by Rebeka Zaeljko
Chairman James Comer and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin issued a joint statement calling for U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign after her evasive testimony during a hearing on Monday.
Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee held a hearing on Monday regarding former President Donald Trump’s assassination attempt on July 13. Cheatle was subpoenaed by Comer last week. During the hearing, Cheatle “failed to provide answers” about the “stunning operational failure” that took place during Trump’s rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, Comer and Raskin said in the statement calling for her resignation.
🚨BREAKING- Chairman James Comer and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin call for United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign.
Director Cheatle:
On July 13, 2024, the United States Secret Service under your leadership failed to protect former President Donald Trump… pic.twitter.com/rTgMjmyGzr
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) July 22, 2024
“On July 13, 2024, the United States Secret Service under your leadership failed to protect former President Donald Trump from an assassination attempt that took the life of Corey Comperatore and seriously injured at least two other people,” the joint statement read.
“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 lawmakers said.
The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, took aim at the former president and Republican nominee from a rooftop positioned just 130 yards away. Former volunteer firefighter and Corey Comperatore was killed at the rally, while two other attendees were injured.
Since the assassination attempt, several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for Cheatle’s resignation.
“In the middle of a presidential election, the Committee and the American people demand serious institutional accountability and transparency that you are not providing,” the joint statement read. “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.”
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Rebeka Zaeljko is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
