July 15 (UPI) — Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said Monday that the agency will take part in an independent review of Sunday’s assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump on Saturday.
Cheatle said the Secret Service will “fully participate” in the review of the incident announced by President Joe Biden on Sunday night and would also work with “appropriate Congressional committees on any oversight action.”
“The Secret Service is working with all involved federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened and how we can prevent and incident like this from ever taking place again,” she said.
Cheatle added she has been in “constant contact” with Secret Service personnel in Pennsylvania, where the shooting took place, “to maintain the integrity of the crime scene” until the FBI takes its lead role investigating the incident and coordinating with Trump’s protective detail.
In his comments on Sunday, Biden said he directed the review of security at the shooting at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pa., where Trump’s ear was struck by a bullet, one spectator was killed and two more were injured.
Cheatle offered condolences to Corey Comperatore, the attendee who was killed, calling it “a senseless act of violence” while noting the Secret Service’s efforts to respond to the incident and kill the shooter.
“Secret Service personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our counter sniper team neutralizing the shooting and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of former president Donald Trump,” Cheatle said.
In the wake of the incident, a group of bipartisan lawmakers on Sunday said they were planning a bill to provide “enhanced Secret Service protection” for Trump, Biden and independent candidate Robert F. Keneddy Jr.
Biden on Sunday also called for the Secret Service to “review all security measures” for the Republican National Convention, which was set to get underway in Milwaukee on Monday.
“I am confident in the security plan our Secret Service RNC coordinator and our partners have put in place, which we have reviewed and strengthened in the wake of Saturday’s shooting,” Cheatle said in her statement. “The security plans for the National Security Events are designed to be flexible.”
