Washington.-The current director of the US Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned on Tuesday following criticism over security errors at the Butler (Pennsylvania) rally where former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) suffered an assassination attempt, according to NBC.
Cheatle was under pressure from Democrats and Republicans calling for her resignation after a 20-year-old man injured the Republican presidential candidate in the ear on July 13 in Pennsylvania.
The head of the Secret Service since August 2022, she faced growing calls for her resignation and multiple investigations into how the attacker was able to get so close to the Republican presidential candidate at an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
“I take full responsibility for the security breach,” she said in the email to staff on Tuesday. “In light of recent events, it is with great regret that I have made the difficult decision to step down as director.”
NBC reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter, that the resignation came after several calls from lawmakers for him to step down.
Just yesterday, Cheatle appeared before a House committee and said that the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was the agency’s “biggest operational failure” “in decades.”
Cheatle has taken “full responsibility” for his agency’s lapse in “security” and said he is cooperating with ongoing investigations into the attack.
The Republican opposition had called for the resignation of Cheatle, head of the agency responsible for Trump’s security.
Trump was shot in the ear while attending a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooter had climbed onto a roof about 140 metres from the former president, although outside the security perimeter.
Witnesses had warned two minutes before the shots were fired of the suspicious presence of the attacker, a 20-year-old man whose motives are still unknown and who was shot dead by Secret Service agents.
During the hearing, Republicans protested Cheatle’s refusal to answer most of their questions, saying there are several ongoing investigations that the Secret Service is assisting with to determine what went wrong in the raid.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the Secret Service, announced on Sunday that it had launched an independent investigation into what happened to members of both parties, at the behest of President Joe Biden, which must be completed within 45 days.
The investigation will include, among others, Janet Napolitano, former Secretary of Homeland Security under Barack Obama (2009-2017); and Frances Townsend, former National Security Advisor to George W. Bush (2001-2009).
The man who shot Donald Trump was filmed taking up position two minutes before shooting the presidential candidate.
A bystander alerted police but was unable to stop him before he opened fire, sparking outrage and controversy over security lapses at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally.
A video posted online shows several people aiming at Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, as they watched from the perimeter outside the event, which was supposed to be under police surveillance.
Crooks is clearly visible in the video and can be seen dropping forward and lying down before rolling across the ceiling and crawling forward on his hands and knees.
“Can you see him?” asks a man. “Yes, he is lying down,” replies a woman.
As Crooks crawls across the roof, a male voice shouts “officer” after another man joins the small group of onlookers. Two of the women begin shouting “he’s on the roof” and pointing.
“Right there,” one of the women shouts, as Crooks crawls toward her shooting position.
It is estimated that police had two minutes to arrest Crooks from the moment he was discovered.
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2024-07-27 02:52:14
