Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan confronted Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Monday about “basic questions” surrounding the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Jordan questioned Cheatle seeking answers about the agency’s alleged refusal to discharge additional security at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on the day of the assassination attempt. The agency denied these allegations, despite Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi saying on Sunday that specific specialized units and federal resources “were not provided.”
“So which is it? Because both statements can’t be true. Were you guessing or lying when you said you didn’t turn down requests for President Trump’s detail?” Jordan asked.
“I don’t think you’ve answered one question,”@Jim_Jordan tells Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle pic.twitter.com/UqFoxwKy9I
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 22, 2024
“So what I can tell you is that for the event in Butler, there were no requests that were denied. As far as requests—” Cheatle began.
“Well maybe they got tired of asking,” Jordan interjected. “Maybe you turned them down so darn much they said, it’s not worth asking. How many times did you turn them down ahead of that?”
Cheatle said threats can be mitigated through technology, personnel and other resources. Jordan demanded specifics on which resources requested by the Trump campaign were denied by the Secret Service ahead of the rally.
“This is your spokesperson, not me talking,” Jordan said regarding Guglielmi’s statement. “This is the Secret Service talking. And what had changed from ‘absolutely false,’ ‘unequivocally false,’ to ‘oh by the way, there were some times where we didn’t give them what they wanted.’ That’s a huge change in five days, and the fact that you can’t answer how many times you did that, that’s pretty darn frustrating not just for me, but for the country.”
Jordan then asked whether the Secret Service denied any personnel requests after learning about Iran’s plot to kill Trump, leading intelligence to prompt the Secret Service to ramp up security. Cheatle did not directly answer the question, saying some requests are denied as other resources can mitigate a potential threat. (RELATED: Secret Service’s Explanations For Security Failures Ahead Of Trump Assassination Attempt Aren’t Adding Up)
“What I can tell you, again I don’t know the specifics, is that there are times when we can fill a request with a Secret Service asset or resource, we can fill that request with locally available assets and resources,” Cheatle said.
The Ohio representative accused Cheatle and her agency of “cutting corners” ahead of the rally as they failed to protect the Republican nominee.
“I am here today because I want to answer questions, but I also want to be cautious—” Cheatle said.
“You may want to, but you haven’t answered. I don’t think you’ve answered one question from the chairman, the ranking member or me. We’ve got a lot of people asking, we’ll see if your record improves, but right now you haven’t answered, I don’t think, any questions,” Jordan concluded.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the agency allegedly denying any of the Trump campaign’s requests is “unequivocally false” during a July 15 interview with CNN. Guglielmi disputed claims that a request to provide “additional security resources” to the rally were denied, saying the agency provided “protective resources & technology” to the campaign, according to a July 14 post on X.
Cheatle called the incident “unacceptable” and refused to step down from her position over the incident during a July 15 interview on ABC News.
The Secret Service and the FBI told lawmakers Wednesday that authorities identified Trump’s would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, approximately 50 minutes before the former president took the stage. Cheatle said no Secret Service personnel were placed on the rooftop where the gunshots were fired from due to its “sloped” roof, which she said made it unsafe, according to NBC News.
Crooks reportedly flew a drone over the rally site hours before the event.
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