Category: Government (Page 26 of 36)

I’m watching a portion of the Congressional hearings on the Secret Service and the Trump assassination attempt.

If the Secret Service Director, Kimberly Cheatle, was ever going to resign, I bet she wished she had resigned yesterday.  Every congressman is ripping into her.  For the most part, it isn’t possible to distinguish between a Democratic or Republican congressman.  They are all personally pissed off that people died and a presidential candidate was shot.  They all ask for her resignation.  It’s gratifying to see.

Surprisingly, Ocasio-Cortez did a good job.  She isn’t a quick thinker or smooth talker, but she was informed, had good questions and was impressively indignant.  A couple of congressmen tried to make some unrelated political points, but it was a soft-sell.  Several congressmen are grandstanding by demonstrating their personal knowledge, but that makes the hearings less repetitive.

Most congressmen imply that 20 year-olds are insipid morons and that makes the Secret Service look even worse.  Cheatle isn’t answering many questions, fewer questions than in the ABC interview, and that makes her look terrible. 

Cheatle should have resigned, she doesn’t have a friend on the Hill.  She won’t remain in that position.

There Will Always Be Vulnerabilities

This article was written by an veteran police officer who has been writing about law enforcement for many years.  He describes working with the Secret Service in the manner that you’d expect.

From my position I could see other teams similarly situated on rooftops, but so numerous were the nearby buildings that there weren’t enough counter-sniper teams to post one on all of them. I was told, however, that any position overlooking the landing zone would be guarded by at least one Secret Service agent, most of them accompanied by an LAPD officer.

I’ve read a couple of books by Ronald Kessler about the Secret Service.  It’s difficult to understand why security was so lax for Trump’s rally.