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Former Secret Service director Kimberley Cheatle assigned her own detail amid threats after MAJOR security lapse during Trump shooting

1 month ago 13

Joe Biden has ordered the Secret Service to provide protection for its own former director after she received death threats in the wake of the Donald Trump assassination attempt.

Kimberley Cheatle resigned in disgrace after would-be assassin Thomas Crooks shot the former President in the ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.

She refused to explain why the gunman was allowed to get a clean line of fire from less than 140 yards away when she appeared before Congress nine days later.

And she was ridiculed for suggesting that agents could not have been placed on the 'sloping roof' from which he shot.

Now she has sparked further outrage after becoming the first former director in the service's history to be assigned her own security detail after receiving 'numerous threats', RCP reported.

'I don't recall electing Kimberly Cheatle,' tweeted one critic. 'She can afford her own protection if she wants it that badly.'

Former Secret Service Director Cheatle admitted to Congress that she was responsible for the huge lapse in security which allowed the the assassination attempt on Donald Trump

Cheatle refused to step down from her post for nine days after the failures that led to Trump being struck in the ear by a bullet

The former President escaped with a flesh wound but two people in his audience were critically injured, and former fire chief Corey Comperatore, 50, was shot dead while trying to protect his family.

'The Secret Service's solemn mission is to protect our nation's leaders and financial infrastructure,' Cheatle wrote in her resignation letter to colleagues. 'On July 13, we fell short on that mission.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was allowed within 140 yards of Trump despite repeated warnings to the Secret Service  

'As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse. However, I do not want my calls for resignation to be a distraction from the great work each and every one of you do.'

Some of that work will now include looking after Cheatle herself after she was assigned protection from the service's Dignitary Protective Division.

Two Congressional committees, the FBI and the Secret Service itself have launched inquiries into what went wrong at the rally.

In her appearance on Capitol Hill she admitted that her agents at the rally had been warned up to five times about Crooks, and that the roof from which Crooks opened fire had been identified as a potential vulnerability days before the rally.

But her stonewalling infuriated Congressional leaders with some suggesting that Biden only appointed her as a 'DEI hire'.

'You're full of s*** today,' South Carolina's Nancy Mace told her at one point.

'You're just being completely dishonest.'

The embattled security chief faced mounting questions over why an agent was not stationed on the building from where Thomas Crooks opened fire on the former president, and why Trump was allowed to take the stage even when a threat was detected

Biden thanked Cheatle for her 'decades of public service' in a statement after her resignation went public and vowed to appoint someone to replace her 'soon.'

'She has selflessly dedicated and risked her life to protect our nation throughout her career in the United States Secret Service,' the President wrote.

He went on: 'As a leader, it takes honor, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service.'

'We all know what happened that day can never happen again. As we move forward, I wish Kim all the best, and I will plan to appoint a new Director soon.'

News that she is being assigned protection came as it emerged that the service is ordering bulletproof glass screens to allow Trump to hold his first outdoor rallies since the attempt on his life.

The former President has held nearly a dozen speaking events since July 13 but all have been indoors on the advice of the Secret Service.

'They'd prefer that we be in an arena. I don't know why,' he told a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on July 31.

'But we're not giving up the outdoor rallies. You know, all those people that we had to turn away today, at an outdoor rally you can have.'

The Service usually offers ballistic glass protection to sitting presidents but a source told ABC that it is ordering and stockpiling sheets around the country so it can be deployed for Trump's outdoor speaking events.

'The Secret Service use of UpArmored glass around former President Trump is another step to ensure the campaign is and remains secure,' former agent Don Mihalek told the channel.

'This isn't just a piece of glass but a large, bulky and heavy armored glass that will require extensive logistics capability, normally reserved for large-scale outdoor events.'

But news that it is also spending public money on protecting its own former director has been slammed by critics.

'Is Kimberly Cheatle running?' demanded one.

'She will probably get more protection than Trump knowing this administration,' wrote another.

'Give her some overweight, wet-behind-the-ears fresh DEI hires,' suggested a third. 'She'll be fine.'

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