Cheatle Resigns

But questions remain

CARROLLTON, TX, Cradle of Civilization (GLOB) — Just saw the news that the Director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, has “stepped down” - presumably off the slippery slope of trying to explain away her failure to protect former President Trump.

But did Cheatle really say the roof was too sloped to have agents on top? I mean really? When I heard that, I immediately thought “fake news.”

Then I read this remark from her ABC Interview:

"That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there's a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn't want to put somebody up on a sloped roof. And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside.”

Secure the building from inside. What? Who made this decision?

Meanwhile, note the below.

The sloped roof that presented a “safety factor”

Another sloped roof with actual safety factors in place

What am I missing here? The roof with the counter snipers appears to have a steeper slope. How is the sloped roof thing a defense? It seems like a “panic” lie when confronting a child doing something wrong.

I was just, you know, closing this dangerously sloped lid, not eating cookies.

I actually hope she panic lied, because if she truly believed that the slope of the roof presented a “safety factor” then she simply should not have been placed in her role.

According to the agency’s website, the agency currently is responsible for 36 people, not counting any visiting dignitaries from other countries. I don’t know how they divide up the work, but I doubt the Director of the Agency is personally overseeing all 36 protection details. The Protective Operations unit has over 3.600 staffers. So, clearly, there is a chain of command. Who actually had oversight of Trump’s protection detail? Was it Cheatle or someone else? It would seem likely that someone actually there was responsible for deciding the who, what, and where of danger spots and effective countermeasures. Who was that?

Along with The Debate, this public display of ineptitude is concerning. In my days in Loss Prevention I learned that one deterrence to theft is the belief that “I’ll get caught.” I would like to think that there is a perception that, “I’ll never get past the Secret Service, I’ll be dead before I can get a shot off.”

Well, so much for that perception. Trump was saved by turning his head at just the right moment, and for no other reason.

And, who is in charge of protection for those 36 people now? How competent are the teams? I won’t get into the easy target of DEI hires, but the question needs to be asked. Are the agents competent, properly trained, and provided with the best equipment and support? Is the Secret Service laser focused on the job?

Kimberly Cheatle stepping down was the right thing for her to do. But it is only the first step in sorting out what went wrong so as to make sure something this egregious does not happen again.