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Secret service director resigns after series of White House security lapses Secret service director resigns after series of White House security lapses
(35 minutes later)
The embattled leader of the US Secret Service, Julia Pierson, resigned on Wednesday after a series of security lapses at the White House. The director of the US secret service has resigned amid mounting criticism of her handling of security breaches at the White House and allegations of misleading public statements.
Pressure had been building on Pierson after a unconvincing appearance before a hearing of the House oversight committee to explain a series of security lapses both before and during the latest incident on September 19. Hours after an unconvincing appearance before the House of Representatives government oversight committee, Julia Pierson tendered her resignation to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the elite agency.
Omar Gonzalez overpowered an officer at the front door and was not stopped until he reached a separate room toward the back of the White House. “Today Julia Pierson, the director of the United States secret service, offered her resignation, and I accepted it. I salute her 30 years of distinguished service to the secret service and the nation,” said the Homeland Security secretary, Jeh Johnson.
Republicans have been scathing of her handling of the incident, led by congressman Jason Chaffetz, who called for her resignation on Fox News, but anger had also been also growing among Democrats. Johnson said he was appointing Joseph Clancy, who retired from the secret service in 2011, as interim acting director. “I appreciate his willingness to leave his position in the private sector on very short notice and return to public service for a period,” Johnson said. Clancy, who had worked at Comcast after his retirement, was previously the special agent in charge of the secret service’s presidential protective division.
On Tuesday, the White House offered some defence of the secret service, but Pierson was under growing pressure over apparent misleading statements in the aftermath of the intrusion. Johnson also ordered Alejandro Mayorkas, deputy secretary of Homeland Security, to assume control of the inquiry into the fence-jumping incident on 19 September that triggered the latest crisis. According to the White House, the investigation will also examine whether a broader review of the secret service is necessary.
The man accused of breaking into the White House has pleaded not guilty to three criminal charges. “The president concluded that new leadership of the agency was required,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a press briefing on Wednesday. “In the light of reports ... legitimate questions were raised.” Earnest said Clancy had the confidence of President Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama, who was reportedly angered by earlier security lapses at the White House, one of which took place while her daughter and mother were in the residence.
Lawyers for Gonzalez, a US army veteran said to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving as a sniper in Iraq, recorded the not guilty pleas in a court in Washington on Wednesday and are expected to defend the case on grounds of diminished responsibility. Ironically, Pierson had been put in charge of the secret service only last year in response to a series of scandals, including the discovery of a drunken agent passed out in a hotel during a presidential trip to Amsterdam and agents allegedly visiting prostitutes on a visit to Colombia.
A grand jury indictment unsealed on Tuesday charges Gonzalez with three offences: entering a restricted building, carrying a deadly weapon and possessing ammunition without registration. Previously Pierson worked as chief of staff at the agency, overseeing new IT implementation, but also worked as a special agent herself.
Prosecutors claim he was found with Spyderco vg10 knife as he was wrestled to the ground in the East Room of the White House, after scaling the perimeter fence and breaching an estimated five layers of security protection. Pierson’s fate is likely to have been sealed by misleading statements that the secret service issued after the fence-jumping incident, in which it was implied that the intruder was unarmed and made it no further than the front door, whereas in fact he allegedly carried a knife and ran some distance into the building.
They also allege that a search of his nearby car after the incident found shotgun shells and bullets for seven different calibres of guns and assault rifles. Republicans, led by Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, had been scathing of her handling of the incident, but anger was growing on both sides of aisle. New York Democrat Chuck Schumer was expected to become the first Democratic senator to call for her resignation in a press conference due later on Wednesday.
Elijah Cummings, ranking Democrat on the House oversight committee, said he backed the appointment of an independent panel to look at the secret service.
“As I told Ms Pierson in our phone call earlier today, we appreciate her 30 years of service to our nation, to the secret service, and to multiple presidents,” he said in a statement issued after her resignation became public.
“I absolutely respect her decision, and now we have to ensure that we focus on the difficult work of fully restoring the secret service to its rightful status as the most elite protective service in the world. I am pleased that Secretary Johnson has agreed with our suggestion to establish an independent panel of outside experts to begin to review these issues, which is a critical step.”
Cummings had previously come close to calling for Pierson to resign, saying there was little chance she could do enough to warrant staying. “I want her to go if she cannot restore trust in the agency, and if she cannot get the culture back in order,” Cummings had said during an interview on CNN. “I told her that she’s got a tall order there.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Omar Gonzalez, the army veteran accused of breaking into the White House on 19 September, pleaded not guilty to three criminal charges relating to the incident.
Lawyers for Gonzalez, who is said to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving as a sniper in Iraq, are expected to defend the case on grounds of diminished responsibility.
A grand jury indictment unsealed on Tuesday charges Gonzalez with three offences: entering a restricted building, carrying a deadly weapon, and possessing ammunition without registration.
Prosecutors claim Gonzalez was found with a Spyderco vg10 knife on him as he was wrestled to the ground in the East Room of the White House after scaling the perimeter fence and breaching an estimated five layers of security protection.
They also allege that a search of his nearby car after the incident yielded shotgun shells and bullets for seven different calibres of firearms.