‘Do You Really Plan To Keep Avoiding Questions?’: Summer Lee Lays Into Secret Service Director

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During a House Oversight Committee hearing on Monday, Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) questioned Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle about the event where former President Donald Trump was almost killed.  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript   Stay Connected Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Chair recognizes Ms. Lee from Pennsylvania. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to thank the

00:05Chair, the Ranking Member, for coming together and holding this hearing, but I

00:09have to say I don't think any of our concerns have been addressed today and

00:13little we've learned has not inspired much confidence. I will just say that we

00:19obviously can't allow the violence we're seeing in this country become the norm

00:23or a commonplace, but that seems to be where we're heading. On this occasion, it

00:27was, you know, very shockingly, a former president and current political

00:32candidate at a rally that we all assume is one of the most secure places we can

00:37be, but the violence we saw last Saturday is the same culture of violence that

00:41makes too many of our kids and our community members feel unsafe to play

00:45outside or to go to class or to simply live their lives each day, but again, this

00:49was a political rally and it is supposed to be one of the most secure places, so

00:53we do have very specific questions about that. Director Chito, I'd like to start by

00:57following up on some of my colleagues' questions. My colleagues, Mr.

01:01Krishnamoorthy and Mr. Frost, highlighted a number of points that showed the

01:04shooter presenting an active threat, so I'd like to ask you, Director Chito, to

01:07clarify what the protocol is for postponing or

01:11canceling an event based on a threat and how the events on July 13 didn't meet

01:15those standards. So again, I think we're talking about the distinction between

01:20suspicious behavior and a threat, and at the time that this individual was

01:26identified, they were displaying suspicious behavior. I'm still waiting

01:30for interviews from the FBI to determine what it was that identified that

01:36individual as suspicious and what those behaviors were. To that question, is

01:40suspicious behavior, does suspicious behavior vary between different events?

01:44For instance, if we have an event with a president, would there not be a

01:48heightened standard for suspicious behavior? I think that there are a number

01:52of ways that someone could be identified as suspicious, and it doesn't matter

01:57whether it's at a rally or an indoor event or who the protectee is. I think

02:02it's up to law enforcement or citizens to identify someone as suspicious. Okay,

02:08thank you. According to the Associated Press, at least six different agencies,

02:12including two sheriff's offices, local police, state police, as well as fire and

02:16emergency rescue officials, were involved in securing the rally in Butler. When

02:20there are so many teams that are collaborating, who takes the lead and how

02:23is that determined? The Secret Service is responsible for the security of the

02:27site and the coordination. And that was the case on July 13th? Correct. Okay.

02:32Changing gears, in 2024's appropriations budget, the Secret Service was given a

02:36little over $3 billion, which was about $78 million above what was requested. For

02:412025's budget, you've requested yet another increase. How much of these funds

02:45goes towards training and improving protection procedures? I would have to

02:50get back to you on the training aspect of it, but about 30% of our budget is for

02:56protection and facilities and training. But clearly the problem can't

03:03be a lack of funding, so what exactly do you see as the core problem that led to

03:07this failure? That led to your agency being outgunned by a 20-year-old using

03:12his father's gun and acting on his own without a particularly sophisticated

03:16plan or technology? I think that we are waiting to determine exactly what those

03:22failures or failure was, so that we can make sure that the Secret Service is

03:26stronger after this. So we've heard a lot today that you can't answer because it's

03:33an ongoing investigation, that you're still figuring out the details and that

03:37you won't answer basic questions. You've said 60 days for the investigation, but I

03:41simply don't think that's acceptable. Do you really plan to keep avoiding

03:45questions and the American people's questions, ours and the American people's

03:49questions, for the next 60 days? I'm not avoiding questions. I want to make sure

03:54that I am providing factual and accurate information. Certainly, but is there no in

03:59between, right, between what is obviously a fact and what you can surmise from the

04:05details that you already have? I assure you when I have a full and complete

04:10report of what took place on that day, I will certainly come back and make that

04:15available. Certainly. Studies indicate that the United States is experiencing

04:19increasing levels of political violence and tension. Does the Secret Service see

04:22increasing political violence as a threat to its work, and if so, how is the

04:26Secret Service adapting its strategies and protocols to account for increasing

04:30political violence? We are constantly evaluating the threats that we receive

04:35and monitoring that, and we make adjustments on a daily basis to our

04:41protectees based on what those threats are and what actions we need to take.

04:46Yes or no, do you believe that stricter controls on the availability of assault

04:49weapons would make it easier for the Secret Service to fulfill its missions

04:52of protecting public officials? I think the Secret Service is tasked with

04:57providing a safe environment, which is why we put into place a number of

05:00mitigation factors. Certainly, but do assault weapons make it easier or harder

05:04for you to do your job? I think that any weapon makes it difficult for us to do

05:08our job. Okay, I yield back. Chair Doe recognizes Mr. Donalds from Florida.

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