‘ON JULY 13TH, WE FAILED’: The Secret Service — which, according to its official history, was created in 1865 to stamp out rampant counterfeiting — now only has one primary job: protection. It is tasked with protecting the president, major candidates for president, former presidents, and their immediate family members. At this one job, it failed on July 13, when a 20-year-old sniper came within a whisker of assassinating Donald Trump despite glaring signs that screamed the former president was under imminent threat.
Called to account before a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on Monday, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle had no choice but to admit the obvious. “The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13th, we failed. As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency.” Cheatle said, “I will move heaven and Earth to ensure that an incident like July 13th does not happen again.”
