ANALYSIS – “Stupidity” and “BS excuse.” – At the Republican National Convention (RNC), Kimberly Cheatle, the embattled Secret Service director, needed protection from her own agents against a novel new threat.
No, not drones or terrorists, but angry Republican senators.
Video shows the furious senators chasing Cheatle down the corridors of the RNC, demanding she explain how a gunman was able to get a clear shot at Donald Trump. (RELATED: House Republican Backs Ramaswamy To Fill Ohio Senate Seat)
Law enforcement officials notified about suspicious activity around and on the building 20 minutes before shots were fired Saturday and the suspect was killed, according to a senator who attended the briefing.
Cheatle was in Milwaukee to oversee convention security arrangements on Wednesday evening – a few hours after making a “cover-your-a** call” to senators about the shooting in Pennsylvania on Saturday night.
Senators John Barrasso of Wyoming and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee led the chase, complaining that they had not had a chance to put their questions to Cheatle during the call.
Cheatle's decision to avoid questions until now has also drawn astonishment. She was not present at the initial press conference headed by the FBI.
Law enforcement officials were notified about suspicious activity around or on the building 20 minutes before shots were fired Saturday and the suspect was killed, according to a senator who attended the briefing.
The video of the chase was shared by Senator Blackburn on X.
The four-minute-long clip shows a handful of GOP senators peppering Cheatle with questions about gaps in security at Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, including one moment where Blackburn asks: “Why would anyone allow the president to go onstage when you know you've got a potential threat?”
Cheatle declined to answer the lawmakers' questions, which occurred in the hospitality suite for RNC security partners, telling the senators that she was “happy to answer questions,” but would “do it in an appropriate format.”
A frustrated Barrasso then issued an ultimatum to the security chief. “You put him within less than an inch of his life,” Barrasso yelled at Cheatle. “So, resignation or full explanation.”
The chase continued down a corridor and up a flight of stairs before finally ending when Cheatle darted into a bathroom and her security service detail barred her pursuers from entering.
“They gave her more protection than they gave Donald Trump,” Blackburn said.
The Daily Mail reported:
Barrasso and Blackburn said afterwards that they were unhappy with what they had heard during the conference call with Cheatle and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
They said they were both still waiting to ask Cheatle a question when the briefing came to end.
‘We were trying to get to the root of what had happened, how the shooter was on the roof by himself and able to get off the shots,' Barrasso said, describing the telephone briefing as a ‘cover-your-a** call.'
Speaking to ABC News Cheatle bizarrely claimed that Secret Service snipers were not placed on the roof that Thomas Matthew Crooks used in his assassination attempt on Donald Trump because it was “too sloped.” (RELATED: Secret Service's Justification For Sniper Positioning At Trump Rally Suggests Incompetence)
“That building in particular [American Glass Research Building where Crooks fired from] has a sloped roof at its highest point,” she claimed.
“And so, you know, there's a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn't want to put somebody up on a sloped roof.”
“And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside,” she added.
Republican lawmakers have blasted Cheatle for “stupidity” and “BS.”
Her excuse was especially galling since Secret Service Counter Snipers (CS) were pictured at the Saturday rally perched on an even more sloped roof near where Trump was delivering his speech.
USA Today reported:
Blackburn doubled down on her criticism of Cheatle and again urged her to resign … Thursday.
“She can run but she cannot hide,” Blackburn said. “She is a failed leader, and she needs to immediately step down from her position.”
A Secret Service spokesman said his boss “has no intention to step down” when questioned last night about her pursuit through the RNC.
“She deeply respects members of Congress and is fiercely committed to transparency in leading the Secret Service through the internal investigation and strengthening the agency through lessons learned in these important internal and external reviews,” he added.
As Collin Rugg noted on X: “The mad rush came just after the House Oversight and Accountability Committee issued a subpoena, demanding that Cheatle appear before the committee.”
“Cheatle has since announced that she will comply.”
Let's see if Cheatle will give better answers when grilled by the committee.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
LOOKS LIKE DR. FAKE JILL’S FRIEND, KIMBERLY CHEATLE HAS NOW JOINED THE BIDEN “BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS POSSE”! HER LAST NAME IS ‘CHEAT’!
its obvious what they have done, the question is just what are you going to do about it besides talk? unless you prosecute your wasting every ones time. if were turned around you can bet some one would be in jail by now.
get off your ass!
Cheatle will not be fired; neither will Mayorkas. The facts are that the Democrats in government are ALL Incompetent!! That is the central reason that Demos are not fired; fire one, & you should FIRE them ALL!! The Democrats will demonstrate to all that they are the Party of Incompetence!! They don’t know gender; they don’t know education & job experience; they don’t value knowledge! Look at the VP!! What were her qualifications???!! She is a great example of a Democrat–Picked for a job she could NEVER do by other incompetents! Her qualification is her race–AND that was by virtue of NOT HAVING any other candidates better qualified??? Losers!!!
Incompetence or intentional? The evidence appears to be growing that this was intentional. When the snipers identified the threat minutes before any shooting and were told to not engage – that is intentional. The fact that Cheatle has hidden since is demonstrative of this completely failed administration under Biden. If it was error, she would have been out speaking about it immediately. She is simply providing the FBI/CIA to concoct their cover story. Remember LH Oswald was taken out before he could be questioned as was Jack Ruby.