The Secret Service had already been under investigation by House Oversight Committee Republicans for several months when a bullet came within inches of killing former President Trump, killed a bystander, and injured at least two others at a rally in Pennsylvania Saturday afternoon.
Even though Trump and his family members credited the special agents and a counter sniper assigned to his protective detail with saving his life and possibly many others, recriminations against the Secret Service started almost immediately after the assassination attempt.
Americans could see for themselves how the agents and officers traveling with Trump on Saturday acted heroically, falling on the former president after his right ear was pierced by a bullet and returning heavy caliber gunfire, killing the 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Crooks. But questions remain over how Crooks managed to perch on a nearby rooftop and come within inches of killing Trump, renewing past criticisms of the once-vaunted agency with a troubled history of security lapses, employee misconduct, and uneven discipline practices.
Rep. James Comer, who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, has called on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify at a hearing on Monday, July 22.
“Americans demand answers about the assassination attempt of President Trump,” Comer tweeted Saturday night.
In a letter to Cheatle, Comer was far more laudatory of the agency’s actions.
“The tremendous bravery of the individual United States Secret Service agents who protected President Trump[,] eliminated the gunman, and possibly averted more loss of life cannot be overstated,”
