The United States Secret Service Director, Kimberly Cheatle, has rendered an apology for the agency’s failure to prevent the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump.
According to Cheatle, during testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, the agency “failed” in its ‘solem mission which is to protect our nation’s leaders,”
“On July 13, we failed,” she said. “As director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse.”
Cheatle also acknowledged that the assassination attempt on Trump was “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.”
At the hearing, Republican committee chairman James Comer said “thi tragedy was preventable” and “It is my firm belief, Director Cheadle, that you should resign.”
“The Secret Service’s protective mission is to protect US and visiting world leaders and safeguard US elections through protection of candidates and nominees,” Comer said.
“The Secret Service has a zero-fail mission, but it failed on July 13 and in the days leading up to the rally,” he said.
“The Secret Service has thousands of employees and a significant budget, but it has now become the face of incompetence.”
It is recalled that a 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire on Trump with an AR-style rifle just minutes after the former Republican president and current White House candidate began speaking at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The assassin was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper 26 seconds after firing the first of eight shots.
AFP