Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has been criticised for her “stupidity” and “absurd excuse” that there were no snipers on the roof used by would-be assassin Thomas Crooks because it was “too steep”.
Speaking to ABC News on Tuesday, Cheatle claimed that agents were not positioned at the top of the tilted building, deeming it too dangerous, despite images from the scene showing Secret Service snipers positioned on a tilted roof behind where Trump was delivering his speech.
Instead of placing his snipers on the roof of the American Glass Research Building in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Crooks fired from, he made the decision to secure the building from the inside.
“That particular building has a sloped roof at its highest point,” he said.
‘And then, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there and that is that we wouldn’t want to put someone on a sloped roof.
Speaking to ABC News, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle bizarrely claimed that Secret Service snipers were not placed on the roof that Thomas Crooks used in his assassination attempt on Donald Trump because it was “too steep.”
Cheatle’s claims were heavily criticized as it emerged that the snipers who were positioned in the building on the left had also been set up on a sloped roof behind Trump’s podium, while Crooks was positioned on the right.
The roof of the building where Thomas Crooks was located was left cleared of Secret Service snipers in a decision that has left many calling for Cheatle to resign.
The Secret Service was photographed at Saturday’s rally, which was held on a sloped roof near where Trump was giving his speech.
“And then, you know, the decision was made to secure the building from the inside,” he added.
Thanks to Cheatle’s decisiveness, Crooks managed to evade police and the Secret Service three times, even though he had been considered a “suspicious” and could have been on the roof for up to 30 minutes before pulling the trigger.
Witnesses also pleaded with law enforcement to act when they saw him climbing onto the roof with his AR-style rifle, but the lack of security meant he was able to carry out his attempt to take the life of the 45th president.
But now, his comments have been heavily criticised by members of the public, with many branding the theory a “total excuse” that “defies credibility”.
Former Army Ranger Sean Powell took to X, formerly Twitter, to criticize Cheatle’s reasoning.
“Holy crap. A slanted roof? That’s a totally absurd excuse,” he wrote.
“Our snipers used to attack from the tops of mountains in Afghanistan, or even from the slopes if necessary. The stupidity of this statement goes a long way to explaining why the situation broke out that day. It was absolute incompetence,” he added.
The security breach allowed would-be killer Crooks to evade both police and the Secret Service, despite being flagged as a suspect.
Witnesses reported seeing Crooks climb onto the sloped roof with his father’s AR-style semi-automatic rifle, but security officials failed to act in time to prevent the former president from coming to harm.
Following Cheatle’s bizarre comments, a former US senator from South Carolina, Jim DeMint, also told X: ‘This sorry excuse defies credibility.
‘The snipers on President Trump were on a sloped roof. Why couldn’t they secure the sloped roof the assassin was on?’
“She should have been fired days ago. We need her to be held accountable.”
Trending Politics co-owner Collin Rugg added: “Ironically, the snipers behind Trump during the rally were on a slanted roof, she’s a bitch and she’s getting away with it.”
As public outrage mounts over Cheatle’s comments, so too are conversations beginning to emerge about how he obtained his position within the agency.
It has been said that it was largely thanks to her close relationship with First Lady Jill Biden that she was able to land the job as head of the agency.
Four sources close to President Biden’s family, including people who interacted with Cheatle during the Obama-Biden administration, told the The New York Post She was well-liked by the future first lady and her top aides, including her top adviser Anthony Bernal.
‘Cheatle was part of Dr. Biden’s second lady team and Anthony lobbied for her,’ a Democratic source said.
“I heard at the time she was being considered for director that Anthony had suggested her as an option,” another source added.
Republicans preparing to question Cheatle have already focused on his own record.
Prior to being appointed by President Biden in 2022, she worked for PepsiCo as Senior Director of Global Security.
He worked for 25 years at the agency and in the Vice Presidential Protection Division.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Ky.) on Fox News called her a “diversity-based hire.”
“You know she worked at Pepsi before this. I know she was a former CIA Secret Service agent, but still, this is what happens when you don’t put the best players in,” he said.
The agency’s 159-year-old director, Kimberly Cheatle (pictured, right), has already been subpoenaed to appear before the House Oversight Committee for questioning.
Trump was shot in the ear about 10 minutes after taking the stage.
He was seen with blood on his face on Saturday.
Hours after Trump was shot, House Speaker Mike Johnson called for a full investigation into the attack and promised that Congress would soon hear testimony from Cheatle.
“THE HOUSE WILL CONDUCT A FULL INVESTIGATION INTO TODAY’S TRAGIC EVENTS,” Johnson wrote in X.
“The American people deserve to know the truth. We will have Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other relevant DHS and FBI officials appear before our committees as soon as possible.”
Cheatle also told ABC News that his first reaction to the shooting was “shock.”
She said the Secret Service was aware of security vulnerabilities in the building where Crooks took up a sniper position to target Trump.
However, the decision was made not to place personnel on the roof, even though security experts have said a primary responsibility of law enforcement would be to protect elevated areas near a high protection level.
She also continues to resist calls for her to resign from her position following the incident, even as she takes responsibility for her agency.
“The responsibility is mine,” he said.
“It was unacceptable,” he added. “And it’s something that should never happen again.”
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman who opened fire on former President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday
Law enforcement personnel stand over the body of Thomas Matthews Crooks on a rooftop near the Trump rally on Saturday
Former FBI special agent Kenneth Gray told DailyMail.com on Monday that the Secret Service “really made a mistake” at Saturday’s rally and that efforts to hire more women in field positions may have played a role.
Republican officials meeting in Milwaukee have been calling for tighter scrutiny of the agency, even as the feds are implementing tighter security measures around Trump and other protégés.
“Someone, somewhere, has a lot of serious questions to answer,” House Judiciary and Gun Committee member Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota told DailyMail.com.
Also surprising was Cheatle’s decision to avoid questions so far, as he was not present at the initial press conference led by the FBI.
The investigation launched by President Joe Biden after the incident is being overseen by the Justice Department, not Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service.
“That says a lot,” former House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz told DailyMail.com.