The Secret Service still hasn’t provided a thorough accounting of the scandal involving senior managers diverting agents patrolling the White House perimeter to a private neighborhood dispute.
Nearly five months after news broke that the Secret Service diverted agents assigned to patrol the White House perimeter to a Maryland suburb over a dispute among neighbors, the agency still has not said who was responsible for “Operation Moonlight” and whether they were disciplined for it.
David Beach and Jim Donaldson, two agents in charge of the Washington field office, allegedly ordered agents assigned to the Secret Service’s Prowler unit, which is responsible for patrolling the White House perimeter, to leave their posts and travel to the southern Maryland town of La Plata, an hour’s drive from Washington.
The diversion of agents and assets occurred in response to then-Director Mark Sullivan’s concerns that his assistant, Lisa Chopey, was being threatened by a neighbor in La Plata. It’s unclear whether Sullivan ordered the operation, sources told the Washington Examiner.
The Washington Post first reported the story May 11. The Examiner reported on May 21 that the two agents were still employed and had not been placed on administrative leave — 10 days after the “Operation Moonlight” story broke.
The Secret Service has strict agency policies barring government-owned vehicles from being used for personal business. Some agents who knew about the operation worried that it exposed the White House compound, the president and first family to unnecessary security risks although others said the agents were diverted during less dangerous times.
The State Department later tapped Sullivan to chair the Benghazi Independent Best Practices panel even though he had retired in early 2013 under a cloud after a Secret Service scandal involving agents hiring prostitutes in Colombia.
Sullivan’s less severe departure stands in stark contrast to his successor’s last week. Julia Pierson, also a 30-year veteran of the agency who previously served as Sullivan’s chief of staff, was forced out after an intruder made it into the White House’s inner ceremonial sanctum. She had also failed to tell President Obama of a Sept. 16 security lapse that allowed a man with a criminal record and a gun to be in an elevator with the president.
Sullivan was allowed to retire instead of being forced to resign, and went on to chair the Benghazi panel charged with making sure such an attack on a U.S. embassy never happens again.
In mid-September, Sullivan, in his role as chairman of the best practices panel, testified before the House GOP-created Select Committee on Benghazi.
The former Secret Service director said many agencies feel the State Department’s diplomacy security bureau is the “gold standard” of security, but organizations must innovate, adapt and evolve to meet “ever-changing security requirements.”
He also stressed the importance of “having clear lines of leadership in an organizational structure concerning security matters.”
“We as a panel also understand that things don’t always go as planned, and when they don’t, it is vital to implement lessons learned in an effort to prevent them from happening again,” he said.
Sullivan retired before news broke about the two agents’ role in allegedly ordering the agents to Maryland, even though the operation occurred under his leadership.
Beach and Donaldson were never put on administrative leave while the Department of Homeland Security inspector general investigated the matter, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
In fact, it’s unclear whether the DHS inspector general has finished that investigation.
A Secret Service spokesman referred all questions about the status of the investigation to the Department of Homeland Security, which did not return a request for comment. He wouldn’t say whether Beach or Donaldson were ever suspended or punished in any way.
“We do not comment on internal personnel matters,” he said.
The Secret Service also disputes the length of time that the agents were diverted from their duties. Two sources say that the operation began June 30, 2011 and continued for weeks. Twice a day two agents were dispatched to Chopey’s home to stand guard, the sources said.
But the Secret Service says Operation Moonlight was limited to the July 4 long weekend.
“The Secret Service will respond to any findings from this investigation and implement any recommendations or corrective actions identified by the DHS [Office of Inspector General] as appropriate,” agency spokesman Ed Donovan told the Examiner at the time. “We won’t discuss individual employee status related to this investigation.”
Multiple sources said the Secret Service regularly disregards the prohibitions on using government vehicles for far less serious matters than “Operation Moonlight.” One of the more colorful and benign regular lapses includes agents using the vehicles for regular pizza runs to the Italian Store in Arlington, the sources said.
After the details of Operation Moonlight were first reported in May, the Secret Service has starting disciplining agents for the misuse of government vehicles and resources, although the punishments have been minimal, the sources said.
