Secret Service Chief's Roof Excuse Slammed as "Epic Fail" by Executive Protection Expert

Bill Stanton, an executive security expert with four decades of experience, criticized Secret Service Chief Kimberly Cheatle for her "sloped roof" excuse for not manning a nearby roof during the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

An executive protection expert has denounced Secret Service Chief Kimberly Cheatle for her agency's failure to protect former President Trump during an assassination attempt, calling it an "epic fail" and demanding a clean house.

Bill Stanton, who has worked in the field for four decades, took aim at Cheatle's assertion that agents passed on manning a nearby roof used by shooter Thomas Crooks because it was sloped. The would-be assassin scaled the building and fired several rounds that injured Trump and killed rally attendee Corey Comperatore.

Secret Service Chief's Roof Excuse Slammed as "Epic Fail" by Executive Protection Expert

"Her explanation that it was dangerous that the roof was pitched to me is the equivalent of a school child saying that the dog ate their homework," Stanton said. "How does that pass muster for anybody, regardless of political affiliation?"

Stanton emphasized the gravity of the situation, saying that Trump was inches from certain death and that Cheatle would have been squarely to blame. "God forbid that bullet was 1 inch over to the right, and it actually killed our former president," he said. "Was that the excuse she was going to give, that the roof was too pitched, and she still has a job?"

Secret Service Chief's Roof Excuse Slammed as "Epic Fail" by Executive Protection Expert

The security expert questioned how Crooks was able to get so close to Trump, despite law enforcement allegedly being in the building. "I'd like to see the overall security plan," he said. "The embarrassment that law enforcement was allegedly in the building when they should have been on the roof."

Stanton condemned the agency's malfeasance, stating that terminations should be a given. "When a full investigation is done," he said, "if there aren't terminations of people's employment over this, I don't know what to do. How many mistakes need to be made? Our president, our former president, was almost assassinated based on inefficiency."

Secret Service Chief's Roof Excuse Slammed as "Epic Fail" by Executive Protection Expert

He also accused Cheatle of prioritizing diversity over competence in her agency, leading to Saturday's debacle. "Her focus is on diversity, equity inclusion, not putting the proper agents where they're supposed to be," he said.

Several rally attendees and law enforcement officials noticed Crooks on the roof, but he fired before being fatally shot. "This is an epic fail," Stanton said. "And only if the president turned his head, that is what stopped this from being a national disaster."

Secret Service Chief's Roof Excuse Slammed as "Epic Fail" by Executive Protection Expert

Cheatle previously held a senior director of global security role at PepsiCo. Fox News Digital's Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.