There used to be a time in America when ignoring your job’s chief responsibilities came with consequences. Today, it garners you praise from the president of the United States.
Over a week after allowing a deranged 20-year-old to nearly assassinate former President Trump, Kimberly Cheatle finally decided now would be a good time to step down as head of the Secret Service. Cheatle’s Tuesday resignation came a day after the Joe Biden appointee delivered a disgraceful performance before the House Oversight Committee.
During her testimony, Cheatle refused to answer why the Secret Service didn’t place any agents on the roof of the building used by would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks when he tried to kill Trump. Cheatle previously claimed the agency did not station agents on the rooftop because it was “sloped.” She also declined to provide definitive answers when probed over the Secret Service’s failure to apprehend Crooks before he shot Trump.
While it was a long time coming, losing her job should be the bare minimum punishment Cheatle receives for allowing the former president to be shot in the head.
The Assassination That Almost Was
The primary responsibility of the Secret Service is to protect the current and former presidents and their families from harm. There is no gray area about what constitutes a successful mission. The president and others will be harmed if the Secret Service fails to do its job — and that’s exactly what happened in Butler County, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
The number of security failures Cheatle and the Secret Service permitted during the rally are almost too numerous to count. In addition to leaving the aforementioned rooftop unsecured, law enforcement had identified Crooks as a potential threat an hour before he fired on Trump.
Reportedly, the Secret Service did not attend a security briefing held by local law enforcement the morning of the rally and did not originally plan to send snipers to the event to ensure Trump and attendees’ safety. That briefing reportedly addressed potential drone use, which is relevant considering Crooks was allegedly able to surveil the fairgrounds where the rally was held with a drone before Trump’s speech.
[Report: Trump Rally Assassin Hid Gun On Site Before The Event]
The gaping security lapses are even more damning given that the Biden Department of Homeland Security — which oversees the Secret Service — repeatedly denied requests by Trump’s security detail for additional personnel. The agency provided far less “post-standing” personnel to Trump on July 13 than First Lady Jill Biden, who attended a dinner in nearby Pittsburgh, “according to emails between and among Secret Service personnel obtained by RealClearPolitics.”
And if Cheatle’s dodgy congressional testimony didn’t reassure you, then you’ll be glad to know that the Secret Service has refused to forfeit records and information related to the assassination attempt requested by members of Congress.
We Need Real Accountability
Cheatle and her agency’s callous disregard for basic safety protocols nearly threw America into a national crisis. It also tragically sentenced two young girls to lives without their father.
Firefighter Corey Comperatore died a hero’s death, using his body as a shield to protect his family when Crooks opened fire on Trump. Nothing Cheatle says or does will give the Comperatore girls their father back. If not for her and the Biden administration’s negligence, Corey would still be here.
Cheatle’s resignation isn’t enough. Americans require more than Washington’s version of “accountability,” in which a regime lackey does something illegal or nefarious, Republicans get “outraged” and hold a hearing, and the lackey resigns and never faces any significant punishment.
There need to be criminal investigations into Cheatle, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and their respective agencies, and, where appropriate, prosecutions and prison sentences. Speaker Mike Johnson and the GOP-led House also need to grow a collective spine and refuse to fund the Biden regime this September to get to the bottom of the July 13 assassination attempt.
The catastrophic security breakdown on July 13 demands real consequences. Corey Comperatore and his family deserve as much.
