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CNN International: Secret Service Head Resigns In Wake Of Trump Rally Shooting; Harris To Hold First Rally Today As Presumptive Nominee; Harris Has Enough Delegates To Win Democratic Nomination. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired July 23, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
JIM SCIUTTO, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, and welcome to our viewers from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington.
I do want to get right to our breaking news this hour. The U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned her post, just over a week after a failed assassination attempt against Donald Trump, and just a day after appearance on Capitol Hill. She faced bipartisan calls to step up -- step down after a roof-top gunman was able to fire several times on the former President. Cheatle was grilled by lawmakers from both parties on Monday at the House Oversight Committee hearing.
A new hearing is actually happening today. The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee is speaking to police officials from Pennsylvania. The Secretary of Homeland Security and Cheatle declined their invitations to testify today. This as the House is set to launch a bipartisan task force to lead its own investigation of the shooting.
With more on the breaking news, CNN Justice Correspondent Jessica Schneider joins us now from Washington. And Jessica, I wonder, have there been any responses to her resignation so far?
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: There have, sort of dueling responses on both sides of the political spectrum. I mean, we have just heard from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. He gave a multi-paragraph glowing statement about Director Cheatle's service, in particular to the Secret Service. She has been with the Secret Service for a total of 29 years, and he spoke very glowingly about her commitment to the Secret Service, as well as praised the work of Secret Service agents on an everyday basis.
But then, of course, on the other side of the aisle, we're hearing from House Oversight Chairman James Comer talking -- reacting to this resignations, saying that there will be more accountability to come. He says the Secret Service has a no-fail mission, yet it failed historically on Director Cheatle's watch. And he has continued to say that while Director Cheatle's resignation is a step toward accountability, we need a full accounting of how these security failures happened so that we can prevent them from going forward.
Director Cheatle's resignation does come 10 days after that assassination attempt on the former President at his Pennsylvania rally. And Jim, since then, there has been not only this growing criticism, but also the beginning of investigations from multiple different agencies, both on Capitol Hill, also with the Inspector General's Office. There is a lot of question as to how that shooter was able to get on the roof, not far from where the former President was speaking at his rally, fire off a shot that came very close to the former President.
And then there is also questions about the Secret Service and their communication. Local law enforcement did notice this would-be assassin, why was there such a time lag between when they noticed and why was nothing done about it? So, there have been a lot of questions related to all of the likely security lapses that happened, and then obviously growing calls for investigation, growing calls for the resignation of the Secret Service Director, which we have just seen this morning. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, she has been in the role for two years, and this morning stepping down, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. And of course now, questions as to how to address all these questions, right, and what additional resources are necessary to protect the candidates. Jessica Schneider in Washington, thanks so much.
We'll CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Charles Ramsey joins us now. He, of course, led police departments in two major cities. Charles, it's good to have you. Thanks for joining this morning.
CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, & FMR. PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISSIONER: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: So, first, your reaction to this news. Was this the right thing for the Secret Service Director to do?
RAMSEY: Well, first of all, it's not surprising at all, and I don't know how she could have survived after watching the testimony yesterday in light of the major failure that took place during the attempted assassination. So, I'm not surprised at all, and then a bipartisan call for her to step down. I mean, I think what's important here is not so much that. Her stepping down and resigning by itself doesn't change a lot of things. There has to be a very deep dive into the Secret Service to find out what's going on in terms of their operational planning, in terms of their staffing, in terms of their training. All those kinds of things have to be looked at. And there has got to be some changes made so that something like this doesn't happen again.
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And so, her stepping down, the right thing to do, fresh eyes looking at the problem, hopefully bringing somebody in from the outside to take a fresh look at things. But, it can't stop there. They got to take a deep dive into the agency itself. SCIUTTO: Now, you have a Secret Service investigation that's going to happen. You also will have a House investigation that's going to happen. I wonder if you think there needs to be some unified, nonpartisan as best as it can be investigation along the lines. And I'm not saying this is the same significance as 9/11, but along the lines of the 9/11 Commission, so that you can, not just assess the failures or maybe even score some political points, right, but figure out if real long-term changes need to be made?
RAMSEY: Yeah. I mean, first of all, you have to take the politics out of it. And having a --
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
RAMSEY: -- political investigation, in my opinion, is going to just be a political investigation with a lot of finger pointing. It's not going to get at root causes of anything. As far as the agency trying to investigate itself, it lacks the credibility to really come up with a conclusion that people will buy into. There needs to be an independent third party look at the agency and how it's established, whether it's a Commission, a task force, or whatever, but it can't be political. If you want to fix the problem, then fix the problem. Don't just point fingers. Finger pointing has never fixed anything. And so, if they're serious about this, then they'll go about selecting some kind of third party to take a look at what took place. Otherwise, it's not going to lead to any kind of significant changes, and changes are needed.
SCIUTTO: One thing that's been highlighted in the days since and, Lord, it's only been 10 days, right, so we're just beginning, is the division of responsibilities between local law enforcement in Butler, Pennsylvania --
RAMSEY: Right.
SCIUTTO: -- and the Secret Service, and what appeared to be communications, issues, etc., a little bit of sniping early on, we should say. As I understand it, that's a typical arrangement that there is sharing of responsibilities. Do you see --
RAMSEY: It is.
SCIUTTO: -- a fundamental issue there, or is this a -- this is an isolated failure?
RAMSEY: Well, I mean, Secret Service is not and probably never will be staffed to the point where they can handle everything. So, they're going to have to rely on state and local. And they'll divide up some duties in terms of the protection, the envelope that they create to protect either a former President, President or any protectee. But, here is the key. You can delegate authority. You cannot delegate responsibility. The ultimate responsibility for the safety and security of the former President of the United States rested with the United States Secret Service, period. That's it.
And so, they had a responsibility. Even though they said OK, locals, you guys have this any other, when Reagan said trust but verify, I mean --
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
RAMSEY: -- trust that they've done it, but if somebody needs to walk those grounds and make sure that people are aware, they're supposed to be doing exactly what they should be doing, period. And that is the Secret Service responsibility. You can't delegate that to someone else ultimately. It rests with them and them alone.
SCIUTTO: How would you describe the threat environment now for the presidential candidates? The FBI, DHS following this attempt, immediately spoke of the danger of reprisal retaliatory attacks, their concerns with Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket now. You have a new candidate. It's a quite polarized environment here. Would you say it's a particularly perilous time?
RAMSEY: I think you just answered the question, Jim. I mean, this is probably the highest agitated state, I'll say, that we've ever found ourselves in. I mean, we're so polarized. That by itself, it creates an entirely unacceptable environment. But, you add on top of that, you got an election year. You've got Donald Trump and all the things that come along with him. You've got a brand new candidate now in Kamala Harris, and you've got a lot of issues associated with trying to protect her in terms of all the different rallies and events that she'll be going to. You've got an election coming up.
So, getting beyond just the protectees at the state and local level, you've got election workers that are going to need protection at these polling places --
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
RAMSEY: -- and so forth. We're just in a crisis here in this country, and we've got to come together. And that means every bit -- all hands on deck to really come together to create that safety envelope that encompasses not only Harris and Trump but goes way beyond that, because this is a very critical time in our country and we cannot afford to have anything like this happen again.
SCIUTTO: To your point, Charles Ramsey, you mentioned election workers. You mentioned members of law enforcement.
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As you know, former President Trump has often directed his own criticism in that direction. The concern has been that that riles up folks who might take some sort of action. And just a short time ago, the former President posted the following on social media, "The Biden- Harris administration did not properly protect me, and I was forced to take a bullet for democracy." Is he getting close there to blaming the Biden-Harris administration for this?
RAMSEY: He gets close to doing a whole lot of things, in my opinion. So, yeah. I mean, that's not helpful. OK? Let me put it that way. That kind of tweet is not helpful. Try to fix the problem. OK? The finger pointing and all that kind of stuff really does nothing but stir the pot. And you've got a lot of mentally disturbed people out there that hear those words and then take it upon themselves to try to do something. And this -- whether you're Democrat, Republican or whatever, you should be American first, and that means that the foundation of our democracy is in our ability to choose our elected officials. We can't lose that. And we can't have people threatened, that choose to run or choose to work --
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
RAMSEY: -- in that environment, and period. So, everybody has a responsibility. And I think high-profile people like Trump, Harris and all these other people have more of a responsibility for that than the average everyday person. But, we all have a responsibility when it comes to creating that safe environment.
SCIUTTO: Charles Ramsey, so good to have you. Thanks so much for joining.
RAMSEY: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: And we will have more on this story later this hour.
Meanwhile, back to politics, Kamala Harris's presidential campaign is very much underway. In just a couple of hours, the Vice President will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for her first presidential campaign event, a stop that was scheduled before President Biden dropped out of the race. Harris has already cemented her spot as the presumptive Democratic nominee, quick to secure the backing of thousands of Democratic delegates. The Vice President visited campaign staff in Delaware for the first time at the top of the ticket. She touched on her time as California's district attorney and delivered a preview of how she will go after her opponent.
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KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, & U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds, predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So, hear me when I say I know Donald Trump's type.
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SCIUTTO: Well, the new Harris-led presidential campaign is also just raking in donors and cash. The campaign says it raised a record $81 million in the 24 hours just after President Biden made the decision to step aside. You've had more since then.
CNN Senior Reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere joins us now. What's interesting about this response, right, is that it's the big donors. It's the small donors. It's a very quick collection of endorsements from sitting lawmakers, and it's the delegates. I mean, that's a lot to happen in less than 48 hours since President Biden stepped down.
EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, and it speaks to the level of relief the Democrats have that the long Biden process was over. They were getting very uncomfortable with it. I had a story Saturday morning, a day and more ahead of Biden's announcement, that had one well-known Democratic operative saying to me, "F" it, I am coconut pill, referring to the online meme there. I just want this to stop. So, that is where a lot of Democrats are, and you see that.
It is really astounding that, as you say, 48 hours ago, Joe Biden was still the presumptive nominee, still in the race. In that time, Kamala Harris has raised all that money, gotten all that support, very quickly locked up delegates, and had a debut, speaking as a presidential candidate that put a lot of people who have been anxious about how she would be performing in public, a little bit more at ease if they are Democrats.
SCIUTTO: Can I ask you a very basic question? There was a scheduled Trump-Biden debate coming up, though, there was questions about whether Trump would necessarily turn up for that. Is there going to be a Trump-Harris debate? Should we expect one?
DOVERE: I think technically it was agreed on as a presidential debate and then there was going to be a vice presidential debate. The VP debate hadn't been set. The Trump campaign had said they wanted his running mate to have a say in which day they were going to do it on. But, those agreements were made with the Biden campaign, and Donald Trump had since challenged Joe Biden to another debate. Obviously, Biden didn't do it. So, I think that we may see that develop.
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Harris has a lot of experience on her feet in the courtroom, and on the stump, she has a much different presence than Joe Biden is, and that was true even going back years for both of them. So, they may want to renegotiate or try to renegotiate the debate schedule. It's not clear what the Trump campaign will want to do. They're obviously taking in all this information quickly as well as, as are all of we.
SCIUTTO: Boy, it's moving quickly. We'll have to wait for that news. Edward-Isaac Dovere there, thanks so much.
So, let's turn now to our political panel, Democratic Strategist Julie Roginsky, and Republican Strategist Lanhee Chen, who served as policy director for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. Good to have you both on.
I want to begin, Julie and Lanhee, with just very basic questions. Julie, I'll give you first dibs here. Is Kamala Harris a strong challenger to Donald Trump? Is she stronger than Joe Biden?
JULIE ROGINSKY, U.S. DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, she is stronger than Joe Biden because she is able to take the fight to Donald Trump in a way that unfortunately, sadly, the current President has been unable to do. She is the complete antithesis of Donald Trump in every way. And so, if you're trying to draw a contrast both politically and personally between Donald Trump and the anti-Donald Trump, she is the woman to do it. So, I'm very excited and energized by the fact that we now have somebody who is able to carry that message forward and draw that contrast, which has been sorely lacking, unfortunately, despite my love of the current President, sorely lacking in this current election.
SCIUTTO: Lanhee, there had been a lot of reporting prior to President Biden's decision to step down that the Trump campaign preferred to run against Joe Biden, and there is some reporting now that they're adjusting their map because there'd been all this talk about expanding the map going after more solid blue states and that they're changing that now. In your view, is she a stronger challenger to Donald Trump?
LANHEE CHEN, U.S. REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Look, I think she has got a higher ceiling in a lower floor. And I guess I would say that the potential for her to do better than President Biden is there. The potential for her to do worse than President Biden is there. And I think that anytime you're running a presidential campaign, you want to limit the variability as much as possible, right? You want to limit the factors that will influence resource allocation decisions, for example.
And what this does is it does force both campaigns, but particularly the Trump campaign, to examine everything, where they're running TV ads, where they're sending their candidates, the kinds of arguments they're going to make. Even though I think broadly speaking, the American people are concerned about the same things, it does force a reexamination of these questions. And so, I don't know that the Trump campaign would see it as being more challenging. I do think that it creates a whole new dimension of work that wasn't there before.
SCIUTTO: Julie, there had been some talk that the -- and again, this is so early, right, I mean, we're not even 48 hours into this, I'm granting its early talk, but the Harris campaign, that it is shifting the map to some degree to focusing on the possibility that her greatest -- her highest ceiling is in places like Arizona, Nevada, perhaps Georgia, as opposed to the middle part of the country. And I wonder if you agree with that framing, but also that that's the right call for her.
ROGINSKY: I don't know that I agree with it, because I haven't seen any numbers, and I don't think any numbers exist yet. Look, this is less than 48 hours away from us that the President got out of the race. And so, we don't know yet what we don't know. And whatever polls were done, even hypothetically, thinking about a Trump-Harris matchup, what you have not done is seen her as an actual candidate yet. She is going to get a lot of grace. She has gotten a lot of grace, I think, in the last 24 to 48 hours. But now, the hard work begins. And I think any poll that you're looking at probably won't be able to tell us that for at least another week, even if people put them in the field right now, it's not -- I don't think anything that I wouldn't necessarily look at.
I think Lanhee made an excellent point about the fact that she does have a higher ceiling and certainly can compete potentially in the places that you mentioned, plus the Midwest. She also is at a lower floor, as he pointed out. I think it's a great point to make. And so, we'll see. But, we don't know yet. And we'll see what happens in the next week or 10 days to really determine that.
SCIUTTO: Well, and I bet the VP choice will give an indication as to where they want to focus it, because of course you got like a governor like Shapiro from Pennsylvania, a governor like Mark Kelly, Arizona.
Lanhee, before we go, I just want to ask you about our breaking news this hour, and that is that the U.S. Secret Service Chief has now stepped down. First of all, in your view, right call, and second of all, would you say there are major problems at the service?
CHEN: Well, I'm not sure she had much of a choice. I think that the politics had become untenable substantively. You don't want to be a distraction for an administration. I've served in presidential administrations before. If you can eliminate that distraction by resigning, you should. I guess I would say what I hope this doesn't do is to take the focus away from the kinds of changes that need to be made to ensure that what happened last Saturday never happens again.
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The service clearly has operationalized. There are some challenges that have been operationalized by what happened, and former Director Cheatle now noted that there are some things they've got to fix. So, let's hope that what this resignation doesn't do is take the focus off of the things that need to be fixed at the agency to make sure that this never happens again.
SCIUTTO: No question. Of course, everyone has an interest in that. And that was clear in the Hill hearing yesterday that Democrats and Republicans equally concerned about the threat going forward. Julie Roginsky, Lanhee Chen, thanks so much to both of you.
And now with more on the breaking news, the Secret Service Chief stepping down. CNN Justice Correspondent Jessica Schneider joins us now from Washington. I understand President Biden has now reacted to this.
SCHNEIDER: He has. We're getting a flurry of reaction to Director Cheatle's resignation. The President Joe Biden releasing a statement thanking Cheatle for her service to the Secret Service. Again, she has been with the Secret Service for nearly three decades. The President saying she has selflessly dedicated and risked her life to protect our nation throughout her career. We especially thank her for answering the call to lead the Secret Service during our administration. After his praise and thanks, he did note that the independent review to get to the bottom of what happened on July 13 continues, and I look forward to assessing its conclusions.
So, Jim, not only that, but we're also getting a look at Director Cheatle's resignation announcement to the whole of the U.S. Secret Service. She sent that note out to agents and officers this morning. And I'll read part of it to you. She started off by saying "The Secret Service's solemn mission is to protect our nation's leaders and financial infrastructure. On July 13th, we fell short on that mission. The scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases. As your director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse." And then she goes on in her letter to thank everyone she has worked with, to thank everyone for their service, talk about her own service over three decades, and then of course to actually resign her position. So, Jim, a flurry of reaction to this, what was probably an expected
resignation. The criticism had been building over the past 10 days since that assassination attempt of the former President, and then, of course, things really reached a heated point yesterday with both Democrats and Republicans at that Oversight hearing very dismayed that Director Cheatle wouldn't answer, even in their view, some basic questions, and just didn't give a full accounting of --
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
SCHNEIDER: -- how many of the security lapses that did happen on July 13 on that rally, how they happened. Of course, this is all part of an ongoing investigation. But, they just have not been satisfied with Director Cheatle's response or her answers to many questions. So, of course, her resignation coming just about an hour ago, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Jessica Schneider in Washington, thanks so much.
Well, coming up, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are turning up the heat now in their direct and sometimes personal attacks on the new presumptive Democratic nominee. Details ahead on Trump's online rhetoric.
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SCIUTTO: The growing Democratic support for Kamala Harris's candidacy appears to have lit a fire under the Republican ticket. Overnight, Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to post this quote, "The Democrats lied and misled the public about Crooked Joe Biden. They also mislead the Republican Party, causing it to waste a great deal of time and money."
Trump's running mate is also on the attack, calling Biden a quitter and one of the worst presidents. J.D. Vance is accusing Harris of being complicit in what Republicans call a cover-up of Joe Biden's mental state.
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SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), 2024 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You cannot for three and a half years take a guy who clearly didn't have the middle capacity to do the job. Kamala Harris lied about it. My Senate Democratic colleagues lied about it. The media lied about it. Every single person who saw Joe Biden knew that he wasn't capable of doing the job. And for three years, they said nothing until he became political deadweight.
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SCIUTTO: CNN's Daniel Strauss joins us now live from our Washington, D.C. bureau. You're seeing, Daniel, a lot of Republican talking points that have become standard attack lines. One is saying that, not just the administration, but Kamala Harris lied about President Biden's mental state. And by the way, there were legitimate questions there. Also, that Harris was chosen in an undemocratic way. Right? And I wonder, are those going to become standard lines as they go forward? Is this -- are you beginning to see what the anti-Harris message will be from the Trump campaign? We were very familiar with what the anti- Biden message was.
DANIEL STRAUSS, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. And this period right now, as Harris picks or looks at potential running mates, is one of trying out different attack lines for Republicans. In the past few, I guess we'd say hours still at this point, since it became clear that Harris would be the nominee, Republicans have been introducing different sorts of attack strategies that they're hoping will stick. One is on the border. One is on the larger question of, why didn't Harris flag to the broader public the questions we now have about former -- the President's mental acuity and ability to really campaign vigorously?
And then finally, Republicans are very eager to contrast their message with attacks about Harris and border control policy. This is something they feel is a two-pronged approach that can win over voters, very concerned about immigration policy, and also frame Harris as someone who is not able to execute important policy efforts as President and commander in chief. But again, these are -- Republicans right now and Donald Trump himself is -- are still test driving, in Trump's case, nicknames, but also messages that they're hoping will stick in the next few weeks and months.
SCIUTTO: Of course, the vice presidential candidate decision is coming from Harris. And, things are moving so quickly, probably going to happen pretty soon. But, do you have a sense of where that race within the race stands?
STRAUSS: We're down to only a few candidates. Jim, it's really weird to see a VP vetting process move this quickly. But, it's also clear that the Harris campaign is very interested in some sort of running mate that will help put the rest of the map in play. So, that would be someone like a Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania, or maybe Mark Kelly, Senator from Arizona, someone who can at least cause Republicans a little bit of heartburn and have to pay attention to states that seem to be slipping away from Democrats this cycle.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. Daniel Strauss, let's keep reporting all this stuff that seem to be happening.
STRAUSS: Sure. Yeah.
SCIUTTO: But, I appreciate having you on.
STRAUSS: Thanks.
SCIUTTO: Well, here now are live images of Capitol Hill following the break for the Republican National Convention. Senate lawmakers are now returning to the Hill today. Lots changed, to say the least. This is their meeting, their first meeting since the Trump assassination attempt. And of course, the news breaking today that the Secret Service Chief is resigning in the wake of that shooting. This also marks the first time the chamber meets since President Joe Biden bowed out of the race.
Joining us now from Capitol Hill, our Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju.
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Manu, wow, there is a lot for the Hill to absorb, right, just in the last couple of days. I wonder what the read is from the Hill right now on this race.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, I mean, it's changed, obviously, dramatically. And there is a much different tone from Democrats who are much more upbeat about everything. They had been really distraught. They've been divided, dejected over the last month or so, as they are trying to grapple with Joe Biden staying at the top of the ticket. What it really meant for their efforts to keep control of the Senate and try to take back the House, both of those were really in serious doubt with Biden at the top of the ticket. Now, with Harris, it adds a different dynamic. They still don't know how difficult of a campaign this will be for them. But, certainly, with elements of the Democratic base, with more enthusiasm, they believe they now have a much better chance going ahead.
Now, Republicans on their side are still trying to figure out their strategy. They are trying to attack her, namely over some of the more unpopular aspects of the Biden administration, over immigration, in particular what's happening at the border. And one of the aspect to that is still remains outstanding is how Republicans deal with this on the legal side. The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, yesterday told me that perhaps there could be lawsuits in individual states to try to deny Kamala Harris from getting onto the ticket. That is unclear exactly what state laws will be in violation. He did not specify that. But, that is one thing that Republicans are examining how to do -- use the courts to their advantage.
I asked the Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries about that Republican strategy, and he told me this.
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REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): It is such a laughable proposition. It's a laughable proposition. The extreme MAGA Republicans are in total meltdown mode right now. I mean, you almost feel bad for them because they continue to embarrass themselves. It's laughable that they're threatening frivolous litigation. It's embarrassing. It's embarrassing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: And you're hearing other attacks that Republicans are leveling as well. One of them is about diversity and the fact that she, of course, would be the first black and South Asian American woman to ever assume the White House, if she wins in November. I asked Congressman Tim Burchett about this yesterday. He is a Republican from Tennessee. He called it a quote "DEI hire" and that is something that the Speaker himself is not embracing. I asked him if it was appropriate for him to say that. He said, instead, Republicans are focused on policy, not personality, a real sign of just one of how Republicans are still grappling with how to go after Kamala Harris, and also the unease in talking about race or gender or other issues that Republicans themselves are expressing when some of their colleagues go that route, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. I mean, listen, it's a pretty deliberate, transparent attack on her race, to call her a DEI candidate. I do want to get what you're hearing -- a sense of what you're hearing in reaction to Kimberly Cheatle's resignation, and what happens now on the Hill in terms of the investigation.
RAJU: Yeah. There is actually bipartisan support for her resignation. Remember, those calls were really on both sides of the aisle about how -- whether she can continue in this position in the aftermath of the performance yesterday before the House Oversight Committee when she was really criticized sharply for being unable to really answer basic questions about the investigation. A lot of Republicans and Democrats came out of this thing. There is really no way she can go ahead. In fact, one Republican was trying to push an impeachment resolution. That's something that could have come to a vote as soon as tomorrow if that -- if she were to stay in that position.
But, now that she has stepped aside, the Republicans and Democrats are indicating this investigation about everything that went wrong in the run-up to the assassination attempt. That investigation will still keep on going. In fact, the Republican leader, the Speaker of the House, and the Democratic leader, are in line with that idea of continuing the probe. They have agreed to put together a bipartisan task force in the House to investigate everything that went wrong and the security failures that led up to that assassination attempt. So, expect the probe to continue and maybe Cheatle herself will find herself back on Capitol Hill trying to answer questions about everything that happened on that day, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Mana Raju on the Hill, thanks so much.
Still to come, fleeing for their very lives once again. Palestinian families try to escape a deadly Israeli incursion in southern Gaza amid new evacuation orders. But, where do they evacuate to? Plus, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is gearing up for a major address to the U.S. Congress, as well as a meeting with the President Joe Biden. The latest on his trip to Washington just ahead.
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SCIUTTO: Welcome back. You are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington.
I do want to get back to our breaking news this hour. A recap of our top story. U.S. Secretary -- Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned, just over a week after a failed assassination attempt against Donald Trump. The resignation coming as no surprise. At the House hearing on Monday, she faced fierce bipartisan criticism after, you'll remember, a rooftop gunman was able to fire multiple times on the former President. President Joe Biden has just in the last several minutes thanked Cheatle for her service. A new hearing is happening today. The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee is speaking to police officials from Pennsylvania. This as the House is set to launch a bipartisan task force of its own to investigate the shootings.
CNN National Security Reporter Zachary Cohen joins us now from Washington. Zachary, can you give us a sense -- as this investigation gets underway, you will have the Hill investigation. You will have an internal Secret Service investigation. What they're focusing on, in particular? I mean, is the focus given that you have local law enforcement officials on the Hill today, in part that division of responsibility between Secret Service and local law enforcement?
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Jim, now that Director Cheatle has officially stepped down, I think it does allow lawmakers especially to focus on the substantive issues about both the security failures and how to prevent this from happening again. And you're exactly right. One of the core issues that's been identified already during today's hearing, but also through sources that we've talked to that are familiar with the investigation, is the breakdown of communication between local law enforcement and the U.S. Secret Service that were on the ground, involved in the planning, ahead of Donald Trump's rally on July 13th, even up to the moment when officers on the ground did see the gunman on the roof.
How is that communicated? Why was that not communicated before Donald Trump took the stage? And why was Donald Trump not prevented from taking the stage once a threat was deemed to be present at the rally? Those are the communication issues that really lawmakers are trying to hone in on, and even in during today's hearing, lawmakers making very clear that the responsibility for those failures lies solely with the U.S. Secret Service, a much different tone than what we heard yesterday during the House Oversight hearing where Director Cheatle was grilled for over six hours, where she had to take accountability for the failures themselves as well, calling it a colossal failure on the part of the Secret Service and a personal failure. In addition to that, we're seeing the fallout in her resignation today.
But, the Oversight continues and the effort to prevent this from happening again also continues.
SCIUTTO: Zach Cohen, thanks so much, something we'll be following closely.
Well, overseas now, thousands of Palestinian civilians are fleeing a new Israeli incursion into southern Gaza, but they say there is just no safe place to go. Authorities in Gaza say nearly 100 people have been killed, including at least two dozen children. Israel says the operation in Khan Younis is targeting Hamas militants and their weapons and infrastructure sites.
[11:40:00] The trouble is, so often, civilians get caught up in this conflict in enormous numbers. A journalist working for CNN filmed this video of the mass exodus, some people fleeing on foot, carrying what they can, others on donkey carts. Journalists say some people were shot at as they evacuated.
Well, the Israeli Prime Minister says conditions are ripe for bringing home all the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza. He made those remarks in Washington, as he met with hostage families, insisting that Israel is putting quote "very strong pressure on Hamas for a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal." One hostage relative tells CNN, it wasn't a dialogue, saying that Netanyahu spoke to them but did not really address their questions. There has been a lot of frustration like that from hostage families. The Prime Minister is now gearing up for a major address to Congress tomorrow. He is also set to meet President Joe Biden on Thursday. The date of that meeting had been fluid after Biden's COVID diagnosis. Prime Minister Netanyahu will also meet with the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
We're joined now by Jerusalem Correspondent Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv. Jeremy, can you give us a sense first of what is happening in Gaza right now? Because, yet again, Israeli incursion, a large number of Palestinian casualties, this despite pressure from the U.S. President and others. Are they just forging ahead with something significant there?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli military says that they have begun to carry out this major new offensive in Khan Younis because they say that Palestinian militants were using what was designated as a humanitarian zone to fire rockets and to try and regroup from there. They then issued evacuation orders for parts of eastern Khan Younis, which were previously part of this expanded Al Mawasi humanitarian zone, effectively tightening and making smaller that humanitarian zone that exists there.
But, the United Nations is raising enormous concerns about the way in which the Israeli military did this. They called the evacuation orders confusing. And they also say that the evacuation orders were issued at the same time as the Israeli military was already beginning its offensive in those very same areas, as they were increasing the intensity of their attacks. And that seems to be part of the reason why we have already seen nearly 100 people killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, amid this renewed Israeli military offensive in Khan Younis.
And the people who are being forced from their homes, in addition to those who are being killed and injured, many of them are people who have already been displaced multiple times in the Gaza Strip. We have seen these images of thousands upon thousands of people fleeing this area over the course of the last couple of days, trying to head somewhere for safety. And in listening to these people, not only are they terrified, but what we're also hearing is a lot of anger, anger at Israel, anger at the Arab world for not stepping in, for not doing more for them, and also anger at Hamas, with some people who were fleeing this area blaming Hamas militants for their predicament and also accusing them of remaining safe in underground bunkers, while they are above ground facing bombs and bullets.
SCIUTTO: Yeah. It's been remarkable to hear more of that criticism from Gaza residents blaming Hamas for much of what they're going through. Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem, thanks so much.
Let's speak now to CNN White House Correspondent Arlette Saenz. She is in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Arlette, I wonder what the focus now of the administration's meetings with Benjamin Netanyahu. Of course, President Biden will meet. Vice President Kamala Harris will meet. Do they expect to apply more pressure for Israel to make a ceasefire and hostage deal?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, President Biden has signaled that that really is one of his key priorities remaining in his time in the White House, and he is expected to discuss that potential ceasefire deal as well as trying to bring American hostages back home, when he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. Now, that meeting had been in flux, as the President has been isolating here in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, after suffering from COVID-19. But, the President is set to return to the White House in the coming hours, to return to work and also to this anticipated meeting with Netanyahu.
Now, President Biden yesterday called into a meeting at the campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, Vice President Kamala Harris was there in person, to speak with staff. And during that meeting, he talked about how Gaza is a key priority for him in his remaining time in office. He also indicated that he believes that they are on the verge of striking a deal to achieve that ceasefire and return the hostages back home to their families.
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Take a listen to what the President told his staff just yesterday.
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VOICE OF JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We got to keep working for an end to the war in Gaza. I'll be working very closely with the Israelis and with the Palestinians to try to work out how we can get the Gaza war to end, and Middle East peace, and get all those hostages home. I think we're on a verge of being able to do that.
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SAENZ: Now, in addition to President Biden's meeting with Netanyahu, we are also told Vice President Kamala Harris is also expected to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister while he is in Washington, though her team has yet to detail which exact day that meeting might take place. But, we've also learned that the Vice President declined the opportunity to preside over Netanyahu's address up on Capitol Hill. Really, that moment highlights some of the tension that's existed between this administration and Netanyahu throughout this war.
Now, the Vice President and her team, as this conflict has played out, one thing that they have really been focused on is trying to discuss what happens in Gaza after this war ends. So, that is something that she certainly brings to the table in these conversations, as they are trying to look at the path forward beyond just when a ceasefire would be struck.
Now, it also comes at a time when the Democratic Party was facing significant pushback from some parts of the party, including young voters, Arab American voters and Muslim voters, regarding President Biden's handling of the conflict in -- between Israel and Hamas. That is something that really has plagued Biden's campaign. It'll be interesting to see how Harris might navigate that going forward. But, clearly, for President Biden, he is hoping that this meeting with Netanyahu will really push things along, as he is hopeful that they can reach some type of ceasefire deal before the end of his term.
SCIUTTO: Let me ask you this, because Netanyahu has played footsie, one might say, with Republican Party quite openly in recent years, and at times the relationship with Democrats has been fraught, going back to the Obama administration. Is there any concern among the White House, the Harris, the now-Harris campaign, that Netanyahu will use this address tomorrow to sort of nudge listeners to support the Republican Party?
SAENZ: The White House and the campaign really have not indicated that they are concerned about that. But, as you have noted, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been friendly towards Republicans than past, including former President Donald Trump, even as some of their relationship has been back and forth in recent months since this conflict began. But, they are really hoping that going forward, they can continue to press Netanyahu to reach some type of agreement through negotiators with Hamas to strike this deal relating to a ceasefire, relating to getting the hostages back home, as President Biden has now been handling this conflict since October, and Harris could very well inherit this conflict if it does continue down the road and if she is elected in November.
SCIUTTO: Arlette Saenz, thanks so much.
Well, girls and young women say they are having to deal with horrific abuse online. Up next, the harm they're facing and what they need for it to change.
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SCIUTTO: Young women and girls need better support to keep them safe online. More than 600 young women across nine countries were surveyed as part of the CNN "As Equals" partnership with Plan International. The survey of 13 to 24-year-olds found the majority of them have faced online harm, including cyber bullying, hate speech and threats of sexual violence. Many said they do not need support but don't know anyone powerful -- they do need support but don't know anyone powerful or informed enough to help. Anna Stewart has the details in a CNN series investigating how gender
shapes our online experiences, joins us now from London. This is such a consistent pattern, right? And then the question becomes, and I imagine I know the answer to this, are platforms doing enough to stop this?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. This is very much a global issue, clearly from this survey of multiple countries across multiple continents. And what was really striking is 75 percent of the young women and the teenagers who were surveyed have experienced some sort of online harm. You listed a few of them. 44 percent have reported seeing or receiving unwanted sexual images or videos. 37 percent have reported receiving inappropriate sexual messages or comments.
And what was really interesting, Jim, is one in 10 say that they received these sort of messages or this sort of online harm every single day or almost daily, which just shows you the extent to which this is an issue, and one out of three say it leaves them feeling sad, depressed, stressed, worried or anxious.
Now, you ask, what should be done? Who should be responsible? That question was actually put on the survey, who is responsible for your own online safety? And overwhelmingly, the response was from 67 percent of those surveyed that they feel it is their own responsibility. The majority felt that they should get better education. There should be programs to help bolster your own digital safety in that sense. But, you'll see that 11 percent do think that tech companies have the responsibility here as well. And we actually asked, which platforms are you most likely to experience online harm with? You can see Facebook there at 72 percent, followed by Instagram -- sorry, WhatsApp and Instagram. All three of those owned Meta, and then you have TikTok.
CNN reached out both to Meta and TikTok, and they pointed out that they already have a number of measures in place to try and limit the amount of online harm that is spread and shared with young people and vulnerable people. Meta also gave us a direct comment, saying they work with experts closely, including Plan International, who helped do the survey with CNN. And so, this is an ongoing project. But clearly, the experts we have spoken to say that this problem seems to be spiraling. It's only getting worse.
SCIUTTO: So sad to hear, and clearly, those limits aren't working, right, given what your survey found. Anna Stewart in London, thanks so much.
And we'll be right back.
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SCIUTTO: Before we go today, one more thing. Vice President Kamala Harris is set to make a grand entrance on the campaign trail, thanks in part to the one and only Queen Bee.
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Beyonce's song "Freedom" rang out during Harris's first official visit to her campaign headquarters on Monday. A source close to the Vice President tells CNN that Harris's team has approval for -- from Beyonce's representatives to use the song throughout her presidential run. That's quite an endorsement.
Thanks so much for spending part of your day with me. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. Do stick with CNN. One World is up next.
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