Secret Service Director Can’t Name Who Is ‘Ultimately Responsible’ For Security Plans During Trump Rally Hearing

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Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was unable to name who was “ultimately responsible” for signing off on security plans for the July 13 rally where former President Donald Trump was shot.

Cheatle testified Monday at a House Oversight Committee hearing investigating the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump. During the hearing, Republican Rep. Michael Cloud of Texas asked Cheatle if she had signed off on the security arrangements. (RELATED: Speaker Mike Johnson Promises ‘Full Investigation’ Into Trump Assassination Attempt)

“Who is the top level official who reviews the security plans?” Cloud asked, with Cheatle responding “There’s a number of people that review security plans.”

The Secret Service has come under fire since the attempted assassination for not only reported security failures at the event, but also for not providing answers to questions surrounding the incident that left former President Trump wounded.

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Secret Service Director Can’t Name Who Is ‘Ultimately Responsible’ For Security Plans During Trump Rally Hearing pic.twitter.com/I1xZF9DYfP

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 22, 2024

“Who is ultimately responsible for signing off on a security plan?” Cloud pressed Cheatle.

“It’s a conjunction of personnel,” Cheatle responded. “There are people on the ground, there are supervisors, on the detail. There are people at headquarters,” prompting Cloud to ask, “So there’s, not one person who says ‘okay, this is good, it’s copacetic, we’re going for it?’”

During the assassination attempt, former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore was killed while two other attendees were seriously wounded.

Cloud continued to press Cheatle about the planning for the event.

“Ultimately, isn’t there an individual who signs off on the plan?” he eventually asked Cheatle, who responded, “Much like how we design our security plans, they’re multi layered, there are multiple layers of—”

“So there’s no accountability?” Cloud asked.

After Cheatle asserted there was accountability, Cloud chuckled in response.

“Whether it’s the FBI, or Fauci, or anything, it’s time after time after time, these multiple layers of accountability turn into layers of plausible deniability and agency after agency after agency, that’s got to be fixed,” Cloud responded.