Washington — The chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee plans to subpoena U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify on the matter. assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, a panel spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Cheatle is scheduled to appear before committee members for an oversight hearing on July 22, Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, announced Monday. While the Secret Service has also agreed to brief lawmakers Tuesday, the panel spokeswoman said, the Department of Homeland Security has “taken over communications” with the committee and has not confirmed the interview time.
“The Oversight Committee has a long history of bipartisan oversight of the Secret Service, and the lack of professionalism we are seeing from the current leadership of DHS is unacceptable,” the spokeswoman said. “While the Secret Service has confirmed that Director Cheatle will appear at the committee hearing on July 22, to prevent any attempt by DHS to reverse her appearance, the President will issue a subpoena for her to attend. Director Cheatle must be held accountable to Congress and the American people for the historic failure that has occurred under her leadership.”
Cheatle’s performance as head of the Secret Service has come under scrutiny following the shooting at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, in which the Former President Injured when a bullet grazed his ear. A spectator, a firefighter Corey Companionwas killed in the attack and two others, Marine Corps veteran David Dutch and James Copenhaver, were wounded.
The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the shooter. He was killed by a Secret Service sniper.
Questions quickly arose in the wake of the assassination attempt about how Crooks was able to access a rooftop so close to where Trump was addressing the crowd of his supporters. President Biden said Sunday that he ordered an independent review security at the rally and asked the Secret Service to review security measures for this week’s rally. Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Cheatle said Monday that the agency would “participate fully” in the review announced by Mr. Biden and was working with federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened at the Trump rally, how it happened and how it can be prevented.
The Secret Service chief said the agency made additional security enhancements to Trump’s bodyguards in June and implemented changes to its bodyguards after the shooting to ensure continued protection for the convention and the rest of the campaign.
The House and Senate Homeland Security committees have said they will also investigate the shooting. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rep. Mark Green has invited Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Chris Wray and Cheatle to testify before lawmakers next Tuesday to examine the circumstances surrounding the attack.
Michael Kaplan contributed to this report
