The Stream

The Brew: Know-Nothing Secret Service Director Frustrates Both Sides of Aisle, Prez Still a No-Show

Difference between Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and this guy? Location.

By Al Perrotta Published on July 23, 2024 •

Al Perrotta

Happy Tuesday!

We’re keeping The Brew percolating as we enter the sixth consecutive day of seeing neither hide nor hair of the president. More on that in a second.

Today we start with a miracle. Namely, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) agree on something: the Secret Service director’s stonewalling before Congress yesterday was simply unacceptable.

Republicans and Democrats All Slam Secret Service Head for Non-Answers and Colossal Failure

Prying answers out of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle yesterday was harder than prying a donut from the hands of Chris Christie. Testifying before the House Oversight Committee, Cheatle refused to offer any real answers to even the most basic questions about what took place before and during the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Repeatedly, she stated that the matter is under investigation, or Congress would have to ask the FBI, or simply said, “I’m not going to discuss specifics about that incident,” or “I do not have the details.” This, nine full days after the incident.

She even denied knowing how her opening statement got leaked to liberal outlets, but not given to the committee.

Here’s a taste.

No, no, we do not like the potty mouth, but watching Cheatle it is hard not to agree with South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace’s extremely frustrated exclamation, “You’re full of **** today.”

Cheatle did admit, through gritted teeth, that July 13 was a “colossal failure,” and Trump was allowed on stage despite the looming danger. We also discovered — oh, how convenient — that the Secret Service has no recordings of radio communications from that day.

Members on both sides of the aisle called for Cheatle to resign immediately. She insisted she’s not going anywhere.

AOC jumped on Cheatle for saying she expected the Secret Service report about the shooting to be ready in 60 days, calling it unacceptable — especially in a highly charged election year.

She also asked a smart question: “If an AR-15 has a range of 400 to 600 yards, why is the protected perimeter shorter than one of the most popular semiautomatic weapons in the U.S.?”

Cheatle gave a nonanswer.

Here’s a question that is incredibly basic — and shocking: Was Thomas Crooks the only shooter? Cheatle’s answer: Go ask the FBI.

How about this one? She has a timeline “that just does not have specifics.”

Contrast Cheatle’s appearance with former Attorney General Janet Reno’s after the Branch Davidian disaster in Waco, Texas, during the Clinton administration in the early 1990s. That very night, Reno stood before reporters alone and answered questions about what had happened as best she could. She also took ultimate responsibility for what went wrong.

At that time, Reno had only been attorney general for a month. She had inherited the Waco situation, which involved the ATF. Cheatle’s been running the Secret Service since September 2022, and she had nine days to prepare for her appearance before Congress.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) was merciless, telling Cheatle, “You’re a DEI horror story.”

Or maybe we can just say she’s a “Friend of Jill”: Three GOP Senators revealed before the hearing that only three Secret Service agents were assigned to “post standing” for Donald Trump that day. (This is the term for guarding the middle perimeter.) For her concurrent event in Pennsylvania that day, First Lady Jill Biden was given a dozen.

It was extremely hard to watch Cheatle yesterday and not think, “This is a cover-up.” Impossible not to wonder, “Are all protectees in danger, or only the ones named Trump?” Was the Secret Service nudged or manipulated to stand down, to get Biden’s rival killed?

Has Anybody Here Seen My Old Friend Biden? Can You Tell Me Where He’s Gone?

It was bad enough when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin disappeared for a few days into a hospital without telling anybody he had a serious medical condition; now we’ve seen neither hide nor hair of the president for nearly a week. However, Biden did call into his Wilmington campaign headquarters yesterdat to thank the workers and praise Harris.

He kept calling her “kid.”

“The name has changed at the top of the ticket,” Biden said, “but the mission hasn’t changed at all. By the way, I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be out there on the campaign with her.”

He also said it was “tough,” but dropping out was “the right decision.”

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We have still not seen photos or video of Biden, nor have we been given a real explanation for why he suddenly dropped out of the race. In the absence of “proof of life,” rumors abound. Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk posted that a source with the Las Vegas Metro Police told him there was an emergency situation involving Biden last week, and the cops were told to clear the streets so his Secret Service detail could get him to the hospital. Then the cops were told to stand down as they were going to instead “medevac” Biden to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. (Hence the rapid flight east.) Biden landed in Delaware, was gingerly put in his limo, and hasn’t been seen since.

True? False? In the vacuum we have to wonder.

In the meantime, out come the jokes.

Kamala’s First Full Day as Presumptive Candidate

The Democratic presidential nomination seems, at least for now, to be coalescing around Kamala Harris. Nancy Pelosi offered her full endorsement Monday. The Harris campaign raised more than $81 million since the announcement she’d likely be taking over the Democratic nomination.

The VP made her first appearance at an event honoring NCAA champions, where she boasted of Biden’s “unmatched” legacy. Then she was off to campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, to meet with campaign workers and share just how much she loves Joe Biden. She said it so often, you’d think she loves him as much as yellow school buses.

Still, as we mentioned in yesterday’s Afternoon Tea, we cannot lose sight of who this woman really is. The media will play her up to be the greatest female in politics since Susan B. Anthony. But we have to know the record.

For example, investigative journalist Peter Schweizer retold how Kamala Harris covered up sexual child abuse by Catholic priests.

San Francisco during her tenure was the only major city that did not prosecute priests for sexual abuse. (Predecessor Terence) Hallinan had been pursuing these cases as well and had obtained an 800-page internal document concerning reports of abuse. Victim groups wanted the report redacted and released to the public, which he planned to do. Harris, when she took over, “disappeared” that document and didn’t pursue legal prosecution of abusers. Note: law firms who were representing the church in SF were among her largest donors when she ran for office.

You can find more details in Schweizer’s 2020 book Profiles in Corruption.

Here’s a question: Should the fact that Harris got her major boost in politics by being the mistress of the most powerful politician in California be a factor in the presidential race?

Along the Stream

Coming up at 7 a.m., Alex Chediak asks, “With Joe Biden Out, What Lies Ahead?”

Already up is Michael Brown’s “A Prayer for President Biden.”

 

Al Perrotta is The Stream’s Washington bureau chief, coauthor with John Zmirak of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration, and coauthor of the counterterrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.

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