US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said in an interview with ABC on Monday that she has no plans to resign and called the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump “unacceptable.”
Cheatle spoke to ABC News' Supreme Court correspondent Pierre Thomas in his first interview since Saturday's attack on the Pennsylvania rally, which has come under fire for possible security lapses. Following coverage of the attack, Cheatle said he was shocked and concerned about the former president, calling it “an incident that should never have happened.” (Related article: Authorities report they found the would-be assassin about 30 minutes before the shooting)
“Who is most responsible for what happened?” Thomas asked.
“My point is, the Secret Service is responsible for protecting the former president,” Cheatle said.
Thomas continued to press the Secret Service chief on whether responsibility could be “attributed” to her.
“I take responsibility. I am the director of the Secret Service and I must conduct an investigation and provide resources to my personnel as necessary,” Cheatle said. “This is unacceptable and should never happen again.”
clock:
Since the attack, Republican lawmakers have called on Cheatle to explain why authorities failed to stop it, while Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and billionaire Elon Musk It is called Despite calls for him to resign, Cheatle told media he intended to stay on despite the concerns.
Cheatle confirmed that police were working with local law enforcement to secure the area during Saturday's rally in Pennsylvania, with the Secret Service controlling the inner perimeter.
“In this case, we shared assistance with that particular location, with the Secret Service working the inner perimeter,” Cheatle said, “and then we asked local police for assistance with the perimeter. We had local police in that building, we had local police in that area working the perimeter of the building.”
The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was reportedly using an AR-style rifle while sitting on an elevated platform in a shed outside the Secret Service security perimeter, just 200 to 300 feet away. according to To CBS News.
WPXI, citing an anonymous law enforcement source, reported that local law enforcement officers spotted Crooks 30 minutes before the attack, before he fired multiple shots at Trump and the crowd. Photos of the shooter were reportedly taken and reported before the incident, but it was unclear at the time whether Crooks was armed.
Additionally, according to the Association Press, officers had arrived at the building and were climbing ladders to the roof when Crooks was deployed, but retreated when Crooks pointed his weapon at the officers.
The attack left former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore and two crowd members, 57-year-old David Duch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, dead. Steady state.
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news service, is available free of charge to any legitimate news publisher with a large readership. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and affiliation with the DCNF. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
