Joe Biden has ordered the Secret Service to provide protection to its former director after she received death threats following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
Kimberley Cheatle resigned in disgrace after assassin Thomas Crooks shot the former president in the ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Nine days later, she refused to explain why the shooter had a clear line of fire from less than 130 yards away when she appeared before Congress.
And she was ridiculed for suggesting that there could not have been officers stationed on the “sloping roof” from which he was shooting.
Now she has sparked further outrage after becoming the first former director in the agency’s history to be assigned her own security team after receiving “numerous threats.” RCP reported.
“I don’t remember picking Kimberly Cheatle,” one critic tweeted. “She can afford her own protection if she wants to so badly.”
Former Secret Service director Cheatle admitted to Congress that she was responsible for the massive security failure that allowed the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Cheatle refused to step down from her post for nine days after the failures that led to Trump being shot in the ear
The former president escaped with a flesh wound, but two people in his audience were seriously injured and former Fire Chief Corey Comperatore, 50, was shot dead as he tried to protect his family.
“The solemn mission of the Secret Service is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure,” Cheatle wrote in her resignation letter to colleagues. “On July 13, we failed in that mission.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was allowed within 450 feet of Trump despite repeated warnings to the Secret Service
“As your director, I take full responsibility for the security failure. However, I do not want my calls for resignation to distract from the great work that each of you do.”
Part of that work will now involve caring for Cheatle herself, after she receives protection from the service’s Dignitary Protective Division.
Two congressional committees, the FBI and the Secret Service itself, have launched investigations into what went wrong at the meeting.
During her appearance on Capitol Hill, she admitted that her officers at the meeting had been warned about Crooks no fewer than five times and that the roof from which Crooks opened fire had been identified as a potential vulnerability days before the meeting.
Her opposition infuriated congressional leaders, with some claiming Biden had only appointed her as a “DEI hire.”
“You’re not talking shit today,” Nancy Mace of South Carolina said to her at one point.
“You’re just being completely dishonest.”
The beleaguered security chief has faced mounting questions about why no agent was stationed at the building from which Thomas Crooks opened fire on the former president, and why Trump was allowed to take the stage even when a threat was detected.
Biden thanked Cheatle for her “decades of service to the public” in a statement after her resignation was made public and vowed to appoint someone to replace her “soon.”
“She has selflessly served and risked her life to protect our country throughout her career in the United States Secret Service,” the president wrote.
He continued: ‘As a leader, it takes honour, courage and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organisation charged with one of the most challenging tasks in public service.’
“We all know that what happened that day can never happen again. As we move forward, I wish Kim all the best and I plan to appoint a new director soon.”
The news that she will receive protection came after it was revealed that the agency had ordered bulletproof glass barriers so that Trump could hold his first outdoor rallies since the attempt on his life.
The former president has given nearly a dozen lectures since July 13, but on the advice of the Secret Service, they have all been held indoors.
“They’d rather have us in an arena. I don’t know why,” he told a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on July 31.
“But we’re not giving up on outdoor rallies. You know, all those people we had to turn away today, you can have that at an outdoor rally.”
The agency normally provides bulletproof glass to sitting presidents, but a source told ABC the agency is currently ordering and storing panels around the country so they can be used for Trump’s outdoor speeches.
“The Secret Service’s use of UpArmored glass around former President Trump is another step toward ensuring the campaign remains secure,” former agent Don Mihalek told the network.
“This is not just any piece of glass, but a large, bulky and heavily armored piece of glass that requires extensive logistical capacity normally reserved for large-scale outdoor events.”
But news that the organization is also spending government money to protect its own former director has been heavily criticized by critics.
“Is Kimberly Cheatle renting?” asked one.
“She will likely get more protection than Trump given this administration,” wrote another.
“Give her some heavy, wet, fresh DEI workers,” suggested a third. “She’ll be fine.”