Secret Service director to testify before House of Representatives about Trump attack

The Secret Service reported Friday that its director, Kimberly Cheatle, will appear next Monday before the House Oversight Committee to testify about the recent attack on Donald Trump.

Anthony Guglielmi, spokesman for the Secret Service, was the one who announced through a statement published through social networks, that Cheatle will attend the hearing as part of the agency's commitment to “better understanding what happened before, during and after the assassination attempt of former President Trump to ensure it never happens again." Guglielmi stressed that the Secret Service will cooperate fully with Congress, the FBI and other relevant investigations.

Cheatle's appearance follows a subpoena issued by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky.

The Department of Homeland Security asked to postpone the hearing because Cheatle had operational and travel commitments. However, Comer insisted that the hearing must be held next Monday in a joint statement with Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland.

Cheatle "must appear" on Monday "to answer our many questions and provide the transparency and accountability that Americans deserve and that are at the foundation of our government," the lawmakers stated. "While we often have passionate disagreements about policies and investigative priorities, we are united in condemning all political violence and ensuring that America will prevent such a horrific event from ever happening again," they added.

Ongoing investigations

The House Oversight Committee is investigating the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, along with other committees. Mark Green, who heads the House Homeland Security Committee, also invited Kimberly Cheatle to testify before his group next Tuesday. In addition, House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to announce Monday the creation of a bipartisan task force to expedite the House investigation.

Security failures

At a briefing by the FBI and Secret Service on the assassassination attempt against Donald Trump, senators learned that authorities had identified the shooter as a "suspicious character" more than an hour before the attack. However, no action was apparently taken to monitor the individual during that critical period, which has generated great concern in the Senate.