米大統領警護隊長官、任務「失敗」認める　トランプ氏暗殺未遂

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】米大統領警護隊（シークレットサービス）のキンバリー・チートル長官は２２日、下院監視・説明責任委員会の公聴会で証言し、警護隊がドナルド・トランプ前大統領の暗殺未遂事件を防げなかったことを認めた。だが、共和、民主両党の議員による辞任要求は拒否した。（写真は、大統領警護隊〈シークレットサービス〉のキンバリー・チートル長官）
　選挙集会での演説中にトランプ氏が狙撃され、耳を負傷した暗殺未遂事件について、チートル氏は「警護隊の厳粛な任務は、米国の指導者を守ることだ」「７月１３日、われわれは失敗した」と認めた上で、「警護隊の長として、警備の不備について全ての責任を負う」と述べた。
「警護隊の過去数十年の作戦で最も重大な失敗」だったとし、「ミスがあったのは明らかだ。二度とこのようなことが起きないよう全力を尽くす」と表明した。
　一方で、複数の捜査が進行中であることを理由に、事件に関する詳細を明らかにすることを拒否し、両党の議員の反発を招いた。
　さらに両党の議員からの辞任要求に対しては、「今、警護隊を率いるのは私が最もふさわしいと思う」として拒否した。
　チートル氏によれば、警護隊は、事件前に会場にいた「不審人物」について「２～５回」警告を受けていたが、直ちに「脅威」と見なさなかった。「その人物を特定し、事情聴取を行うためにチームが派遣された」が、容疑者が発砲する前に居場所を突き止めることができなかったという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/07/23-16:55）

US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle acknowledged on Monday that the agency failed in its mission to prevent the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump but rejected bipartisan calls for her resignation.
The Secret Service's solemn mission is to protect our nation's leaders, Cheatle said during a contentious hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
On July 13, we failed, she said. As director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse.
Cheatle said the attack on Trump, who was slightly wounded in his right ear while speaking at a campaign rally, was the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.
There clearly was a mistake and we will make every effort to make sure that this never happens again, she said.
Both Republicans and Democrats called on Cheatle to resign and she drew the ire of lawmakers from both parties by refusing to provide specific details about the attack, citing the existence of multiple active investigations.
I can speak to you in generalities, she said.
The 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Trump with an AR-style assault rifle just minutes after the former Republican president and current White House candidate began speaking at the campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The gunman, perched on the roof of a nearby building, was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper less than 30 seconds after firing the first of eight shots.
Investigators have concluded the young man, who lived in a town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Butler, acted alone and have not been able to identify any strong ideological or political leanings.
Two rally attendees were seriously wounded and a 50-year-old Pennsylvania firefighter, Corey Comperatore, was shot dead.
Opening the hearing, Republican committee chairman James Comer said this tragedy was preventable and it is my firm belief, Director Cheadle, that you should resign.
The Secret Service has a zero-fail mission, but it failed on July 13 and in the days leading up to the rally, Comer said, adding that the agency has become the face of incompetence.
- 'Lost the confidence of Congress' -
Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, joined the bipartisan calls on Cheatle to step down.
I don't want to add to the director's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, but I will be joining the chairman in calling for the resignation, Raskin said.
I think that the director has lost the confidence of Congress at a very urgent and tender moment in the history of the country.
Cheatle rebuffed the demands. I think that I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time, she said.
The Secret Service was alerted two to five times ahead of the shooting about a suspicious individual at the rally, she said, but he was not immediately classified as a threat.
There were teams that were sent to identify and interview that individual, she said, but they were unable to locate him before he opened fire.
Trump's former physician said over the weekend that the Republican candidate sustained a two-centimeter (almost one inch) gunshot wound on his right ear that is starting to heal.
The memo from ex-White House physician Ronny Jackson, now a hardline right-wing lawmaker from Texas, was the first detailed account of the injury Trump sustained.
The bullet passed, coming less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head, and struck the top of his right ear, said Jackson, who has been treating the former president.
Cheatle served as a Secret Service agent for 27 years before leaving in 2021 to become the head of security in North America for PepsiCo.
She was named to head the agency by President Joe Biden in 2022.