Top Republican, 70, calls Cheatle’s ‘sloped roof’ defense ‘final straw’: I could run around it 'all day'
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., sounded off to Fox News Digital regarding USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle's claim the slope of the roof on which Thomas Crooks perched would preclude agents from posting there.
A top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee dismissed suggestions from U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle that the "sloped roof" of attempted assassin Thomas Crooks’ sniper nest precluded it from being properly secured.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., was part of a bipartisan delegation of committee members who toured the Butler Farm Show Grounds on Monday, where members indeed scaled the same glass factory building Thomas Crooks did before he took aim at former President Trump last week.
Gimenez said he has been frustrated with the Homeland Security department for some time, including regarding the porous border and now relating to its subordinate agency, the Secret Service’s handling of Trump’s rally.
"This entire administration is a complete disaster," he said.
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"And so what really bothers me, and the reason I got up on the roof -- I'm 70 -- was for the director to say, ‘well, the steepness of the roof won't allow Secret Service agents to be up there’ -- That was the final straw for me."
Gimenez went on to call for Cheatle’s resignation.
He reiterated that, although he is in good shape for his age, he is still 70.
"I could run around on that roof all day long," he said.
"[Cheatle] should resign because she obviously doesn’t know what she’s talking about."
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-WI, previously released a timeline of the events on July 13. The lawmaker said that preliminary findings revealed the Secret Service did not attend a security briefing given to local SWAT and sniper teams in the morning. According to the findings, local law enforcement revealed they were not in regular communication with Secret Service officers. Johnson also said that the Secret Service did not initially plan to include any snipers at the rally, before they changed plans for unclear reasons.
"After all the failures that I've seen just walking the scene and the cardinal sins that I'm hearing that the Secret Service committed, I would assume this is just another part of this," Gimenez responded.
"And you must have a walkthrough," he said. "You must have a final reading as to who is responsible for what. And what is everybody doing."
Gimenez said he too learned local authorities did not have a presence in the Secret Service’s command center, which he said creates a prime environment for disorganization and lack of communication in the case a threat does present itself.
"This is not rocket-science stuff. This is a simple security measure that anybody would take," he said.
Gimenez also echoed concerns of Rep. Elijah Crane, R-Ariz., who pointed out a very tall water tower just east of the farm show grounds.
As a former U.S. Navy SEAL and sniper, he immediately identified the tower as a crucial post for Secret Service countersnipers, along with other security miscues.
"From there, you could see everything," Gimenez said. "You would not have any, any line-of-sight issues because you're way above the trees," he said, as other lawmakers noted a tree partially obscured one oblique angle to surveil Crooks’ roof.
For his part, Crane told reporters that aspect is just more proof "we are being gaslit and lied to."
From the Democratic perspective, ranking member Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said some facts about the scene "speak for themselves," and sets the stage for the committee’s work later this week.
"Some of us are just members of Congress; we're not experts. But seeing what happened that day is important because we have a hearing tomorrow," he said.
WATCH:
New York Rep. Nick LaLota told Fox News Digital that the Secret Service got it "horribly wrong" on July 13, saying that they were "thwarted" by 20-year-old Crooks.
"The Secret Service got it horribly wrong on July 13." he said. "They were thwarted by a 20-year-old with no military or law enforcement training."
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"And yet there is an agency with a $3 billion budget and 3,000 employees," he said. "It's a horrible embarrassment for the agency."
LaLota said viewing the sight where Crooks' opened fire "brought reality to the situation."
"Of course, I've seen countless clips on TV and social media, and I've seen some of the digital recaps, but being here on the ground brings some good perspective as to where the would-be assassin was and where the stage was."
LaLota said that he hopes that Secret Service Director Kimblery Cheatle has the "courage" to "face the music" at the committee hearing on Tuesday in Washington D.C.
The Representative said that he has questions regarding the tactics of the day, strategic decision-making and questions about the Secret Service.
"I have questions in three main areas," he said. "One, the tactics of that day, what was involved or not involved with respect to communications? Why didn't we use drones? What were the authorities and communications between state and local, departments and officials and federal ones?"
"My second one is strategic, why in the days leading up to it, were decisions made to see the authorities to state and local folks inside perimeters that are usually known to be protected by the Secret Service themselves, what strategic decisions are made and why? When Trump with the agents on the Trump campaign asked the Secret Service for more resources, why did the Secret Service heads deny those requests?"
LaLota said that he also has questions about the Secret Service administration and the culture that Director Cheatle fostered.
"Are DEI priorities negatively affecting the hiring promotion, assignment processes within the department and thus making them less effective?" he said. "We should be a nation based upon merit, and we want our best and brightest in these, in these important jobs."
"Is DEI infecting the Secret Service to the point where we put the leading candidate for president in 2024 at risk?" he said. "These are the questions that we need to get to the bottom here."
The representatives' statements came after Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc, released his official 13-page preliminary findings of his office's investigation into the assassination attempt.
The preliminary findings determined that the Secret Service did not attend a security briefing given to local SWAT and sniper teams on the morning of July 13, that local law enforcement said communications were siloed and they were not in frequent radio contact directly with the Secret Service, that local law enforcement notified command about Crooks before the shooting and received confirmation that the Secret Service was aware of the notification and that the Secret Service was seen on the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building with local law enforcement following the shooting.
The investigation also found that photos of the shooter were sent to the ATF for facial recognition and that local law enforcement said the Secret Service was initially not planning on sending snipers to the rally.
The Secret Service did not return Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
Fox News' Landon Mion contributed to this report.
