OPINION:
Even Democrats are frustrated with administration stonewalling. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle failed to impress the House Oversight Committee on Monday after being summoned to answer questions about the July 13 security failure that allowed a bullet to strike former President Donald Trump.
Having lost public confidence, Ms. Cheatle stepped down on Tuesday. Rep. Ro Khanna, California Democrat, noted that past directors — regardless of political party — eventually resigned after a major security lapse.
“What I can tell you, sir, is that I’m dedicated to finding the answers to what happened,” Ms. Cheatle said at Monday’s hearing. “And like every Secret Service agent, we don’t shirk our responsibilities. I will remain on and be responsible to the agency, to this committee, to the former president and to the American public.”
“Responsible” means nothing if the leaders who set the conditions for failure are allowed to keep their jobs. Ms. Cheatle held true to her word, but serious concerns remain. She had insisted, “There were sufficient resources that were given to the former president.”
A man is dead, two others were seriously wounded and the leading presidential candidate came within a quarter inch of dying. That suggests perhaps a few more well-trained agents should have been on duty at Mr. Trump’s rally.
Instead of reflecting on events to identify what went wrong, the administration has sought to conceal basic facts and deflect blame. “It’s time after time, these multiple layers of accountability turn into multiple layers of plausible deniability in agency after agency,” said Rep. Michael Cloud, Texas Republican. “That’s got to be fixed.”
Nearly a week and a half after the shooting, details have emerged only from Secret Service whistleblowers speaking to the press and Congress. In other high-profile shootings, government officials have no problem holding news conferences to update the public — as long as it fits with the narrative officials seek to tell.
This incident must not fit the narrative, since Ms. Cheatle had said she didn’t expect a public update on the attack for at least another 60 days.
That’s far too long to keep Americans in the dark. It appears to be the classic bureaucratic tactic of stalling as long as possible in the hopes that public interest in the event fades, but the absence of credible information creates a vacuum, encouraging the proliferation of kooky theories.
Ms. Cheatle did acknowledge she had the authority to beef up the security detail for any of the 36 people under her agency’s protection. She also said security was strengthened after the failure at the Pennsylvania rally.
That means she could have done more for Mr. Trump, but she didn’t. Not surprisingly, members on both sides of the aisle joined the call for Ms. Cheatle to step down.
To be fair, she wasn’t really calling the shots. Her boss, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, tried to block her from testifying. He achieved the same result by ordering Ms. Cheatle to say nothing of significance.
Ms. Cheatle did her duty and took her lumps, but the public has no confidence in Mr. Mayorkas, either. House leaders announced Tuesday they intend to vote on the creation of a bipartisan task force on the assassination attempt.
This will be more likely to succeed in getting the answers the public deserves.
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