The US Secret Service is investigating two senior agents after a car crash at the White House.

A spokesman for the Secret Service told the BBC the collision happened during the evening on 4 March.

The Washington Post reported the agents drove the car into a security barricade after a night of drinking and partying.

The crash is the latest in a series of embarrassing incidents involving the agency charged with protecting President Barack Obama.

The Washington Post has identified the agents as Mark Connolly, deputy in charge of the president's security detail, and George Ogilvie, a senior supervisor in the agency's Washington office.

They had been attending a party at a nearby bar before the incident occurred, the Post reported.

Trouble at the Secret Service

-11 November 2011: A man fires several bullets at the White House and hits a second floor window. Four days pass before agents determine the building had been shot at. One of the president's daughters was home at the time.
-13 April 2012: Agents providing security for President Obama in Colombia are recalled after being implicated in a prostitution scandal during a summit.
-23 March 2014: Three agents protecting the president in Amsterdam are put on administrative leave after a night of drinking. One agent is reportedly found passed out in a hotel hallway.
-16 September 2014: An armed man with an arrest record is allowed on an elevator with the president, violating Secret Service rules.
-19 September 2014: A man with a knife climbs over the White House fence and is able to enter the building before being stopped by agents. The president had left the White House minutes earlier.
-1 October 2014: Julia Pierson resigns as Secret Service director after a series of security lapses.
-4 March 2015: Two agents crash a car into a White House security barrier.


Witnesses reportedly saw the officers in a car with illuminated emergency lights and said they had shown their badges in an attempt to get through a secured section of the White House complex.

The vehicle ran through security tape and hit temporary barricades that had been set up while security services investigated a suspicious package.

Over the past several months, several of the agency's top officials have been forced to step down following multiple security lapses. A man from Texas was able to scale a fence and run into the White House while brandishing a knife before being detained.

The Secret Service is charged with protecting the president, vice-president, their families and other officials.

The leaders of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee - Republican chairman Jason Chaffetz of Utah and top Democrat Elijah Cummings of Maryland - said on Wednesday: "The fact that this event involved senior-level agents is not only embarrassing but exhibits a clear lack of judgment in a potentially dangerous situation."

 kronk wrote:
"1 October 2014: Julia Pierson resigns as Secret Service director after a series of security lapses."

That needed to happen, sadly.

"A spokesman for the Secret Service told the BBC the collision happened during the evening on 4 March.

The Washington Post reported the agents drove the car into a security barricade after a night of drinking and partying."

It sounds to me like the Secret Service detail STILL needs some serious overhaul. Heads need to roll, from the top down.

 Grey Templar wrote:
Maybe the Secret Service should get replaced by some more competent branch. Maybe Green Berets or Rangers.

 Jihadin wrote:

 Grey Templar wrote:
Maybe the Secret Service should get replaced by some more competent branch. Maybe Green Berets or Rangers.

Or give it back to the USMC

 d-usa wrote:

 Jihadin wrote:

 Grey Templar wrote:
Maybe the Secret Service should get replaced by some more competent branch. Maybe Green Berets or Rangers.

Or give it back to the USMC

Wouldn't we run into the problem of having military doing civilian police work?

 Jihadin wrote:

 d-usa wrote:

 Jihadin wrote:

 Grey Templar wrote:
Maybe the Secret Service should get replaced by some more competent branch. Maybe Green Berets or Rangers.

Or give it back to the USMC

Wouldn't we run into the problem of having military doing civilian police work?

IIRC right USMC were assigned to that duty and Secret Service was created at a later date and was given that detail as an additional duty. I would mention Camp David but that is considered a military Installation. There's is a way to turn it over to the US Military involving a CoC with civilians in the rank structure. Memorandum stating what position the civilian(s) are in the rank structure. We talking guarding not going after confitiers(sp)

Edit

Low Coffee Indicator Light steady red

 Jihadin wrote:
Idiots drove through a active bomb investigation to

 d-usa wrote:
This is the same government that is supposed to be smart enough to fake the moon landing and the 9/11 attacks, right?

 d-usa wrote:
Related:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/09/politics/white-house-secret-service-scandal/index.html

Just as the agency begins to recover from a series of high-profile missteps, the Secret Service is facing yet another scandal.

A female employee accused Xavier Morales, a supervisor within the agency, of assault after he made sexual advances at her, according to The Washington Post.

"The woman told police and agency investigators that Morales, her boss, told her during the party at Capitol City Brewing Company that he was in love with her and would like to have sex with her," and later tried to kiss her in the office, according to a report from The Washington Post.

During the incident, he "grabbed her arms when she resisted" and the two tussled until Morales gave up, sources told the paper.

The Post reports that the March 31 party was in celebration of Morales' new assignment as head of the Louisville field office.

A Secret Service spokesperson confirms that Morales was placed on administrative leave and his security clearance was suspended.

This incident was first reported on April 2, and Secret Service Director Joe Clancy was briefed that afternoon.

Clancy called the allegations "very disturbing."

"Any threats or violence that endangers our employees in the workplace is unacceptable and will not be tolerated," he said in a statement.

This is just the latest chapter for an organization embroiled in scandal over the past several months.

Last month, two top-ranking officials were suspended following an incident at a White House command post during an investigation of a possible bomb.

Clancy was not made aware of the episode until five days later.

The agency has also faced scrutiny for another lapse in late January when a drone crash-landed on the White House lawn.

Secret Service Director Julia Pierson resigned in September after a fence-jumper gained access to the East Room of the White House.

Earlier in September, an armed security contractor was allowed to get into an elevator with President Barack Obama during a trip to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

An independent report released in December found that the Secret Service is stretched "beyond its limits," needing more training, more staff, and a director from outside its ranks. Clancy, who formally assumed the post in February, is a 27-year veteran of the agency.

"It's going to take time to change some of this culture," Clancy said at a House Appropriations Committee hearing last month. "There's no excuse for this information not to come up the chain. That's going to take time because I'm going to have to build trust with our workforce."

The incident will be further investigated by the Office of the Inspector General.

Secret Service officer charged with attempted burglary, property destruction


Washington (CNN)An off-duty member of the Uniformed Division of Secret Service was arrested Friday in Washington and charged with first-degree attempted burglary, a felony, and one misdemeanor count for destruction of property, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department reported.

Arthur Baldwin, 29, was arrested at a woman's residence in Southeast Washington, according to documents provided by the police department. He has been placed on administrative leave and his security clearance has been suspended, the Secret Service said.

Baldwin is assigned to the Foreign Missions Branch, according to U.S. Secret Service Spokesman Brian Leary. That branch is responsible for working with the diplomatic community in Washington.

A police officer went to a residence about 12:24 a.m. after receiving a call about a burglary in progress, police documents said.

The officer found the front door with broken hinges, boot prints and two broken windows, the documents say. The woman who lives there told the officer, "My ex-boyfriend won't leave me alone."

While the D.C. Metropolitan Police officer was at the scene, Baldwin drove up, said he was a police officer and asked to speak with the woman, the police document said.

When asked if he kicked in the door, Baldwin said, "I kicked the door but did not ... break the windows," the document said.

When a CNN reporter asked for a comment Friday during an arraignment, Baldwin said, "No, you'll get me in trouble."

His next court date is April 23. The U.S. Attorney's Office said the charge of attempted first-degree burglary carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. The charge of destruction of property carries a sentence of up to 180 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000.

The incident comes as the Secret Service is trying to mend its reputation after numerous issues concerning the discipline and professionalism of its officers have come to light recently.

More specifics on this incident were not yet available. Leary also said the Secret Service's "Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate this matter."

When a CNN reporter asked for a comment Friday during an arraignment, Baldwin said, "No, you'll get me in trouble."