>> dana: fox news alert as we get ready for a new hour we're watching two big stories unfold in the 2020 presidential campaign. less than 24 hours after president biden withdrew from the race. brand-new reaction to a political earthquake as vice president harris gets the nod from her boss to head the ticket and take the reins. her path is far from certain with divided democrats in disarray and former president donald trump a back on the campaign trail as lawmakers get ready to rake the secret service director over the coles with pointed questions about the failure to protect the former president of the united states from an assassin's bullet. is that enough for you, bill? welcome to a new hour of "america's newsroom." i'm dana perino. >> bill: good morning, partner. i'm bill hemmer. kim cheatle will be questioned about the security failures at the trump rally in butler, p.a. 51 years old. been in the secret service since

1995. she applied for the position while she was still in college, all right? she was elevated to head of secret service two years ago in 2022. moments ago we were talking with jim jordan when she arrived and gave us a preview of what he will act the director. >> the key question about what happened during it. 6:09 the shooter is identified. 6:ten the counter sniper is notified about the shooter on the rooftop. 6:11 the shooter fires and hits president trump. 6:12 the counter sniper takes him out. 6:14 the president is taken off the stage. so that's five critical moments. five critical minutes. we want to know exactly what was going into on the five minutes. what were the communications? that's an important line of questions we need to get to. >> dana: fox team coverage. kennedy and paul mauro are standing by. dana marie how the trump

campaign plans to pivot with biden out of the race. lucas tomlinson, set us up for the hearing. >> we're moments away from the house oversight committee hearing with with secret service director kimberly cheatle taking place a week after the assassination of former president trump. we saw the house speaker moments ago go into the hearing. he wants to take part and listen and caught up with director cheatle herself when she came in we asked her a series of questions, here it is. >> do you have any plans to resign today? do you have any plans to resign today or in the future? why wasn't that roof better protected at the rally for former president donald trump? did you cut security details for the former president? is what happened incompetence? there is a bipartisan call from

lawmakers for you to resign as director. what is your reaction? why didn't you have the roof better secured, director? of course, that roof the center of this whole thing. a number of democrats as well and expect pointed questions from both sides of the aisle from house staff. a growing numbers of republicans want her to resign including the chairman of the overnight committee james comer who says it is an excerpt from his opening remarks will say quote, it is my firm belief that you should resign. however, in complete defiance director cheatle has maintained she will not tender her resignations. she will answer questions for the committee seeking to provide clarity and how these events were allowed to expire. they have an annual budget of

3.1 billion a years. law enforcement excerpts to conduct 45-day review of the july 13th attempted assassination of former president trump, the secret service director did issue a statement. she wouldn't talk to us on camera but issued a statement, dana, ahead of this testimony saying we're eager to cooperate with the independent security review, u.s. secret service's action related to the july 13th assassination attempt of president trump in butler, pennsylvania. provide recommendations to insure it will never happen again. she would not talk to us on camera before the hearing but we expect pointed questions with the hearing getting underway any minute now. >> dana: you had some good questions there. joining us now fox news podcast host kennedy and retired inspector paul mauro. paul, you were in butler, pennsylvania for the last four days as we get ready to have this hearing. what should we take away when

you learned over those days? >> i talked to a lot of people on the ground who had been to trump rallies. they sensed no real organization to this one. a lot of people weren't wanded. they said the whole thing felt unsecure. these are people who in some instances had past interaction with the secret service on the ground. there is that. secondly, we know the site surveys were done but weren't all fully attended from the ground. thirdly, i would point out the secret service head during a national security event should not be in aspen, colorado, all right, to speak in the middle of the rnc. this comes from the top. she might not have been there doing the survey it is her responsibility to make sure these things go well. a handful of national security events every year. she should have been there and why she does have some culpability. remember something else. she doesn't show up in pressers.

trying to blame a slopping roof and why haven't you been out tow scene she says it is an f.b.i. secured crime scene right now. that scene was released a number of days ago. i was there. i didn't walk onto it but look through the fence. no cops, security guys securing it. one kid running around trying to keep the reporters off. there was no f.b.i. or police. she should have taken a look the way the congressmen will do today. >> bill: james comer speaking. i want to squeeze in kennedy. >> too many unanswered questions. boyle, democrat lawmaker called for a resignation because it happened in his state. you'll see more democrats peel off. it shouldn't be one of the grandstanding questioning events where democrats toss soft balls. we need to make sure our presidential candidates, president, anyone seeking higher office with secret service detail is protected utterly. they have one job. she failed completely. by all accounts she was not a

good kth. i don't know how she rose to this position. she should resign for the good of the country. >> bill: the senate is doing work as well. ron johnson has put together a timeline and it is damming. he has evidence a full hour before trump got on stage that a sniper was taking pictures of crooks, the eventual killer. we'll wait on that as we drop in james comer, the republican from kentucky now on the dais. >> the secret service has a 0 fail mission but it failed on july 13th and in the days leading up to the rally. the secret service has thousands of employees and a significant budget but it has now become the face of incompetence. the committee has a long track record of providing oversight of the secret service. our predecessors both chaffetz and cummings among others worked together to issue warnings and

recommendations to address obvious shortcomings in the agency's makeup and operations. unfortunately those warnings and recommendations have gone unheeded. a former president and current candidate for president was shot in the head by a sniper within 500 feet of the podium. this is unacceptable. we're concerned the secret service lacks the proper management to keep protectees safe from bad actors. americans aren't getting answers from the secret service. we're instead learning about new facts, about the events surrounding the attempted assassination every day from whistleblowers and leaks. americans demand accountability. but no one has yet to be fired for this historic failure. today's witness, secret service director kimberly cheatle is

here under subpoena to answer questions about how the agency failed president trump and the victims who attended the rally in butler, pennsylvania. it is my firm belief, director cheatle, that you should resign. however, in complete defiance she has maintained she will not tender her resignation and she will answer questions about how these events were allowed to transpire. we'll ask these questions because the secret service and its parent agency the department of homeland security have been unwilling to provide answers to the american people. dhs has sought to push the hearing to a different time. secret service suggested the hearing occur without media present. and both agencies have provided only shallow explanations to congress about what happened on july 13th. indeed, dhs and secret services lack of communication with the oversight committee required me

to issue a subpoena compelling director cheatle to attend today and still dhs requested more time to prepare. it shouldn't take this much time or preparation, director cheatle, to tell the truth and be transparent with the american people. i am thankful to the ranking member mr. raskin for joining me insisting director cheatle appears today. god knows we disagree on many things but that doesn't matter today. the safety of secret service protectees is not based on political affiliation and bottom line is that under director cheatle's leadership we question whether anyone is safe, not president biden, not the first lady, not the white house, and certainly not the presidential candidates. the july 13th assassination attempt is one of the darkest days in american political history. it represents the ugliest parts of what american politics has become, hatred of each other and a dangerous turn to extremism.

before we were republicans or democrats we are americans. if we place our political affiliations above our duty and love of country we cannot maintain a country. we must insure our republic is strong and our republic cannot be strong when our leadership, our elections, our institutions and candidates are threatened by extremism and violence. today director cheatle will answer questions why she deserves to continue to play a critical role in preserving this country's safety and at the very least what led to the catastrophic deadly events on july 13th in butler, pennsylvania. again, i do not believe director cheatle deserves to maintain her position as head of the secret service and the american people will make their own decisions based on her answers today. i urge director cheatle to be transparent and forthcoming in her testimony today. americans deserve no less.

we have a duty to find out how this happened and to insure it never happens again. i now yield to ranking member raskin for his opening statement. >> thank you kindly, chairman comer. elijah cummings caught us the way to find common ground in a crisis is to look for the higher ground and last week chairman comer and i came together to reach for that higher ground. we made a joint statement condemning the mass shooting and assassination attempt against former president trump as a grave assault on our democracy as rewrote, we are united in condemning all political violence. i join the good chairman in expressing condolences to the family of corey comperatore and sending heal wishes to the wounded victims also of this atroveous act of violence. some are calling it a marek that president trump escaped the

attack unlike fellow citizens killed or seriously wounded in other ar-15 shootings. whether this miracle is of divine providence or advantageous nature is up to each of us to ponder. our job in congress is not to marvel at miracles or count on good luck but to act as public policy legislators to prevent attempted assassinations and mass shootings and political violence. we are determined to get to the bottom of this stunning security failures that enabled this 20-year-old lone gunman who borrowed his father's ar-15 to perpetrate a mass shooting and assassination attempt at an event protected by the secret service as well as state and local police. we'll ask hard questions of director cheatle today in order to identify and understand the shocking security failures that occurred and to help transform the operations of the secret service to prevent anything like this from happening again.

but we can't let ourselves off the hook either, dear colleagues. what happened in butler, pennsylvania was a double failure. the failure by the secret service to properly protect former president trump, and the failure of congress to properly protect our people from criminal gun violence. we must therefore also ask hard questions about whether our laws are making it too easy for potential assassins to obtain firearms generally and the ar-15 specifically. the other rally attendees are now members of a club no one wants to belong to, the thousands of people who have fallen victim to mass shootings. last year we had 655 mass shootings in america defined as four or more people being shot or killed in a single event, not including the shooter. 712 people died and nearly 2700 people were wounded in these attacks in 2023. mass shootings are common place. they appear en at political

rallies and constituents meetings. elementary, middle and high schools, churches, synagogues, mosques, movie theaters and parades and nightclubs and grocery stores and concerts and on street corners. here are the worst mass shootings in the last 11 or 12 years. the list is a grim reminder of the horrific damage and death wrought by assault weapons that have taken the lives of our children, parents, colleagues, and neighbors. this is a very partial list. mass shootings have become so frequent that we don't even hear about them anymore since the mass shooting in butler, there have already been at least ten additional mass shootings in america. two of which took place the same day that former president trump was targeted. one of the mass shootings on that violent saturday, july 13th, happened at

11:00 p.m. in birmingham, alabama when four shot and others wounded. the butler attack was not even the most deadly shooting to happen in america on that day. a weapon that can be used to commit a mass shooting at an event under the full protection of the secret service together with dozens of state and local police is obviously an intolerable threat to the rest of us who do not receive such protection and obviously does not belong in our communities. it is time to pass universal background checks and build on this administration's work to insure we permanently close the loopholes in the brady law for gun show purchases, online purchases and private sales to prevent those weapons from getting into the hands of people we know to be a threat to others. what happened in butler shows why even closing these loopholes, however, will not keep assault weapons out of the hands of potential assassins and

mass murdersers. people who aren't old enough to drink can purchase an ar-15. we have to find the courage and resolve to pass a ban on ar-15 and other assault weapons, a ban has broad support, even the "new york post" loudly endorsed such a ban in 2019. we have passed an assault weapons ban before. republicans and democrats together passed it in 1994. in 2004 we allowed to ban to expire. we know this weapons ban worked. one study found in the decade that followed the ban's lapse mass shootings went back up 183% and deaths from mass shootings went up 239%. but even as we change the secret service and act to ban weapons of war like the ar-15 we still have fallen short of our duty if we fail to denounce every instance of politically motivated violence in whatever

form it takes. republicans and democrats have come together to denounce that assassination attempt just as we did the violent attempts on steven scalise and gabby giffords and paul pelosi, who was attacked and brutalized in his home. in the after math of the violence waged against congress and the vice president and the transfer of power democrats and republicans alike including mcconnell and comer all denounced the violent assault on our democracy that wounded 140 officers from the u.s. capitol police and the metro poll -- political scientists tell us that authoritarian attacks on

democratic institutions begin with political parties refusing to disavow or openly embracing political violence. we have to reject that on a strong bipartisan basis even as we insure our secret service is up to its vital task of protecting presidents and candidates and work to insure that america, the streets of our country, are free from the violence of weapons of war. thank you, mr. chairman. yield back to you. >> today we're joined by kimberly cheatle who was sworn into office in september 17th, 2022, as the director of the united states secret service. prior to her appointment she was senior director of global security at pepsi. before that she served 27 years in the secret service. pursuant to committee rule 9g the witness will stand and raise her right hand. do you solemnly swear or affirm the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god?

let the record show the witness answered in the affirmative. thank you. we certainly appreciate you being here today and look forward to your testimony. we normally limit testimony to opening statements to five minutes but take all the time that you need. obviously the rules that we will abide by when you are finished with your statement, we will then turn to questions. each member will have five minutes and just a note to the members, i am going to strictly adhere to the five minutes. once five minutes is up i'll hit the gavel. if the director is in the process of answering a question we'll certainly let her finish her answers and then we will move on. we will have 100% attendance today plus a few additional add-ons, this will be a very lengthy hearing and we want to make sure every member gets their five minutes uninterrupted

to be able to ask these important questions in this very bipartisan hearing today. i now recognize director cheatle for your opening statement. >> thank you. good morning, chairman comer, ranking member raskin and distinguished members of the committee. my name is kimber le cheatle, the director of the united states secret service. i appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today. the assassination attempt of former president donald trump on july 13th is the most significant operational failure of the secret service in decades and i am keeping him and his family in my thoughts. i would like to offer my sincerest condolences to the family of corey comperatore, a former fire chief and hero who was killed in this senseless shooting and also like to acknowledge those injured in butler, david dutch and james and wish them a speedy recovery. i would be remiss if i did not also extend my condolences on

the passing of your colleague, miss jackson lee. her passing is a great loss to this body. the secret service's mission is to protect our nation's leaders. on july 13th, we failed. as a director of the united states secret service, i take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency. we are fully cooperating with ongoing investigations. we must learn what happened and i will move heaven and earth to make sure an incident like july 13th does not happen again. let me state unequivocally nothing i have said should be interpreted to place blame for this failure on federal, state or local law enforcement partners who supported the secret service in butler. we could not do our job without them. we rely on the relationships built over years of working together to secure events and conduct investigations.

our agents, officers, and support personnel understand that every day we are expected to sacrifice our lives to execute a no-fail mission. as witnessed on july 13th, our special agents shielded former president trump with their own bodies on stage while shots were being fired. selflessly willing to make the ultimate sacrifice without hesitation, i am proud beyond words of the actions taken by the former president's detail, the counter sniper team who neutralized the gunman and tactical team who was prepared to act. i will be as transparent as possible when i speak with you understanding at times i may be limited in providing a thorough response in this open setting due to associated risks with sharing highly sensitive protective methods. i do not want to inadvertently provide you to inaccurate information. since january 1, 2024, the

secret service has successfully secured over 7500 sites. every protective advance comes with its own sell of challenges and requires a customized mitigation strategy including specific assets. security plans are multi-layered providing 360 degrees of protection. these layers include personnel, technical, and tactical assets which are a force multiplier for our protective posture. during every advance, we attempt to strike a balance between enabling the protectee to be visible and our protective rarities to be secure. i know this because i have spent 29 years in this agency. i came up through the ranks. i have secured events for every president since president clinton, supervised on vice president cheney's detail. oversaw the investigation and protective visits in the state of georgia.

supervised on vice president biden's detail. the comprehensive advance process involving planning between secret service and the level of security for the former president increased well before the campaign and steadily increasing as threats evolve. the security plan included a full assessment of the butler farm show grounds to identify security vulnerabilities and craft a security plan for the protectee, attendees and the public. immediately following the assassination attempt, i directed the activation of my crisis center. assembled by executive team to surge more protective resources to the former president and all while securing an active crime scene. i immediately ordered a re-evaluation of the republican national convention security plan and i increased the security posture in the national capitol region for all permanent protectees and sites.

at the same time i initiated a mission assurance investigation within our agency. i have instructed my team that all necessary resources will be dedicated to investigating these matters. we will not rest until we have explored every option and we will leave no stone unturned. i want to be clear, i am not waiting for these investigations to be completed prior to making changes. over the past two weeks we -- over the next few months we'll implement security plans for the democratic national convention and planning and coordinating the 2025 inauguration. it is now more important than ever for the men and women of the secret service to remain resilient and focus on what is necessary to carry out our critical mission. our agency needs to be adequately resourced in order to serve our current mission requirements and anticipate future requirements. the secret service currently

protects 36 individuals on a daily basis as well as world leaders who visit the united states like israeli prime minister netanyahu who arrived in washington, d.c. today. the coming years will bring an unprecedented heavy protection tempo. i have no doubt the processes i have implemented during my tenure as director in addition to my nearly 30 years of experience in this agency have positioned the secret service to be stronger. our mission is not political. it is literally a matter of life and death and the tragic events on july 13th remind us of that. i have full confidence in the men and women of the secret service. they are worthy of our support and executing our protective mission. i will now answer any questions that the committee may have. >> thank you very much. we begin our five minute questions and i'll begin. just for the record, the secret service has an annual budget of

around $3.1 billion and around 8,000 employees, is that correct? >> yes, sir. >> many security failures on the day of the attempted assassination and leading up to that day. let's start with the building the shooter used to shoot president trump from. at any point saturday did the secret service have an agent on top of that roof? >> sir, i'm sure as you can imagine we're nine days out from this incident and there is still an ongoing investigation. so i want to make sure that any information that we are providing to you is factual. >> why did the secret -- why the secret service didn't place a single agent on the roof? >> we're still looking into the advanced process and the decisions made. >> okay. wasn't that building within the perimeter that should be secured? do we agree with that? >> the building was outside of the perimeter on the day of the visit. but again that is one of the things that during the investigation we want to take a

look at and determine whether or not other decisions should have been made. >> one of the things that you said i believe in an interview that there wasn't an agent on the roof because it was a sloped roof. is that normal and do you fear that that immediately creates an opportunity for future would be assassins to look for a slanted roof? this is a huge question that every american has. why wasn't a secret service agent on the roof? there have been reports that agents were supposed to be on the roof but it was hot that day and didn't want to be on the roof. can you answer any of those questions? >> i appreciate you asking me that question. i should have been more clear in my answer when i spoke about where we place personnel in that interview. what i can tell you is that there was a plan in place to provide overwatch and we are still looking into responsibilities and who was going to provide overwatch. but the secret service in

general, not speaking specifically to this incidents. when we're providing overwatch, prefer to have sterile rooftops. >> did the secret service use any drones tore surveillance that day? >> i won't get into specifics of that day in itself. there are times during a security plan that the secret service does deploy an asset like a drone. >> there were reports the shooter used a drone just a few hours before the rally start time. is that accurate? >> i have heard those same reports and again am waiting for the final report. >> if you can't answer the question, that's your answer. but can you answer this. do you know -- do you know -- i'm not asking yes or no -- do you know if the shooter used a drone before the shooting? >> that information has been passed to us from the f.b.i. >> how many secret service agents were assigned to president trump on the day of the rally? >> again, i won't get into the

specifics of the numbers of personnel that we had there. but we feel there was a sufficient number of agents assigned. >> there are reports that several agents assigned were temporary not normly assigned to president trump. is that accurate? >> what i can tell you the agents assigned to former president trump are secret service agents that provide close protection to him and that was what was actual on that day. >> bill: how many temporary agents were there that day? >> quite frequently during campaign events the secret service utilizes agents from hsi or the department of homeland security. >> you don't know how many. have investigators reconstructed the shooter's precise movements over the past days, weeks and months. we need to have confidence if the f.b.i. is leading this

investigation, that they are leading a credible investigation. some of us sitting here today that don't have a lot of confidence in the f.b.i. i will repeat the question. have the investigators reconstructed the shooter's resize moments over the pass days, weeks and months. >> i understand your question and share your concerns wanting to make sure we have factual information. the f.b.i. is conducting a criminal investigation. the secret service is conducting an internal investigation. there are a number of oig investigations and the external investigation. >> last question for me. before july 13th, had the trump detail requested additional resources? >> what i can tell you is that for the event on july 13th, the details what were -- the assets that were requested for that day were given. >> okay. my time is expired. chair now recognizes ranking member raskin for five minutes.

>> it has been reported that before former president trump got on the stage at 6:00 p.m. on saturday, july 13th, that the local police had identified and even photographed a man who was acting suspiciously. this man who turned out to be the gunman had been flagged as a potential threat. is that accurate? >> what i can say is the individual was identified as suspicious. >> so he was known to be suspicious before former president trump took the stage. >> that is the information i have received. >> why was he allowed to take the stage with a suspicious person having been identified in the crowd? >> i appreciate the question and like to make two points. if the detail had been passed information that there was a threat, the detail would never have brought the former president out onto stage. that is what we do and that is who we are. we are charged with protecting all of our protectees.

>> you distinguish between someone suspicious and threatening. >> there are a number of times at protective events where suspicious people are identified and those individuals have to be investigated and determined what is it that identifies that person as suspicious? >> did you deny a request for additional resources that had been made by the trump campaign? >> there were no assets denied for that event in butler on the 13th. >> i see. you are saying there are requests made for additional assistance for other specific events rather than for the campaign as a whole, is that right? >> i'm not understanding. >> you seemed to say there weren't additional resources requested for that event. forgive me for being unfamiliar with this. is it requested event by event or just in general for the campaign? >> if i can explain the advance

process. when an event or venue is identified by in this case campaign staff, then the campaign staff works together with secret service agents who go out and conduct an advance. a five-daytime period generally where those discussions are had about what the perimeter will look like and what the size of the event is and venue is and from there there is a request made to mitigate potential risk and threat and i'm saying that on that today the requests pushed forward were granted. >> the secret service did not know the gunman had a weapon before president trump was allowed to get up on the stage? >> to the best of our knowledge and the facts that we have at this point, that is correct. >> so can you answer this question, which i think is on the mind of most americans thinking about this. how can a 20-year-old with his father's ir15 assault weapon like onto the roof with a direct

150- -yard line of sight to the speaker's podium without the secret service or local police stopping him? >> so again, sir, i will say we are nine days out from this event and i would like to know those answers as well, which is why we're going through these investigations to determine that fully. >> it has been reported the shooter was not carrying a driver's license or any form of identification. they had no idea who he was. but then he was quickly identified within 30 minutes by using the serial number on the ar-15 under a tracing system that is now controversial. some people say we should get rid of it, some people want to keep it. is it right that the serial number was the key information that led to the identification of the shooter? >> that is my understanding, sir, yes. >> okay.

if an american citizen were just to stop you and say director cheatle, we support your work to the tune of billions of dollars and thousands and thousands of employees, what went wrong? what would you say? >> again, knowing that we are nine days out i would say as i have said from the very outset accept responsibility for this tragedy and we'll look into how it happened and take correcttive act to insure it never happens again. >> i appreciate that and i hope you will act with vigor and focus and intensity and seems you understand the gravity solemnity. a lot of people don't feel safe with ar-15s out there. mr. chairman, i yield back to you. >> chair now recognizes mr. jordan from ohio. >> thank you, director, were you

guessing or lying? the day after president trump is shot, secret service spokesman said, quote, the assertion that the member of the president's team that the u.s. -- rebuffed is absolutely false. the next day secretary morax said that is a false assertion. we had not received any requests for additional security measures that were rebuffed. five days later the "washington post" said this. top officials repeatedly rejected requests from donald trump's security detail for more personnel. the next day "the new york times" said this, they acknowledged the secret service had turned down some requests for additional federal security assets for mr. trump's detail. so which is it? both statements can't be true. were you guessing or lying when you said you didn't turn down requests from president trump's detail? >> neither, sir.

i appreciate the question. >> what were you doing? those statements don't jive. >> what i can tell you is for the event in butler, there were no requests that were denied. as far as requests -- >> maybe they got tired of asking. maybe you turned them down so darn much they thought it was not worth asking. how many times did you turn them down ahead of that? >> what some people my view as a reneual or request. >> your spokesperson acknowledged the secret service had turned down some requests. i'm asking how many. >> a denial of a request does not equal a vulnerability. there are a number of ways that threats and risks can be mitigated with a number of different assets whether that be through personnel, whether that be through technology, or other resources. >> tell the committee which it

was. they asked for additional help in some form or another and you told them no. how many times did you tell them no and what did you tell them no to? >> again, i cannot speak to specific incidents but i can tell you in general terms the secret service is judicious with their resources based on -- >> how many times? requests is plural. more than once they asked for additional helped and you turned them down. how many times did they ask are how many times did you turn them down? >> i don't have all the details in front of me. >> you didn't get briefed on that knowing you would get asked that question? >> what i can tell you in generic terms when people -- when details make a request, there are times that there are alternate ways to cover off on that threat or that risk. >> he said they were denied

certain requests, some requests. this is your spokesperson, not me, this is the secret service talking. it changed from unequivocally false or by the way there were times we didn't give them what they wanted. that's a huge change in five days. the fact that you can't answer how many times you did that, that's pretty darn frustrating not just for me but for the country. >> i hear your frustration. >> were any of those requests denied to president trump's detail after you knew about the iranian threat? >> what i can tell you, i don't know the specifics, is that there are times when we can fill a request. it doesn't necessarily have to be with a secret service asset or resource, we can fill that request with locally available assets. >> have you spoke to anyone at the white house since july 13th? >> yes, i have. >> who did you talk to? >> i briefed the president and

vice president. >> anyone in white house communications? >> no, i have not. >> have you talked to the counter sniper that took the shot that took out the bad guy. >> yes, i have. >> can you tell us about that conversation? >> i don't want to reveal conversations i've had with my employees. >> that's what the american people want to know. who is doing the investigating at secret service? is there an internal investigation in addition to the attorney general? >> we're conducting a mission assurance investigation internally. >> it looks like you won't answer basic questions and 9% raise and cut corners who it came to protecting one of the most well-known individuals on the planet. likely the guy will be the next president and looks like you were cutting corners. >> i am here today because i want to answer question. >> i don't think you've answered one question from the chairman, ranking member or me.

we have a lot of other people asking. right now you haven't answered, i don't think any yield back. >> miss norton from washington, d.c. >> thank you, mr. chairman. in the summer of 1963 as a law student i traveled to the south to work in the civil rights movement. when i arrived in jackson, mississippi i was met by a civil rights activist who showed me around town and tried to convince me to work in jackson that summer. i talked with him and his wife about the raw atmosphere there. later that day he took me to the bus station for my trip to my assignment. that night he was assassinated outside his home. his name was evers. i condemned the political violence. it is a threat to democracy. i want to discuss one of the roots of political violence, guns. for years republicans, including

a member of this committee, have introduced legislation and amendments to repeal or block the district of columbia gun violence protection laws including its bans on assault weapons and large capacity magazines. the shooter at the trump rally used the mass shooter's gun of choice, an assault weapon, an ar-15 rifle and large capacity magazine that can hold more than ten bullets. under current d.c. law, d.c. does not recognize conceal/carry permits issued by other jurisdictions but it does issue conceal/carry permits to residents and non-residents. however, d.c. imposes a number

of requirements on conceal/carry applicants, including suitability such as not having exhibited a propensity for violence or instability. d.c. residents restricts where guns can be carried such as a political demonstration near the white house and naval observatory or near people under secret service protection provided the permit holder has been given notice. this week, the house is expected to consider the fiscal year 2025 financial services and general government appropriations bill. this republican-drafted bill would allow an individual with a permit to carry a concealed handgun issued by a state or

territory, to carry a concealed handgun in d.c. regardless of that jurisdiction's permit requirements. a republican has filed an amendment to that provision to allow such an individual to carry a magazine of any size with that handgun. in short, the pending bill and amendment would allow any person with a carry permit issued by another jurisdiction to carry a concealed handgun with a magazine of any size in any location in the district of columbia. the secret service is responsible for protecting a large number of people and facilities in d.c. director cheatle, would secret service protectees in d.c. be safer or less safe if people who

have exhibited a prop pens tee for violence or instability could carry concealed handguns in d.c.? >> i think being a secret service agent and officer or law enforcement officer in any state is difficult. they are required to make decisions and snap judgments in the blink of an eye and i think that the officers and agents that work here in the d.c. area do a great job of monitoring the public and reacting to threats as appropriate when they arise. >> would secret service protectees in d.c. be safer or less safe if people in d.c. could carry concealed handguns with large capacity magazines? >> i think, ma'am, that we work in parameters where we travel

around north america and the rules on open carry and concealed carry are different from state to state and that is part of what the secret service takes into account when we develop a security plan. anyone that comes into one of our protective sites we would establish metal detectors that personnel would process through eliminating that potential. >> would protectees in d.c. or less safe if more people could carry handguns in d.c.? >> i think again as i stated, ma'am, we want to provide a safe environment for all our protectees and whatever measures we would need to put in place for a secure site we would do so. >> i yield back. >> chair recognizes mr. turner from ohio. >> director cheatle your opening statement said the secret service constructed a security

plan. that would include the security footprint for the site but also would be based upon a threat assessment for the risk threats associated with donald trump and the crowd in attendance. would it not include a threat assessment? >> yes, it would. >> that threat assessment would have started with a general threat against donald trump because he is a presidential candidate. then it would have gone to a former president and he gets security coverage just as bush, clinton, carter and obama do and you have the heightened political environment. even for those it's clear the security footprint that the threat assessment was insufficient that permitted a 20-year-old to enter with a weapon and shoot donald trump. two other aspects of the threat assessment. it is known in public that iran is a threat risk for donald trump. they are a threat risk for john bolton, pompeo and donald trump and they indicated they want to

assassinate them in retaliation for the killing of soleimani. it is a general threat but also a specific threat most recently to donald trump himself. now, i want to enter into the record by u.k. a department of justice public affairs release. cnn article, an article from fox news, and an article from cbs all of which acknowledge that this threat exists for donald trump from iran and there are specific threats most recently that have been acknowledged. director cheatle, have you read the intelligence of the journalized threat to donald trump because of the killing of soleimani. >> i have. >> have you read or been briefed about the intelligence of this

specific recent threat to donald trump from iran? >> yes, i have. >> director wray indicated that he thought the threat assessment should have included this threat from iran. is it your testimony today that the threat assessment, since you have read this intelligence, was sufficient to protect him from this threat from iran? >> my testimony today is that the information that we had at the time was known. >> was it sufficient? was it sufficient for the iranian threat that you said you have read the intelligence briefings for? >> that information was passed to -- >> i'm not asking the issue of who did it passed around to. was it sufficient for the specific and generalized threat to donald trump's life from iran? >> yes, i do believe it was. >> director cheatle, is an arraignian assassin more capable

than a 20-year-old? >> i think we have acknowledged there was gaps and failure that day. >> when i raised this issue with director wray he was shocked that the threat assessment of iran did not seem to be -- baked into your security footprint and threat assessment. he went on to say that the generalized threat that he has told the whole country that we're under from a terrorist -- potential terrorist threat, we are under the highest threat level since 9/11 and lights are flashing red and indicated people have crossed the southern border as a result of the biden administration's policy and in our country today, terrorists and individuals who are affiliated with terrorist groups and organizations. that would be a heightened threat environment, would it not? >> yes. >> in his public statements he has said he is making these statements because he wants people to take them into

consideration in threat assessments specifically? that would be a threat not only to donald trump but a threat to the crowd there, wouldn't it? >> yes. >> are isis terrorists and al qaeda terrorists and international groups and terrorists more capable of a 20-year-old in pulling off their mass shooting or assassination of donald trump? >> sir, again there was clearly a breakdown and a failure that day. >> have you head the intelligence of the terrorists currently in the united states that director wray speaks and those individuals here affiliated with terrorist groups and organizations that are in the process as director wray said of representing a significant threat of a terrorist attack occurring in the united states? >> i have read the reports that apply specifically to the secret service's mission. >> director cheatle. because donald trump is alive and thank god he is, you look incompetent. if he had been killed you would

have looked culpable. there is no indication there was protection to donald trump. the threat was identified before he took the stage and the shooter was only killed after donald trump himself was shot. president biden needs to fire you because his life, donald trump's life and all the other people which you protect are at risk because you have no concept of the aspect that the security footprint needs to be correlated to the threat. i yield back. >> chair now recognizes mr. lynch from massachusetts. >> thank you, mr. chairman. director cheatle, there were multiple security failures at the former president's rally in butler, pennsylvania. first of all, there was the failure to isolate the podium from exposure to direct fire. do we know who made that decision to allow that rooftop to remain as an unprotected

area? do we know who came up with that security plan that omitted that? >> sir, i don't have a specific person to identify. >> that's what i'm looking for. let's move on. there is also a breakdown in security in failure to confront the shooter over an hour before the former president began his remarks when the shooter was identified as a person of interest. what particularly allowed agents or law enforcement to identify him as a person of interest? >> i appreciate the question and again i will say that we are nine days out and there are multitude of interviews still taking place. >> did he have a range finder? there was some reports that the individual had a range finder. that would raise my suspicion. did he have a range finder? >> yes, he did. but may i explain that at a

number of our sites, especially when you are at outdoor venues, a range finder is not a prohibited item. it is sometimes brought in by individuals. >> anybody confront him about that and asking him questions what are you doing with a range finder? anybody confront him on his presence where he was in proximity to the president? >> so again to my knowledge i believe that was the process that was taking place was to locate the individual. >> did they confront him and go up to him, did they talk to him? >> i do not have those details. >> those are important details. it was also a failure to communicate between law enforcement to act quickly upon information provided by either local law enforcement or rally attendees that the subject was on the roof. there were minutes of delay before any meaningful action was taken, even though he was

several hundred feet from the podium and it was minutes before the shooting. let me ask you, there was considerable delay in removing the president from the podium after the shooting began. he was shot in the ear. it was still over a minute before he was removed from the stage. meanwhile, this shooter had multiple clips, several clips. he got off eight shots and he had the capacity and ability, if he was not neutralized, to basically mow down that whole secret service detachment as well as the president. what from your own investigation caused that delay under the circumstances? >> what i can tell you is that when the agents identified that the shooting was taking place,

in under three seconds they threw themselves onto him. >> there was herroism, no question about it. but protocol would indicate -- these are the opinions of various former secret service agents, people who have done this work in the past, that over a minute of exposure on that podium with a shooter with a high capacity weapon, who had already wounded the president, and could have got off -- we don't know how many more rounds -- and yet the president remained exposed even though he was joined in that exposure by the secret service in their heroic acts. it just -- i don't know if there is a good explanation for that. >> our personnel created a body bunker on top of the president

shielding him. >> was an ar-15 style weapon that would have made quick work if he was determined and able to do so. not the first investigation of the secret service during my time on this committee. the last one we had, our previous investigation determined that the secret service was experiencing a staffing crisis that poses perhaps the greatest threat to the agency. that's a quote. is that staffing crisis still in place? is that still something you deal with on a daily basis? >> as of today the secret service has over 8,000 employees. we continue to hire knowing we need -- >> time is expired. please answer the question. >> i'm sorry. >> what would be the full complement you are looking for. you have 8,000. how many are a full complement for the service? >> we're striving towards a

number of 9500 employees, approximately. in order to meet future and emerging needs. >> doctor foxx from north carolina. >> what gave would you give the secret service's performance in butler, pennsylvania on july 13th? >> as i've stated, ma'am, this was clearly a failure. i would grade the agents and officers who selflessly threw themselves in front of the president and neutralized the threat an a. i think we need to examine the events that led up to and prior to that day. >> you stated in 2021 that the secret service has a 0 fail mission. it is clear the events of july 13th show a cascade of failures that caused corey comperatore his life. nearly cost th