Obama disappointed by latest Secret Service incident
Updated: 2015-03-13 11:07
(Agencies)
|
|||||||||||
Members of the US Secret Service keep watch at the fence surrounding the White House in Washington March 12, 2015. [Photo/Agencies] |
WASHINGTON - Two senior US Secret Service agents are under investigation after driving a government vehicle through an area where their colleagues were investigating a suspicious package, a law enforcement official said on Thursday.
The incident comes on the heels of a series of scandals for the agency that protects the president and his family, and President Barack Obama was disappointed to hear the allegations, White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters.
The US House of Representatives Oversight Committee asked Secret Service Director Joe Clancy to provide them a briefing by next Wednesday on what happened.
Obama, who chose Clancy to lead the agency last month after a lengthy external review, has full confidence in the director, said Schultz.
"Nobody has higher standards for the Secret Service than Director Clancy," Schultz said.
The Secret Service has not commented on the incident, which is under investigation by an internal watchdog at the Department of Homeland Security at the request of Clancy.
The Washington Post, which broke the news, said one of the agents is a top member of Obama's protective detail and the other is a senior supervisor in the Washington field office. The Post said they drove through police tape and barricades at the White House just before 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT) on March 4 after a party at a bar.
The area was locked down because their colleagues were investigating a package thrown out of a car by a woman who had shouted, "It's a bomb," the newspaper said, citing a police report.
But a law enforcement official familiar with some of the details described the vehicle as moving very slowly and deliberately at about 1 mile per hour (1.6 km per hour).
Related Stories
Secret Service investigating agents' crash near White House 2015-03-12 14:17
Secret Service: Shots fired outside Bidens' Delaware home 2015-01-19 05:52
US Secret Service lack of leadership, training 2014-12-19 10:32
US Secret Service director Pierson resigns under fire 2014-10-02 04:55
Australian govt to prohibit torture by secret service 2014-09-23 08:03
Today's Top News
China likely to ease again if inflation falls: insider
Reproach for wrongful convictions
China's two universities make top 50
Astronauts return from space station
Italian court upholds Berlusconi's acquittal
UK companies seek new opportunities in China
CNR, CSR merger passes overseas antitrust scrutiny
Official urges Dalai Lama to forsake evil ways
Hot Topics
Lunar probe , China growth forecasts, Emission rules get tougher, China seen through 'colored lens', International board,
Editor's Picks
Annual legislative and political advisory sessions |
Festival Special: Apps that make holiday shopping easier |
Listed firms caught in anti-corruption net |
Conca set to return to China |
CES: Spotlight on Chinese gadgets |
Yearender: What happened around the globe in 2014 |