Secret Service head faces questions on WH breach

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL and JOSH LEDERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Washington scandals that end up on Capitol Hill tend to end the same way: with an apology.

Secret Service Director Julia Pierson will face lawmakers Tuesday for the first public accounting of the details surrounding an embarrassing and worrisome security breach at the White House earlier this month that, according to a congressman, was worse than the Secret Service has publicly acknowledged. The question is, will she follow the script?

At the very least, Pierson will have to explain how a man armed with a small knife managed to climb over a White House fence, sprint across the north lawn and dash deep into the executive mansion before finally being subdued. And she is certain to face tough questions about why members of Congress briefed by the agency apparently weren't told of the full extent of the breach when she appears before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said Monday night that whistleblowers told his committee that the intruder ran through the White House, into the East Room and near the doors to the Green Room before being apprehended. They also reported to lawmakers that accused intruder Omar J. Gonzalez made it past a female guard stationed inside the White House, Chaffetz said.

FULL story at link.



FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2014, file photo, a Uniformed Secret Service police officer stands outside the White House in Washington. The intruder who climbed a fence made it farther inside the White House than the Secret Service has publicly acknowledged, the Washington Post and New York Times newspapers reported Monday, Sept. 29. The disclosures came on the eve of a congressional oversight hearing with the director of the embattled agency assigned to protect the president's life. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140930/us-secret-service-7b564069eb.html

[Kelvin Mace]

1. I think they are trying to score points

by attacking women SS agents.

[bigworld]

4. It doesn't matter if she was a woman

She failed at her job, spectacularly.

[Kelvin Mace]

13. I agree,

but somehow I don't think the GOP would be really interested in this except there is a chance to discredit several women. I think they would be perfectly happy to have assassins in every corner of the White House, except that since female agents are involved, they can pursue their usual misogyny under cover of concern for presidential security.

[George II]

7. WHO attacked specifically "women SS agents"?

Watching the hearing, gender has never been mentioned!

[Kelvin Mace]

14. In the story, two women are mentioned

Secret Service Director Julia Pierson will face lawmakers Tuesday for the first public accounting of the details surrounding an embarrassing and worrisome security breach at the White House earlier this month that, according to a congressman, was worse than the Secret Service has publicly acknowledged.

They also reported to lawmakers that accused intruder Omar J. Gonzalez made it past a female guard stationed inside the White House, Chaffetz said.

Call me cynical, but since when do the Republicans care about people trying to kill Obama? I think if the parties responsible were male, there would be no interest by the GOP.

[24601]

15. I will grant your request and call you cynical. Director Pierson was hand-picked by POTUS who made

a big deal of her appointment because she is the first woman to hold the position. That injected gender into the successes and failures of the service.

The measure of the wisdom of that appointment is the Secret Service effectiveness. They were lucky that Gonzalez had only a small knife rather than a vest bomb. Luck is no substitute for ensuring the defense of protectees and facilities - it's a no-fail mission. Responsibility without accountability is meaningless.

[CanSocDem]

2. After the behaviour problems...

...in foreign countries, the late discovery of bullet holes in the WH and the general malaise of the US government, this incident reminded me of the precursor to your last national tragedy. LIHOP works....


.

[geek tragedy]

3. the Secret Service as an organization needs to be shaken up, big time.

Seriously, no armed guards at the White House door?

Alarms that were either malfunctioning or silenced to accomodate ushers' office quiet?

[kelliekat44]

6. You are so right!! nt

[Aerows]

10. It makes them look like

bumbling idiots. Just what we want to hear, the Secret Service is so incompetent they can't protect the life of the POTUS and family.

I don't know if it is a management problem or an agent problem, but I suspect it is a mixture of both. This was an extremely serious breach.

[former9thward]

5. She needs to explain why two different stories were given out.

They did not need to investigate how far he went. They knew that instantly. Yet they put out a totally different story.

[Aerows]

11. That's a damn good question. n/t

[riderinthestorm]

12. An anonymous whistleblower gave out the "real" story

The SS gave out the lies...

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

8. You have to wonder whether the old "boys club" is trying to make her look bad.

I'm sure the SS men don't like her cramping their style, eg: prositution, wild drug addled parties, etc.

[George II]

9. A witness just mentioned "Benghazi", and now Isis is testifying FOR another witness!