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House Calls On Secret Service Director To Testify After Trump Assassination Attempt

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4 months ago

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Former President Donald Trump was the target of an apparent assassination attempt during his political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The harrowing ordeal left the former President injured, at least one rally attendee dead, and the suspect also dead.

The attack occurred amidst a bustling crowd of supporters, where gunshots disrupted the event, resulting in chaos and fear among the attendees. Former President Trump, the 2024 hopeful, was swiftly evacuated by the Secret Service after being visibly wounded, suffering a bleeding injury on the side of his head.

In response to the grave incident, Representative James Comer (R-KY) chair of the House Oversight Committee, took action by inviting U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify. Scheduled for July 22, the hearing would aim to address serious questions surrounding the security breach and to ensure that such a situation is never repeated.

Director Kimberly A. Cheatle

Director Kimberly A. Cheatle

“The tremendous bravery of the individual United States Secret Service agents who protected President Trump, eliminated the gunman, and possibly averted more loss of life cannot be overstated,” Comer wrote in his letter to Cheatle. “The Committee on Oversight and Accountability has initiated an investigation into today’s assassination attempt on President Trump and requests your voluntary appearance at a full Committee hearing on July 22.”

“I have already contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and am also calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing. The Oversight Committee will send a formal invitation soon,” Comer said in a separate statement. “Political violence in all forms is unamerican and unacceptable. There are many questions and Americans demand answers.”

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Cheatle took office as the 27th Director of the U.S. Secret Service in September 2022. In her role, she oversees a team including Special Agents, Uniformed Division Officers, and various law enforcement and administrative personnel. Before her directorship, Cheatle was a Senior Director of Global Security at PepsiCo. according to the Secret Service. Most recently, she was the Assistant Director of the Office of Protective Operations, managing their budget.

Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, described the situation late Saturday evening. “We had what we’re calling an assassination attempt against our former President Donald Trump. It’s still an active crime scene.” Rojek said law enforcement is “working feverishly to attempt to identify the individual who did this and any motives behind why this was done.”

“We mourn the loss of life and pray for the two victims who are being treated at this time,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said. “I am grateful for all law enforcement who responded, protected the former president, and worked to bring the situation under control.”

According to the Secret Service, the gunman opened fire from a high vantage point outside a political rally, leading to his fatal shooting by agents. Officials revealed the assailant was positioned atop a nearby building when he unleashed the gunfire. Authorities are treating the incident as an assassination attempt.

In the aftermath, Joe Biden decided to return to the White House earlier to stay due to the situation. Biden, who also reached out to Trump, expressed his relief over Trump’s safety and strongly condemned the act of violence in a statement delivered Saturday evening, however he did not call it an assassination attempt.

(VOTE NOW: Is Biden Mentally Unfit To Serve As President?)



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