Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle's appearance before the House Oversight Committee on Monday only enhanced the calls for her resignation or removal. Representative Greg Steube (R-FL) took it one step further and filed an article of impeachment against her, saying, "After her abysmal testimony today and insistence on refusing to resign, we have no choice but to impeach Director Cheatle."
Reports from the events of the Butler, Pennsylvania rally that saw former President Donald Trump and two others injured and retired fire chief Corey Comperatore dead show numerous failures in security between the Secret Service and local law enforcement, as shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was a person of interest for an hour.
More egregiously, Crooks was spotted using a rangefinder and in the sights of counter-snipers for twenty minutes before he opened fire.
In his press release, Rep. Steube excoriated Cheatle for her failure and refusal to resign despite insisting she would take responsibility and hold herself accountable.
"The Secret Service calls themselves 'one of the most elite law enforcement agencies in the world.' What happened under their watch in Butler, Pennsylvania, was an international embarrassment and an inexcusable tragedy," the Florida Congressman said.
"Today, I'm exercising our Congressional authority of oversight by filing an article of impeachment against Director Cheatle for her dereliction of duty as it relates to the assassination attempt on President Trump's life. As she said herself in a recent interview, the "buck stops with me." Multiple confirmed reports show that the Secret Service Sniper had the would-be assassin in his sights for almost 20 minutes. How was the would-be assassin not neutralized before he shot? Every supervisor in that chain of command should be fired immediately, and that starts with the Director. An American hero is dead and several severely wounded as a result of the Secret Service failure to protect President Trump. There are also multiple reports that Trump's detail had repeatedly requested additional resources for safety and were denied. All in the chain of command, including the Director, should be held responsible," Steube concluded.
