Goodlatte: Secret Service Agents’ Poor Judgement Endangers White House Complex
March 12, 2015
Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the following statement after a press report that two Secret Service agents suspected of driving under the influence and striking a White House security barricade also disrupted an active bomb investigation and may have driven over the suspicious package itself.
“The Secret Service is tasked with protecting the White House, but once again another incident makes the agency look more like it’s partying in ‘Animal House.’ Not only did the two Secret Service agents endanger their own lives and innocent civilians by potentially choosing to drink and drive, they also imperiled the entire White House complex by disrupting an active bomb investigation. Such poor judgement warrants severe consequences and also raises questions that the Secret Service has not learned the tough lessons it should have following other recent scandals.
“The House Judiciary Committee has conducted aggressive oversight of the United States Secret Service and will continue to do so. Incidents like the one that happened last night are completely unacceptable and must stop. At the House Judiciary Committee’s oversight hearing last year, Director Clancy pledged to make necessary improvements at the agency to rein in abuses and ensure professionalism. I intend to hold him to this promise and work with him to ensure the President, White House personnel, and innocent civilians are protected from threats from outside entities and now from within the agency itself.”
Background: In November 2014, the House Judiciary Committee held a public oversight hearing on the United States Secret Service and then closed a portion of it to the public to discuss law enforcement sensitive matters.
“The Secret Service is tasked with protecting the White House, but once again another incident makes the agency look more like it’s partying in ‘Animal House.’ Not only did the two Secret Service agents endanger their own lives and innocent civilians by potentially choosing to drink and drive, they also imperiled the entire White House complex by disrupting an active bomb investigation. Such poor judgement warrants severe consequences and also raises questions that the Secret Service has not learned the tough lessons it should have following other recent scandals.
“The House Judiciary Committee has conducted aggressive oversight of the United States Secret Service and will continue to do so. Incidents like the one that happened last night are completely unacceptable and must stop. At the House Judiciary Committee’s oversight hearing last year, Director Clancy pledged to make necessary improvements at the agency to rein in abuses and ensure professionalism. I intend to hold him to this promise and work with him to ensure the President, White House personnel, and innocent civilians are protected from threats from outside entities and now from within the agency itself.”
Background: In November 2014, the House Judiciary Committee held a public oversight hearing on the United States Secret Service and then closed a portion of it to the public to discuss law enforcement sensitive matters.