The director of the US Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned Tuesday due to increasing pressure after the assassination attempt on former President Trump, Fox News confirmed.
Fox News reviewed the letter Cheatle sent to the US Secret Service on Tuesday morning, just one day after he testified before the House Oversight Committee on Monday and more than a week after would-be assassin Thomas Crooks tried to kill Trump at a rally in. Butler, Pa. on July 13.
“For the Men and Women of the U.S. Secret Service, the Secret Service’s serious mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure,” Cheatle wrote in a letter to the agency. “On July 13, we failed in that mission.”
Cheatle said that “research” over the past week “has been intense and will continue to be as our operational tempo increases.”
“As your director, I am responsible for your security,” he wrote.
United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is seen at a press conference at the Secret Service’s Chicago Field Office on June 4, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois, ahead of the 2024 Democratic and Republican National Conventions. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images ) (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Cheatle said, though, that “events do not define us.”
“We remain an organization based on integrity and run by individuals of exceptional dedication and talent,” he wrote, adding that the agency “will move forward with its investigative and protective mission in a steadfast manner.”
“We do not back down from a challenge,” he wrote. “However, I do not want the call to withdraw to be a distraction from the great work everyone is doing towards our important mission.”
Cheatle said that when he got a call asking if he would return to the Secret Service after his brief retirement from the agency, he said he had “no hesitation.”
“I love this agency, our mission, and the great and courageous people who sacrifice every day,” he wrote. “I have, and always will, put the needs of this agency first.”
“As a new event, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director,” Cheatle wrote.
Cheatle reflected on his career, recalling that he was a special agent for 27 years, securing events for First Lady Hillary Clinton; worked as a supervisor in Vice President Dick Cheney’s detail; overseeing Vice President Biden’s detail; lead the RTC and more–including “overseeing the agency’s protective mission under the Trump Administration as AD-OPO.”
“As I said at yesterday’s hearing, you all deserve our trust and confidence,” Cheatle wrote. “You deserve the nation’s support to carry out our critical mission.”
Cheatle said that “one of the things I love most about this workforce is that the men and women are so committed to our mission.”
“Thank you for everything you have done, and will continue to do, for our great nation,” he wrote, signing the letter “kac.”
SECRET SERVICE EXPLANATION CONTINUES TO DEVELOP ONE WEEK AFTER THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Trump, during his public meeting, once-so-slightly turned his head-narrowly missed a bullet shot by a 20-year-old suspect rifle AR-15-style Crooks by only a quarter of an inch. The bullet hit him, but in the upper right ear.
Former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The bullet killed firefighter, father and husband Corey Comperatore as he shielded his family from the gunfire, and injured two others.
Cheatle admitted under oath that the Secret Service “on July 13, we failed.”
“As the director of the United States Secret Service, I am responsible for everything about the security of our agency,” he said. “We have to learn what happened and I will move heaven and earth to make sure that something like July 13 never happens again.”
Cheatle added: “Our agents, officers and support personnel know that every day we are expected to sacrifice our lives to carry out our mission without fail.”
Secret Service tends to Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump on stage at a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
House Republicans, including House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, have called on Cheatle to resign, calling him and the agencies under his watch “the face of incompetence.”
“I believe, Director Cheatle, you should resign,” Comer said during the hearing. “The safety of Secret Service protectors is not based on political affiliation. And the bottom line is that under Director Cheatle’s leadership, we’re asking if anyone is safe.”
But Cheatle has defied the call for days, maintaining he will not resign, and has even appeared before Congress to answer questions for the American people.
SECRET SERVICE AT STATE SECURITY INSPECTOR GENERAL AFTER TRUMP’S ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Cheatle’s initial explanation of why there were significant security lapses that led to Trump’s near-assassination included details about Crooks’ roof.
“The building primarily has a sloped roof at its highest point. So, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there if we don’t want to put people on a sloped roof,” Cheatle said last week. “And, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from the inside.”
US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has sworn to testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign event in Pennsylvania that also saw one rallygoer killed and two others seriously injured, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 22 2024. Photo AP/J. Scott Applewhite
During the hearing, Cheatle said the Secret Service was “still reviewing the process going forward and the decision that was made” as to why agents were not positioned on top of the roof that Crooks used to fire on former President Trump.
“The building was outside the perimeter on the day of the visit. But again, this is one of the things that during the investigation, we want to look at and determine if another decision needs to be made,” he said. said.
Thomas Matthew Crooks crawled on the roof moments before attempting to kill former President Donald Trump. (DJ Laughery (background))
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He added, “I won’t know how many personnel are there, but we feel there are enough agents assigned” for the event.
Trump’s security detail has reportedly requested additional security from the Secret Service, repeatedly, but those requests have not been met.
At Department of Homeland Security The inspector general opened an investigation into the Secret Service’s handling of security for Trump’s July 13 rally.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
