Audio By Carbonatix
The director of the Secret Service is stepping down from her job, according to an email she sent to staff.
This follows the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump that unleashed intensifying outcry about how the agency tasked with protecting current and former presidents could fail in its core mission.
Kimberly Cheatle, who had served as Secret Service director since August 2022, had been facing growing calls to resign and several investigations into how the shooter was able to get so close to the Republican presidential nominee at an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in the email to staff Tuesday. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”
Cheatle’s resignation comes a day after appeared before a congressional committee and was berated by hours by both Democrats and Republicans for the security failures. She called the attempt on Trump’s life the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure” in decades and said she takes fully responsibility for the security lapses, but angered lawmakers by failing to answer specific questions about the investigation.
The 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to get within 135 meters (157 yards) of the stage where the former president was speaking when he opened fire. That’s despite a threat on Trump’s life from Iran leading to additional security for the former president in the days before the July 13 rally.
Latest Stories
-
Humour at its finest at Kumasi Comedy Show
8 minutes -
Police Christmas special operation: 101 suspects arrested in Greater Accra
32 minutes -
15 arrested after sporadic shootings at Ho central mosque
45 minutes -
GES condemns alleged theft of food supplies at Awaso STEM SHS
1 hour -
DopeNation electrifies crowd at Joy FM’s Party in the Park
1 hour -
Philip Ayesu emerges as the 2025 Achimota Champion after beating Percival Kwadjo Ampoma
2 hours -
Support your own – Mr P tells Ghanaian artistes
2 hours -
Ghana EXIM Bank develops 5-year export-led growth strategy to drive trade expansion
2 hours -
Big Smiles, Bigger Bounces: Kids take over the fun at the Joy Party in the Park
3 hours -
Joy FM Party in the Park 2025: Kwabena Kwabena takes centre stage
3 hours -
Ghana-Nigeria cyber-fraud network dupes over 200 victims of $400,000
3 hours -
Tackling terrorism requires jobs and anti-corruption drive, not strikes alone – Nigerian security analyst
3 hours -
Terror attacks in Nigeria affect all faiths, not only Christians – Security analyst
3 hours -
$120,000 stolen from Ghanaian financial institution by hackers – INTERPOL
3 hours -
Modern security management defined by trust – IGP
3 hours
