The testimony of the Director of the Secret Service does not provide answers to the uncertainties about the assassination of former President Trump

US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle faced calls for her resignation from lawmakers in both parties on Monday as she admitted to a congressional hearing that the assassination of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was her biggest failure. agency major over decades.

Nine days after the assassination that shocked the country, it is still not clear how the perpetrator managed to get so close to Mr. Trump.

US Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle -- answering questions from lawmakers about the incident for the first time -- spoke bluntly.

"We failed," she said.

Director Cheatle said the agency will make available within 90 days a full report on the agency's failure to protect the former president. Lawmakers said that is unacceptable in a deeply polarized election season. Some of them demanded her resignation.

"The mission of the Secret Service is to never fail, but it failed on July 13 and in the days leading up to the rally. The Secret Service has thousands of employees and a substantial budget, but now it has become the image of incompetence," said Republican lawmaker Comer.

Ms. Cheatle told lawmakers that the Secret Service team protecting Mr. Trump was aware of a suspicious person before the former president spoke at the rally.

"If the agents had received information about a threat, they would never have allowed the former president to give the speech," Ms. Cheatle said.

An analyst told VOA that early warnings about the perpetrator of the attack raise serious questions.

Dr. Scott White is director of the cybersecurity program at George Washington University.

"There is no doubt that it is a failure since the threat was not neutralized as soon as it was identified. It would have been legitimate for him to be shot. At the time he was on the roof, opening fire on him would have been legitimate. So I don't understand why there was hesitation", says Dr. White.

Democratic lawmakers called for changes to gun laws in the United States, saying it's unfortunate that former President Trump is now one of the many victims of gun violence.

"We almost lost a presidential candidate. A 20-year-old gained access to his father's AR-15 and managed to climb onto a roof, 150 meters from the podium. And I ask, does the fact that such a weapon is readily available make your job harder or easier? You are not ready to answer this question", he said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has not yet determined a motive for the actions of the perpetrator of the attack, Thomas Matthew Crooks./ VOA