Congress Subpoenas Secret Service Chief

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is set to testify before the House Oversight Committee on July 22.

Official subpoena issued on behalf of the House Oversight Committee The head of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, signed a formal subpoena addressed to the Director of the United States Secret Service (USSS), Kimberly Chattle, calling for questioning at a committee meeting.

The accompanying letter to the subpoena states: “The attempted assassination of the former President and current Republican presidential candidate constitutes a complete failure of the agency’s core mission and requires congressional oversight proceedings.” Such subpoenas are issued based on the constitutional provision regarding the oversight role of Congress in the US separation of powers system.

Ahead of the issuance of the warrant, a Secret Service source confirmed to Scripps News that the agency did not comb the roof where the shooter was located, saying that security of the building was the responsibility of local law enforcement. But a Pennsylvania State Police spokesman said the department provided “all the resources” the Secret Service requested for the Trump rally, including 30 to 40 police in tactical gear with automatic weapons (also called “troopers”) who helped secure the interior perimeter, but “was not responsible for the protection” of the building or property on which it is located.

After the shooting at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania, Cheatle spoke to the media and told ABC News: “I take responsibility.”