Secret Service director no longer appearing at security conference following Trump assassination attempt

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will no longer speak at this week’s Aspen Security Forum following the failed assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.

Cheatle will spend this week in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the Republican National Convention instead of at the forum, a Secret Service spokesperson confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Monday.

The director, who’s quickly become a household name following Saturday’s assassination attempt, was expected to appear on Wednesday for a panel event titled, “Phishing, Fakes, and Fraud: Tackling Transnational Crime and Enhancing Global Security,” with Brian Nelson, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury, and Jurgen Stock, the secretary-general of Interpol.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR KIMBERLY CHEATLE

During Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park was able to fire several shots at the former president while he was onstage speaking to the crowd. He was grazed on the ear by a bullet, and a spectator was killed and two others were hospitalized.

There are several investigations ongoing about the assassination attempt, including one by the Secret Service, which is facing significant scrutiny. The shooter was able to fire several shots from a rooftop nearby before law enforcement shot and killed him seconds later.

“Secret Service personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our counter sniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of former president Donald Trump,” Cheatle said in a statement. “The Secret Service is working with all involved Federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again.”

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The House Oversight Committee has requested Cheatle testify before Congress on July 22, and she said the agency will “work with the appropriate Congressional committees on any oversight action.”

Several other administration officials are set to appear at the forum, including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, which oversees the Secret Service. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and CIA Director William Burns are set to speak at the forum as well.