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Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cittle will not update her top-level security clearance, the agency said.
This comes after Cheatle resigned last year amid growing scrutiny over the security lapse that led to an attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump survived an assassination attempt on July 13, 2024, and was injured in the ear after a bullet grazeed him, but a member of the audience, Corey Comperatore, was killed, and two other people in the crowd were injured. A Secret Service sniper fatally shot 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks and 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks ascended to the top of a nearby building.
The Secret Service and several US intelligence agencies, including the CIA and FBI, regularly update security clearances for former directors. However, the Secret Service says that not all original directors will update their clearance under current Sean Curran.
Secret Service Director Cheatle resigns after putting pressure on Trump after attempting to assassinate Trump
Kimberly Cheat, then secret service director, will testify before the House of Representatives Surveillance and Accountability Committee on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Washington, DC on July 22, 2024 (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
“The Secret Service in the United States sponsors security clearances of all former directors for their knowledge of operational and national security issues,” a Secret Service spokesman said in a statement in Fox News. “The purpose of this was to allow agents to maintain formal and protected communications, including potentially sensitive and categorized issues with former officials.”
“Since being appointed, Director Karan has built a dynamic team of knowledgeable advisers that will help implement his vision for government agencies,” the spokesman continued. “In addition, Director Curran is modernizing the intelligence reporting agency within the agency. During the process, he determined that not all former directors would update their clearance.”
Some Republican lawmakers have reportedly R-Wisc, which is said to not update cheatles’ security clearances. She allegedly opposed potential updates, including Sen. Ron Johnson of the group, and her leadership decisions contributed to the failures of many institutions surrounding the assassination attempts against Trump.
“After Butler’s security blunder, the former USSS director made the right decision to step down,” Johnson said in a statement to RealClearpolitics. “I don’t think there’s a reason for her security clearance to come back.”
Butler a year later: revisiting historic assassination attempts against Donald Trump
The then secret service director, Kimberly Cittle, is sworn in before his testimony before the House of Representatives Surveillance and Accountability Committee on July 22, 2024 in Washington, DC (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Johnson, who chairs the Senate Permanent Subcommittee’s investigation, investigated the failure of the Secret Service leading up to an attempted assassination at Butler.
Senator Marsha Blackburn, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who conducted a joint investigation with the Homeland Security Committee on Butler’s failure, said the agency’s failure should prevent her from maintaining security clearance.
“Kim Cheetle shamed the Secret Service for not being able to prevent any horrific attempts at President Trump’s life,” Blackburn said in a statement to RealClearpolitics. “She not only oversaw one of the biggest security failures in our country’s history, but also overseeing the oversight of Congress and fled from my colleagues and me when we stood up to her.
Ten days after the shooting at Butler, Cheatle resigned as manager.
“For the men and women of Secret Service in the US, the strict mission of Secret Service is to protect our country’s leaders and financial infrastructure,” Citru wrote to the agency at the time. “On July 13th, we were short on that mission.”
Donald Trump is filmed under the cover of a Secret Service Agent after being shot in the ear at a rally on July 13, 2024 by Larry (Anna Money Maker/Getty Images).
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“As your supervisor, I will be fully responsible for the lapse of security,” she added.
R-KY, chairing the Homeland Security Committee on the first anniversary of the assassination attempt. Senator Rand Paul accused her of lying to her testimony in the aftermath of the shooting.
The former manager pushed back Paul’s allegations.
“The claims and implications that I provided misleading testimony are patently false and harmful to frontline men and women who are unfairly disciplined for the sake of the team,” she replied in a statement provided by her lawyer.
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