did…

  15. “They” all wanted Trump dead ASAP. Do I need to prove that???

    Does anyone need to prove 911 was an inside job???

    Does anyone need to prove that Pearl Harbor was an inside job???

    Does anyone need to prove that the many school shootings were inside jobs??? That the FBI and or local law enforcement knew the shooters in advance.

    Does anyone need to prove that the Obama administration flooded Mexico with guns. In an effort to cause more crime. And have those guns show up at crime scenes. And then blame the american gun industry and ask for more gun control.

    Well actually that was proven. It’s just no one was ever charged or prosecuted for it.

    Even though dozens of murders and other crimes were committed with those guns.

  16. There are two things the Trump campaign must do to be successful in this next election. First, to report all election violations when they occur and not after the election has been finalized. Second, the assassination attempt on Trump’s life needs to be investigated by objective outside investigators since the ATF, FBI, Secret Service, DOJ and Homeland Security have all been compromised.
    The Secret Service is already withholding information with
    regards to the report that outlines what areas of the venue
    Trump was shot at were to be covered and by what personnel. Something like that should be easy to furnish and they are stone walling. This would indicate cooperation in the attack. There are still too many questions unanswered like how did the perp get the rifle onto the property, how did he create a remote-control bomb for his car, why did the counter snipers not take him out when they saw him on the roof long before he got shots off (they silenced him after the fact perhaps so he could not talk if captured alive), etc. etc. I personally believe this was an assassination attempt by the current administration.

  17. “5:52 p.m. Crooks was spotted on the roof by Secret Service”

    It isn’t Cheatle that needs to be canned, but the /entire agency/!

    What moron agency doesn’t act on ‘man on roof’ in ANY (secured) situation? I know practically nothing about (event) security, but I do know that you must ‘secure the high ground’! The only explanation is that this was a coordinated complicit effort. No other answer, including departmental incompetence, can be reasonably justified.

  18. way back when Ford was president I had the opportunity to work with the SS on Michigan’s Mackinac Island. They had agents all over the place including the high ground. He landed at night and the woods between the hotel and mansion lit up like it was day time. there was no stone left unturned and I put in a lot of boot leather that weekend. anyone questionable was checked.

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