WATCH: Dem Rep's Brutal Grilling of Kim Cheatle Exposes Huge Response Problem of Secret Service

There has been a lot of troubling information that has come out on the Secret Service's handling of the Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. I wrote earlier about Sen. Ron Johnson's (R-WI) report that laid out a lot of troubling information, including the lack of communication and the failure of the Secret Service to show up for a meeting that morning with local law enforcement. Johnson also raised questions about the possibility of another shooter and about to whom pictures of the dead shooter had been given. There were also big questions about why Jill Biden had gotten 12 post-standers for her Pittsburgh event versus former President Trump only getting three, despite having thousands of people at his event, a much bigger outdoor event.

On Monday, they finally had the Secret Service head Kim Cheatle appearing to testify before a bipartisan House Oversight Committee. Cheatle largely just deflected and failed to answer questions, saying, "We're investigating." It's nine days, and there hasn't even been a comprehensive briefing with everything laid out as there would be in almost any other high-profile shooting.

Grassley Demands Answers As Shocking New Info Revealed About Secret Service Resources for Jill Biden

WATCH LIVE: Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle Testifies Before House Oversight Committee

While there were some Democrats who seemed to want to run cover for her and talk about gun control as well as things that had nothing to do with the assassination attempt (I'm looking at you, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton), some Democrats were on the job and asked great questions.

She had a lot of troubling responses, and we'll have other stories. But this questioning by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) was just brutally honest and straightforward, exposing that it's not just about this one event but there's a problem with their response in general and their protocol. This was truly insane as she tried to say that a guy on the roof within range isn't considered a "threat."

Rep. Krishnamoorthi: "The shooter began shooting at 6:1PM on July 13th. NBC reported at 5:51 PM, 20 minutes before the shooting the state police informed the Secret Service of their concern. The rally was not paused at that point, correct?"

Cheatle: "No." pic.twitter.com/Cpgoa2fhDN
— ForAmerica (@ForAmerica) July 22, 2024

Krishnamoorthi asked, "The shooter began shooting at 6:11 PM on July 13th. NBC reported at 5:51 PM, 20 minutes before the shooting, the state police informed the Secret Service of their concern. The rally was not paused at that point, correct?"

"No," she replied.

Then, two minutes later, they notified the snipers, but the rally still wasn't paused.

Then, as we reported and Krishnamoorthi showed here, rallygoers were shouting out that the shooter was on the roof. "Ma'am, that doesn't look like suspicious behavior," Krishnamoorthi said. "That looks like threatening behavior to me. And the rally wasn't paused at that point either?" he asked.

Cheatle replied, "I can tell you, as I stated earlier, sir, that the moment that the shift, uh, surrounding the president were aware of an actual threat..."

He interrupted, unable to believe what she had just said, "That's a threat! Right there. The guy's on the roof and eveyone is yelling at him and directing the officers' attention to him. The rally was not paused at that point, correct?"

She said they were still combing through communications.

"Well, I can point you to THIS communication," he said bluntly, pointing to the video. "It's two minutes before the shots started ringing out."

Krishnamoorthi asked if the Secret Service ever considered pausing the rally. He identified three points within 20 minutes where the threat emerged, and Cheatle's response was essentially they would have responded if they knew there was a threat.

So, to them, a guy on a roof isn't a threat even worthy of stopping things or not having Trump go out on the stage. You don't have to shoot the shooter, but at least you can protect the person you're supposed to protect, and if this is their protocol that they don't even view a guy on a roof as a threat, then we have a huge problem not just for the safety of Trump but of everyone else being protected. This was just unconscionable.

It's been nine days, and there's been no detailed briefing; they just answered four questions earlier in the week. If she had a conscience, she'd resign because of the failure, but she has no shame. But given the way even Democrats were questioning her, she may not last long in the job.