Introduction: Key takeaways

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Seitle testifies before the House
Oversight and Accountability Committee at the Rayburn House on July 22 in Washington.
Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the U.S. Secret Service,

faced angry members of Congress from both parties on Monday over
the glaring security failures that led to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Cheatle acknowledged that there were “serious” problems at Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler,

Pennsylvania, where the former president was shot in the ear,
citing the historical and political significance of the event.
He said the Secret Service received “two to five calls”
about suspicious people in the area before Trump took office.

But as members of the House Oversight Committee continue
to uncover new information about the security breach and what steps
are being taken to prevent a recurrence, Chitel is eagerly
awaiting answers from lawmakers to thwart the investigation.
He also defied cross-party calls for his immediate resignation.

Here are key takeaways from the hearing

Seitl acknowledges agency’s ‘colossal failure’: Seitl acknowledges that the assassination of
Trump was the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure in decades.
” He later said it was the agency’s worst moment since the
failed assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
However, despite the historic defeat under his leadership,
he was adamant that he would not give up the ticket.

No resources were spared at the Trump rally: “The resources requested that day were committed to
the July 13 event,” Chitel said. CNN reported that there
have been incidents in the past where the Secret Service
has denied some of President Trump’s requests

and in some cases local law enforcement has complied with them.
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan asked Chitel if he was lying after he
previously said the Secret Service did not turn down security requests.
“No requests were turned down at this event in Butler,” he said.

Villainous answers — and no answers: Top Republicans and Democrats on
the House Oversight Committee fired up Seattle with some big questions
that remain unanswered: Were Secret Service agents on the roof when gunman

Thomas Crooks shot Trump? ? Did the shooter fly a drone
over the area before the protest? The note does not directly answer
these and other questions. As for Crooks’ possible drone, he confirmed
the FBI told him, but said the investigation is ongoing.