Two senior Secret Service agents, including one who is a top member of President Obama’s protective detail, reportedly crashed into a White House barricade following a party for retiring spokesman Ed Donovan.
The Department of Homeland Security is now investigating the incident, the second sign of misconduct by senior Security Service agents in recent months, according to the White House.
It’s believed that the two agents had been drinking before the March 4 accident, as sources confirmed to CNN.
The incident occurred at about 10:30 pm on the White House compound as Washington D.C. police officers and Secret Service officers attempted to clear the scene during an investigation of a suspicious package. Witnesses reported that the vehicle’s overhead lights were flashing and the agents showed their badges to get into a closed-off section of the grounds. The vehicle then ran through security tape and hit the barricades.
According to the Washington Post, which first reported the incident, the officers were allowed to return home after an on-duty supervisor overruled an on-duty law enforcement officer who wanted to conduct sobriety tests and arrest the agents.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”– Carol D. Leonnig” author_title=”Washington Post reporter who broke the story”]
The officers for the Secret Service who monitor the safety of the White House complex and ultimately the president and his family felt that these two individuals may have been intoxicated.
[/quote]
Secret Service Director Joe Clancy requested the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General conduct an investigation into the incident, in part because the incident involves senior officials. Clancy was appointed by Obama last month after several embarrassing security lapses at the White House.
The two Secret Service agents have reassigned to non-operational, non-supervisory assignments while the investigation continues.
