A string of recent incidents surrounding the Secret Service has put the agency into the spotlight. Multiple incidents of intruders attempting to enter the White House have occurred this year, but it turns out that’s more common than we may think.
The first incident was last week as a man armed with a knife managed to enter the White House and traverse the ground floor before being detained. President Obama had left the White House minutes before the intrusion.
Director of the Secret Service, Julia Pierson, defended the agency on Capitol Hill a few days ago, and she took responsibility for the security breach.
Are there specific policies that the Secret Service can implement to increase the President’s security? Is this a failure of agents or the agency? How do you view the limited access allowed to the nation’s representative?
Guest:
Jonathan Allen, DC Bureau Chief at Bloomberg
Kent Moyer, CEO and Founder, The World Protection Group, a security firm The World Protection Group with offices in Beverly Hills and New York, which hires a number of former secret service agents. The firm also works with the secret service to protect dignitaries traveling to the U.S.
This story has been corrected to remove references to an incident during President Obama's visit to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. On Nov. 4, the Associated Press issued this correction:
"In several stories published Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, The Associated Press, quoting The Washington Post, reported that during President Obama's visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, an armed security guard who accompanied him in an elevator had three criminal convictions. The guard, Kenneth Tate, has since identified himself publicly and said he was never convicted of a crime. The Post has corrected its story, saying sources have since told the newspaper that Tate had no felony record. The Associated Press has been unable to find any records of a criminal conviction against Tate."
