Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Harris Secures Enough Delegates to Win Nomination; Secret Service Director Resigns. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired July 23, 2024 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kamala Harris has become the presumptive nominee, some of your colleagues have been criticizing her over the issue of diversity, Tim Burchett said that she was a DEI hire, is that appropriate?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: Listen. This election, as I noted at the outset, is going to be about policies, not personalities. This is not personal with regard to Kamala Harris and her ethnicity or her gender. It had nothing to do with this whatsoever. This is about who can deliver for the American people and get us out of the mess that we're in. Every area of public policy is a disaster because the Biden-Harris administration made it that way. And that's what this election is about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: And joining us now is Delaware Governor John Carney. He was on hand when Vice President Kamala Harris was visiting with campaign staff yesterday. Governor, let's just jump right into this. It didn't take long for a racially charged grenade to get tossed into this campaign. What's your response when you're hearing some of this stuff coming from members of Congress here in Washington?

GOV. JOHN CARNEY (D-DE): Well, first of all, it's ridiculous. It is what we would expect from the other side, from the Trump campaign. This campaign is going to be about the contrast between the vice president, Kamala Harris, and former President Trump. And Kamala Harris is going to come out on top on that.

But what's amazing to me is, first, that all the accolades that the president has been getting, making a decision on behalf of the people of the United States and not his own self-interest to turn the keys over, if you will, to the vice president. The enthusiasm and energy that was present yesterday with her visit here in Wilmington was incredible, and it's obviously caught fire across the country with the $100 million that they've raised just in 48 hours with the vice president lining up the support that she needs to earn the nomination that, as she said, she would.

She's incredible, and she's going to really inject -- and already has incredible energy and enthusiasm in this campaign, and this thing has turned around completely.

ACOSTA: And, Governor, one of the things that you saw in the polls just before this big shakeup at the top of the ticket was, you know, when the hypothetical was put out there about Kamala Harris versus Donald Trump, she was doing as good or maybe a little bit worse, a little bit better, depending on the poll, against Donald Trump. Do you think that's going to change now that she's basically the presumptive nominee at this point?

CARNEY: Yes, I think it'll change dramatically. All the things that we've heard, all the outpouring of support, the Democratic side rallying behind her. She's going to make it a choice for a vice presidential nominee as well. And that'll bring excitement to the ticket.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CARNEY: I think we're going to see a whole different thing now. We've got a great person leading the way, the vice president.

ACOSTA: All right. Governor, I'm so sorry to cut this interview short. We'll have you back.

We've got some breaking news. I want to go straight to our Zach Cohen here in the Washington Bureau.

Zach, I understand the Secret Service director has resigned after that very contentious hearing and all of these questions about the agency's handling of the assassination attempt of Donald Trump and what they were doing before that assassination attempt. What can you tell us?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Jim, U.S. official telling our colleague Evan Perez that Director Cheatle has tendered her resignation. Of course, that comes one day after she faced a grilling in front of House lawmakers who demanded answers about the security lapses that led to the assassination attempt of Former President Donald Trump on July 13th.

Of course, they were frustrated. when Cheatle really refused to give any sort of detail about what their investigation so far has turned up as far as the U.S. Secret Service's role in those security lapses. Cheatle did take full responsibility for the failures that day during yesterday's hearing, calling it a colossal failure on the part of the U.S. Secret Service and on her -- and for her personally. Of course, taking that responsibility was not enough to keep her in the job of director. She, today, facing a chorus of people calling on her to resign, ultimately tendering her resignation, according to a U.S. official.

ACOSTA: And, Zach, it just was starting to feel like this was inevitable. I mean, you had members of Congress from both parties. You had the chairman and the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, both calling for the Secret Service director to resign. Frankly, I'm a little shocked she didn't do it Sunday night when there was all that hoopla as to what was going to happen with the Democratic ticket. But it just felt like this was inevitable, this was coming. COHEN: Yes, that's absolutely right, Jim. And you'll remember during yesterday's hearing one of the members, the Republican members of the Committee actually offered to give up her time during the hearing to have Director Cheatle write her resignation letter and she politely declined.

And at one point, she did say that she still believed that she was the best person for the job during that hearing. But you're right, a bipartisan letter from Congressman Jamie Raskin, a Democrat and Republican Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, really tipping the balance here. That bipartisan call for her to step down was really the writing was on the wall after that.

[10:35:00]

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Zach, I mean, the other thing that came up during that hearing is how the director -- now the outgoing director, I guess, former director, I mean, she was kind of evasive -- I mean, I shouldn't say kind of, she was evasive in trying to respond to some of these questions that were coming at her from, again, members of Congress from both parties. You don't see a lot of bipartisanship in Washington these days, but there was bipartisan outrage at this hearing yesterday.

And one of the questions that she just could not answer was why there were not Secret Service agents on the roof of that building that was, what, 150 yards away from the former president at that rally a couple of weeks ago.

COHEN: That's right, Jim. And look, Director Cheatle, or now former Director Cheatle, was supposed to also testify today before the House Homeland Security Committee that's also holding a hearing on the assassination attempt of Former President Donald Trump. Those lawmakers were frustrated that she did not appear. And the question of why was the -- or how was the shooter allowed to get on that roof with a clear shot at Former President Trump was one of the main things both the ranking member and the chairman of that committee asking today's witnesses.

So, that remains really the biggest unknown in all of this. How did this happen? How was the security so poor that this 20-year-old was allowed to get up on the roof and take a clear shot at Donald Trump? Law enforcement officials will continue to face that question even in the aftermath of Director Cheatle's resignation.

ACOSTA: Yes. And just to recap for our viewers, if you're just tuning in right now, the Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, has tendered her resignation amid the scrutiny of security lapses related to that assassination attempt on Former President Donald Trump. Zach, let me have you just stand by for just a moment. I want to get Jonathan Wackrow our law enforcement analyst and former Secret Service agent.

Jonathan, your reaction to all of this. I know there was some concern in having the director step down in between two different political conventions, I mean, that obviously -- that means the Secret Service is going to have some turnover now. It's going to have a shakeup at the top of the agency heading into the DNC. But what's your reaction to all this?

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST AND FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Well, Jim, good morning. Yes. And that is a concern. But, you know, as an institution, the Secret Service is prepared for any type of, you know, acute leadership change. So, the institution has been preparing for the DNC and the political activity that surrounds it for, you know, years now, regardless of who's at the top spot. So, I don't think you'll see any direct impact on that.

But in terms of, you know, the director stepping down, this is the right call. Yesterday's testimony was a disaster, to say the least. And it really undermined the credibility of the women and men of the Secret Service that are putting their lives on the line every single day.

I mean, from the very beginning of this incident, the director, you know, was absent. Really, you know, we did not hear from the director immediately following the shooting. So, the post incident management from pillar to post by the director was -- you know, was lacking and the leadership of the Secret Service in this moment of a crisis was also in a vacuum.

So, this is the right call. The Secret Service will be able to move on from this. But after yesterday's testimony, there was no other option than for the director to step down.

ACOSTA: And you really nailed it, Jonathan. I mean, one of the questions that came up yesterday, and just the poor handling of those questions by the director, I think, probably contributed to some of this. The fact that she could not answer why there wasn't an agent on that roof, why there wasn't law enforcement on the roof of that building that was just 140, 150 yards away from the former president. I mean, and that was at almost the time -- I believe it was the chairman, James Comer, who was asking that question. The hearing just got worse and worse for her as it dragged on.

WACKROW: Yes, I mean, it was -- that's exactly it. The moment that you started hearing bipartisan agreement that that -- you know, calling for her resignation in the moment that's when you knew it was -- her time was limited. And throughout that hearing, Jim, you heard her say, hey, you know, we're taking accountability. I'm taking accountability. But the actions that followed that were not there. She had no plan of how to actually take accountability. And I think that that was one of the things that we heard that was frustrating lawmakers.

And to your point, not being able to give at least directionally some information, right? There are multiple ongoing criminal investigations right now surrounding this assassination attempt. So, the fidelity of information may not be available, but as the head of a component, the head of the Secret Service, you have to be able to stand in front of lawmakers and at least directionally give them where does the investigation stand? Do we have line of sight on resolution? Is this an isolated incident or systemic problem for the Secret Service? And more importantly, what is our go forward strategy? What type of control measures and implementation are we putting forth to ensure that this never happens again? And we did not hear any of those statements yesterday.

[10:40:00]

ACOSTA: Yes. And I mean, you're absolutely right, Jonathan. I mean, the people I've worked at the White House for almost eight years, the people who work in the Secret Service are just phenomenal people. But there's a crisis in confidence in the agency, it seems right now. How does the agency fix that? Are they going to have to go and find somebody from the outside to lead the agency, or do you need to find somebody who perhaps is a long time -- perhaps a high-ranking official in the agency? What do you think?

WACKROW: Well, listen, I think that this is a moment for the Secret Service to take pause and really assess what their needs are. What do they need in today's threat environment from a leader that will move this agency that's currently a dual mission agency, both protective investigative -- investigations forward? And this could be through a new administration.

But, you know, the Secret Service every single day is facing a new threat environment. And we've heard this from just this assassination attempt. We have adversaries, whether they're 20-year-old individuals or foreign, you know, proxy groups that are targeting our protectees, putting forth new technology, such as drone technology in terms of the way that they are looking to attack us.

We have to be at the forefront, you know, combating those attempts, whether it's technology, manpower, you know, we have to put forth a greater intelligence capability to understand the threats that we're, you know, facing every single day. That new leader of the Secret Service has to be aware of all of that and they have to be able to lead an agency in this new threat -- you know, through this new threat environment.

ACOSTA: All right. Jonathan, let me have you stand by for a moment. If you don't mind, I want to go to Arlette Saenz, who is out in Delaware. She's with President Biden and was following, obviously, the big shakeup in the Democratic campaign yesterday. Now, there's a big shakeup at the Secret Service. Arlette, what can you tell us?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are learning that the Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, has attended her resignation. That's according to sources that our colleagues spoke to. We are still waiting for some reaction from the White House specifically to this. President Biden remains here in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he actually was just about a week and a half ago when that attempted assassination was carried out against Former President Donald Trump at that campaign rally.

Now, President Biden had spoken with the Secret Service director in the wake of that assassination attempt. She was part of some of the briefings that the president had received. Of course, President Biden had appointed her to this position back in 2022. They have a long history together as she had served on the president's security detail in the Secret Service while he was and then we'll have a as vice president.

So, we will see what exactly the White House has to say in the coming hours relating to this and whether President Biden himself might take some questions from reporters as he set to leave here in Rehoboth Beach in just a short while.

ACOSTA: Yes. Arlette, I mean, one of the things we're going to be, I suppose, listening for is whether or not there was pressure coming from the White House for that letter of resignation from the Secret Service director. It's quite possible that was the case.

Let's go up to Lauren Fox up on Capitol Hill. Lauren, what are you learning?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this news coming right after that bruising oversight hearing yesterday, where both Democrats and Republicans were calling on Cheatle to step aside, saying that they had lost confidence in her ability to lead the Secret Service.

We are getting a new statement from the oversight chairman, James Comer, who is writing, "The oversight Committee's hearing resulted in Director Cheatle's resignation, and there will be more accountability to come. The Secret Service has a no fail mission, yet it failed historically on Director Cheatle's watch. At yesterday's Oversight Committee hearing, Director Cheatle instilled no confidence that she has the ability to ensure the Secret Service can meet its protective mission. Egregious security failures leading up to and in the Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally resulted in the assassination attempt of President Trump, the murder of an innocent victim, and harm to others in the crowd. 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 going forward.

We should note, that just this morning, the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, announced that there would be a bipartisan task force to continue the investigation around what happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, and to get more information to protect protectees in the future. Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Lauren Fox, thank you very much. And there's also reaction coming in from Donald Trump. Apparently, he said on Truth Social, the Biden-Harris administration did not properly protect me. And I was forced to take a bullet for democracy. It was my great honor to do so.

[10:45:00]

I mean, that appears to be what the former president is saying. Perhaps he's not aware that the director has stepped down, but that's what he is saying right now on Truth Social.

Let me go back to Jonathan Wackrow who's still with us, I believe. Jonathan, when you hear the former president saying something like that what's your reaction? I mean, obviously the Secret Service is a professional operation. You know, the fact -- to say something like they did not protect me, it just sounds just wildly irresponsible.

WACKROW: Yes. I mean, he's just capitalizing on the moment and, you know, it's -- he's looking at this through the color of politics, not the reality of the situation. The reality is, is that the women and men that protect the former president, now the Republican nominee, you know, are a career Secret Service agents. They are politically agnostic. They don't, you know, align to, you know, politics or a political agenda. You know, what they do is they operate day in and day out in a threat-based paradigm and apply the level of protection that is necessary to protect the former president.

Obviously, there were security failures and, you know, there's no way to, you know, say that otherwise. That led to, you know, the attack and the assassination attempt. That needs to be resolved. That needs to be led by a new director and a new oversight of the agency to ensure that there are no systemic problems that had -- you know, within the agency itself that led to this moment.

But, you know, to sort of, you know, intimate that the -- this was a coordinated effort by the Biden administration is just, you know, trying to capitalize on the moment. And I actually will give the former president credit that, you know, he has the utmost respect for the women and men that surround him day in and day out. I do know that. I've heard that from his detail, and that's widely known. So, again, I just look at that statement as just looking at the situation through the color of politics and not the reality of the situation of the women and men that protect him.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, I suppose showing respect though would include not making statements like that, but Jonathan, I take your point, Jonathan, thank you. Let me go to Jason Russell, who I believe is with us as well. Your response to the Secret Service director stepping down? Is this something that just had to happen? It just seemed like it was heading. direction.

JASON RUSSELL, FORMER U.S. SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Yes, I think it was. I mean, I think the momentum was just too much, you know, to withstand. You know, it's unfortunate, the reality is the Secret Service is in the middle of an extremely protective campaign season. So, to lose a leader during this time is unfortunate, but I think the pressure and the momentum was just too much. And the director decided that is in the best interest of the agency to move on.

ACOSTA: And Jason, is it partly because she just did not have any good answers at this hearing yesterday and this was just going to continue to weigh on the agency?

RUSSELL: Yes, I think in some ways, you know, the lack of ability to provide specifics was maybe by design, right? So, if she knows she's going to resign, you know, to not provide any specific information and to, you know, protect whoever might be the next director.

I also think that the hearing was too soon, right? We're still gathering information on what happened. It's still an active investigation. So, I think by pushing to have that hearing, which in many ways was, you know, some political sideshow in some ways, just wasn't good timing.

ACOSTA: All right. Jason, Jonathan, and Zach thanks very much for all of those thoughts. Please stand by. Again, the breaking news at this hour, the Secret Service Director, Kimberly Cheatle, she has resigned in the wake of the Trump assassination attempt and that disastrous hearing yesterday up on Capitol Hill. More after the break. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

ACOSTA: All right. We're back with the breaking news. The Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, has resigned from the agency in the wake of the Trump assassination attempt. I want to go back to some of the voices that were with us before the break. Jonathan Wackrow, Jason Russell, and I believe Zach Cohen is still with us. Paul Eckloff is also joined the conversation.

Paul, your response, what do you think? Was this the right move? Is this going to begin the process of restoring some faith in the agency?

PAUL ECKLOFF, FORMER U.S. SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Well, I believe that this was inevitable. The bipartisan calls for her resignation yesterday were resounding. I believe the hearing was unproductive because it was vitriolic and it was designed for things not to improve the Secret Service. However, that being said, Director Cheatle needed to step down.

I think what's important now is to focus on how we move the Secret Service forward and help it improve. I believe a crisis management team needs to be installed until the election, at least, to help the American people regain faith in the Secret Service and the very agents on post today to regain faith in their leadership and assist them in moving forward.

ACOSTA: And, Paul, there are some great people out there who could lead this agency right away. Am I wrong about that? There should be somebody who can step in fairly quickly, at least on an acting basis.

ECKLOFF: I believe so. And even within the ranks of their leadership now, someone could step up. But I do believe that they need assistance and they need assistance from perhaps members of the retired community, from the private sector, from the military. But these people need to be able to integrate immediately. They cannot interrupt. They cannot be like an investigation, but they need to be able to review manpower. They need to be able to travel out and view sites. They need to have an understanding of the Secret Service protective methodology and how it's implemented and the realities of protection rather than what people know in the movies.

[10:55:00]

So, I think that a leader could certainly be identified. But my personal opinion is crisis management team of several individuals to come and form the process and assist rather than hinder until the president elect is decided by the American people and that person can choose who his -- has his or her confidence to lead the Secret Service forward.

ACOSTA: And, Jonathan, are there some institutional issues at the Secret Service that perhaps might be at play here that might need to be dealt with?

WACKROW: Well, you know, and I think that was the -- one of the questions that needed to be answered yesterday during the testimony, right? In yesterday's testimony, what it did is it just undermined the agency's credibility to even answer that fundamental question. Was this a -- was this incident a singular event or is there a systemic problem with the protective mission? The protective model that we have applied?

You know, it's not a secret that the Secret Service, you know, has been resource constrained for years. And that needs to be looked at. Did that denigrate of the protective model over time. Again, it's going to take the right, you know, people to answer that question. We -- you know, even though it was difficult to try to get to that answer yesterday, it needed to be expressed that, you know, we do have an understanding of what went wrong.

And I think to Paul's point that he mentioned just a little while ago, is that, you know, the Secret Service needs to look back at, you know, former agents and in the community that does support the Secret Service -- the active Secret Service on a day in and day out basis and leverage them for resources in this very trying time.

ACOSTA: All right. It is a trying time indeed. All right. gentlemen, thank you very much. That's it for this hour of the "CNN Newsroom." More on the breaking news, the Secret Service director resigning in the wake of the Trump assassination attempt, more on all of that after a quick break. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00]