It has been little more than a week since the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was foiled at a campaign rally held in Butler, PA. Since that shocking event, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has come under fire for inadequate advance preparation, not properly securing the rally site, and, most recently, turning down repeated requests for additional security made by the Trump detail. There are few official responses from the agency and fewer still from its leader, but today, July 22, Ms. Cheatle will appear before the House Oversight Committee via subpoena. Fireworks are expected. Here's why:
Cyberspace is beginning to fill up with theories about the shooting. These include calling into question the number of gunmen who were behind the plot to kill Trump, as well as chatter about a potential cover-up. Cheatle has thus far avoided questions but, in a bizarre twist, showed up at the Republican National Convention last week – only to be heckled by several members of Congress.
With little in the way of an official response, hundreds of distrusting citizens are attempting to make sense of the events caught on a number of personal cell phone cameras. It's doubtful that whatever Director Cheatle says at today's hearing will quell the number of conspiracy theories running rampant across the internet, but it is beyond time for an official statement to be made. Thus far, the only unanimity from members of the public and their representatives has been a loud and clear call for Cheatle to resign.
Cheatle Dee and Cheatle Dumb
Meanwhile, the Sunday cable TV news shows were filled with experts who have Ms. Cheatle in their sights. Sen. Ron Johnson (R- WI) was particularly damning in his comments about the Secret Service, saying local law enforcement and members of the Service weren't even on the same communications frequency. And he wondered aloud why the shooter was not intercepted by the authorities, considering the number of eyewitness sightings that occurred before shots rang out. "There's so many unanswered questions here," Johnson said. Then he lit into federal authorities:
"I wish I could rely on and have faith in the FBI and the Secret Service to do a truthful accounting of this, but that's not been my experience with the Russian inclusion hoax, and for years of dealing with federal law enforcement, we need completely separate and independent investigations, and it has to start now."
On Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, President Trump's former White House physician – now a congressman – was beyond furious over his interaction with Director Cheatle this week. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) fumed, "I was in the meeting with the president. She sat across the table from me, and she lied directly to me. She told me they have not denied any resources at any point that have been requested. And now we're finding out that that's not true …" Jackson was referring to an exclusive report published by The Washington Post, which cited several unnamed sources who insisted the Trump detail had been turned down multiple times when asking for additional resources to protect the former president.
As of Sunday, July 21, the charge of withholding additional protection was categorically denied on the Service's official website: "The assertion that a member of the former President's security team requested additional security resources that the U.S. Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security rebuffed is absolutely false."
Today's House Oversight Committee hearing has been characterized as non-partisan. However, as the congressional body is still in Republican hands by a slim margin, the chair – Rep. James Comer of Kentucky – is a stalwart Republican with a reputation as one who takes no prisoners. Vowing to get to the bottom of the attempted assassination, Comer asserted that "questions remain about how a rooftop within proximity to President Trump was left unsecured."
Queries are indeed mounting, and chances are Cheatle will be roasted on a spit if she doesn't begin her appearance today by laying her cards on the table with a candid assessment of what happened in Butler, PA, on Saturday, July 13. Even if she does, she will likely be shown the door. But the director stepping down may not advance the investigation and could hamper it.
Some events are more significant than one person's job, and this appears to be the case here. Many Americans are having flashbacks from the Kennedy assassination in Dallas, TX, on Nov. 22, 1963. Despite thousands of published official government documents, including the exhaustive Warren Commission Report, most of the nation appears unconvinced that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin who cut down a president in the prime of life.
Ironically, final government papers regarding the killing of JFK were to be released by President Trump when he was in office – and while he did distribute some, he stopped short of publishing them all. As recently as June, Newsweek asked the former president why. He responded, "I was hit by some people that work for me, who are great people that you would respect. They asked me not to do it, and I'm saying, 'Why? Tell me why?'" He continued, "…but this time I'm just gonna do it."
Now more than ever, transparency is what the American public yearns for in both situations, and that should be priority one as federal authorities begin another assassination investigation. Only this time, the target miraculously escaped serious harm.
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