Trump Rally Shooting: Congress Blasts Secret Service Director

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was grilled thoroughly Monday by a U.S. House Committee that delved into the circumstances surrounding the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler.

In her opening remarks, Cheatle called the shooting at a Trump rally "the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades" and took full responsibility for the security breakdowns that led to the shooting. Cheatle, however, did not indicate she planned to resign.

She also acknowledged the three Pittsburgh-area spectators who were shot - one fatally - as Secret Service agents piled on top of Trump to protect him from a nearby rooftop sniper. A Secret Service agent shot and killed the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park.

"I would like to offer my sincerest condolences to the family of Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief and a hero, who was killed in this senseless shooting," Cheatle said. "I would also like to acknowledge those who were injured in Butler, Pennsylvania, David Dutch and James Copenhaven, and I wish them a speedy recovery."

Comperator, of Sarver, was laid to rest Friday following a private funeral. Dutch, of New Kensington, and Copenhaven, of Moon, were critically wounded in the attack; their conditions since have been upgraded to serious.

In what quickly became a contentious committee hearing, panel members on both sides of the political aisle expressed dissatisfaction with the information Cheatle provided and the answers to their questions. At one point, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, told Cheatle "You're full of s--- today. You're being completely dishonest."

Mace also asked if Cheatle would like her to use a portion of the representative's five minutes of allotted speaking time to draft her resignation letter.

"No thank you," Cheatle said.

Cheatle absolved all other law enforcement agencies from blame for the enormous security breaches. She said that none of her statements before the hearing "should be interpreted to place blame for this failure on our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners who supported the Secret Service in Butler. We could not do our job without them."

Two local law enforcement partners have been asked to testify Tuesday at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on the assassination attempt. The committee has requested that Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe and Lt. Matthew Pearson of the Butler Township Police Department appear before the panel.

Cheatle said the Secret Service's investigative report into the shooting is expected to be completed within 60 days. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, called that timetable "unacceptable" and said the American public needed answers sooner.