The US Secret Service admits its failure to protect Trump

The director of the US Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, admitted before Congress that she and her agency failed when a person injured Republican candidate Donald Trump in an assassination attempt during his campaign event on July 13 in Pennsylvania.

“We failed, as director of the US Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security gaffe,” Cheatle said during testimony before the House Oversight Committee.

“The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13 is the most notable failure in Secret Service operations in decades,” Cheatle said.

Cheatle said that the former president’s security had been increased prior to the shooting, in the face of allegations from members of the Republican Party that the Secret Service had refused to provide resources to protect Trump.

“The level of insurance provided to the former president increased well before the campaign, and is still steadily increasing in light of the evolving threats,” she said, adding, “Our mission isn’t political, it’s literally a matter of life and death”.

Monday’s hearing marks the first round of congressional oversight of the circumstances of the assassination attempt, and FBI Director Christopher Wray will appear on Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee.

“I’ve a firm belief, Director Cheatle, that you should resign,” Kentucky Republican Rep. Comer said, adding that the Secret Service has thousands of employees and a huge budget, but now it’s a symbol of incompetence.

Former US President Donald Trump was shot in the ear while delivering a speech at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed that the Pennsylvania incident was an attempt to assassinate Donald Trump, noting that the perpetrator of the assassination attempt is a young man named Thomas Matthew Crooks, aged 20, while the office previously announced that his motives have not yet been determined.