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Watch Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle squirm as she is brutally grilled in Congress over Trump shooting security failure

2 months ago 25

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was accused of being 'full of s***' and giving less answers than a toddler as she was ripped to shreds by lawmakers during a grilling over Donald Trump's assassination attempt.

Furious Democrats and Republicans peppered the embattled Cheatle with questions about how would-be assassin Thomas Crooks, 20, was able to open fire on the former president and told her to resign.

She avoided directly answering questions about whether she denied Trump a bigger protection detail, whether she focused on diversity and inclusivity during hiring, and doubled down on not having an agent on the gunman's roof during the brutal hearing on Capitol Hill.

Cheatle insisted she is the still the best person to lead the scandal-hit agency, even though she admitted 'full responsibility' for the massive security failure that led to Trump's shooting on Saturday July 13.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle sat for hours before the House Oversight Committee on Monday to testify about the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. As Democrats and Republicans piled into her, they grew frustrated, at times shouting, in response to her vague and incomplete answers 

'You're full of s*** today,' Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. yelled at Cheatle when the Secret Service boss didn't know whether the agency has provided evidence to the committee. 'You're just being completely dishonest.'

The South Carolina Republican also ripped into Cheatle for not providing her opening statements in advance of the hearing, though it was published in multiple news outlets hours before she testified. 

The director said 'I have no idea how my statement got out,' to which Mace sternly retorted, 'That's bulls***.' 

But Cheatle did not just get yelled at by Republicans.  

'You cannot go leading a Secret Service agency when there is an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate!' and incredulous Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., told Cheatle during his questioning. 

'I believe, Director Cheatle, that you should resign. I think there are colleagues on both sides of the aisle that believe that and I hope you'll consider it.'

During the interaction, Cheatle quietly fiddled with a writing utensil, maintained a somber expression, occasionally looked down and then back up at the lawmaker addressing her. 

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner told Cheatle to her face she 'looks incompetent.'

'Donald Trump is alive and thank God he is,' he said. 'You look incompetent.'

'If Donald Trump had been killed, you would have looked culpable. There is no aspect of this that indicates that there has been any protection to Donald Trump.'

She repeatedly avoided answering questions by invoking how 'we're just nine days out from this incident and there is still an ongoing investigation.' 

Possibly most disappointing to the lawmakers was Cheatle's answer to how long the American people must wait to have answers on the assassination attempt on Trump.

She said that the agency expects to have answers for lawmakers within '60 days.' 

This answer was so horrendous that it brought together two lawmakers on near ideological opposites - Squad Leader Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and conservative firebrand Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz. - together in a rare agreement . 

They called the 60 day wait period unacceptable. 

'You're not making this easy for us,' Rep. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, said in an exasperated fashion after Cheatle refused to disclose figures related to the investigation. 

Chairman Comer grew so irate at one point he pointedly reminded the director that she is compelled to answer questions under a subpoena. 

'You answered more questions with an ABC reporter than you have with members of Congress,' the chairman said. 

'You're here with a subpoena, and we expect you to answer the questions,' he continued. 

Cheatle looks down at notes while listening to questions from lawmakers

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., gets more answers from his kids when they are in trouble than Cheattle has provided at the entire hearing. 

'I would get more answers from them than I am getting from you right now,' he said disappointedly.   

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