Congress Releases Scathing Secret Service Report

Mr Chaffetz said: “This report reveals that the Secret Service is in crisis”. At least a half-dozen were never publicly disclosed. “But under the leadership of Director Clancy, the Secret Service has worked hard to implement a series of reforms that have strengthened that organization and have enhanced confidence”. The service does not spend enough time on protective duties, instead focusing too much on investigative matters such as credit-card and computer fraud, the report found.

The committee, chaired by Utah Republican Jason Chaffetz, has been investigating the agency since details of the April 2012 prostitution scandal became public. “The president is in jeopardy, and he better personally get involved in fixing this”.

Several breaches, including some involving President Barack Obama, had previously been undisclosed.

Morale within the service is “critically low”, contributing to a staggering loss of personnel. A year later, there was was 6,315, the lowest point in a decade.

The report also blasted the agency for “systemic mismanagement”, citing it as an example of reasons for the staffing crisis, which the report states is the biggest threat to security. A new congressional report says there have been 143 security breaches or attempted breaches at facilities secured by the Secret Service in the last 10 years. In a single episode, the report stated, the Secret Service did not conduct background checks on armed personal safety guards from the Centers for Illness Control & Prevention in Atlanta who have been near President Obama throughout his visit there in 2014.

The report said that Director Joseph P. Clancy, who was announced director of the Secret Service in February this year, promised to encourage staff to step forward with their complaints.

The report outlines several key areas where the integrity of the agency has been compromised and where targeted reforms could lead to improvements, from understaffing and underfunding to insufficient screening of applicants and contractors. Now we know this armed guard, without any clearance, was with the president three times.

In April 2013, four people fished on a small lake in the backyard of Vice President Biden’s DE home; neighbors alerted the Secret Service.

The yearlong investigation also found new information about past scandals, including the Colombia prostitution case.

The agency has weathered scrutiny since the 2011 shooting outside the White House, and criticism has increased with each incident profiled in the report.

“If we don’t make those corrections now, they may never be made”, said Rep. Cummings. But the investigation found that several agency employees had previously acknowledged to Secret Service investigators that they had engaged in similar misconduct elsewhere, including having had sex with foreign nationals in Italy, Russia, Ireland and New York City.

One email described the motto of the trip as “una mas cerveza por favor”, or “one more beer please”.

One emailed: “Swagg cologne-check/Pimp gear-check/Swagg sunglasses- check/Cash fo dem hoes-check”.

It added that the Secret Service leadership “needs to honestly acknowledge the problems plaguing the agency… because only then can the agency truly set about moving in the right direction”.