Secret Service managers told agents in Atlanta not to file a written report after discovering that a man with a criminal record who had a gun rode in an elevator with President Obama during his visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sept. 16, according to two sources familiar with the case.
The president’s Secret Service protective detail and other agents routinely file written reports if anything suspicious happens during a presidential trip or in the course of protecting any member of the first family at the White House on any given day.
The reports for such incidents follow one of two protocols. Agents can initiative a five-day report, for more serious incidents that need immediate investigation and clarification, or a 14-day report for more minor incidents. Neither type of report was pursued in the Sept. 16 elevator case, according to the two sources.
The Secret Service did place the man’s name and a limited description of the suspicious encounter in an internal database. The Secret Service also says the agency started an investigation into the incident and completed a report, although it will not say when the probe began, when the report was filed, how many people have been interviewed or other related details.
“Interviews were conducted, and a report was completed, and its an ongoing investigation at this time,” a Secret Service official told the Washington Examiner.
Agents became alarmed during Obama’s trip to Atlanta after discovering that a private security contractor working for the CDC with a criminal record had a gun within arms-length of the president, but superiors told them not to file “any paperwork” or initiate an investigation, according to two sources familiar with the case.
Secret Service Director Julia Pierson asked a senior officer to stay behind in Atlanta to handle the situation, but there was no formal review of the matter.
Well before the president travels, Secret Service advance teams extensively screen anyone who comes in close proximity with the president for criminal records and no one but cleared law enforcement officers are allowed to carry guns.
Private security guards are barred from carrying firearms when the president is traveling to a building where they work – even if they routinely carry one during regular hours.
The security officer with the gun attracted agents’ attention and suspicion when he tried to take photos of Obama and videotape him leaving the elevator even after they told him to stop.
Secret Service agents questioned the man, alongside a supervisor who fired him on the spot and asked him to turn in his gun. The agents also ran his name through a database and discovered he had been charged with assault.
The elevator case is another embarrassing blow to Secret Service leaders and exposes a breakdown in security protocols. One source called it a prime example of a pervasive “culture of cover-up” at the agency.
The information about the elevator incident came the same day Secret Service Director Julia Pierson appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Lawmakers publicly upbraided her for more than three hours about several problems at the agency, including the Sept. 19 White House security breach in which an intruder was able to scale a fence and make it into the ceremonial heart of the building.
During the hearing, lawmakers pressed Pierson about her ability to effectively respond to potential problems and run an organization in which junior officers feel free to speak up and lodge complaints when needed.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, sharply questioned Pierson on how the agency handled a 2011 incident in which a shooter sprayed the White House with bullets while President Obama and Michelle were gone but Malia and her grandmother Marian Robinson were home and Sasha was set to arrive.
Contradicting reports from agents who thought they heard gunshots and took measures to respond immediately, senior Secret Service officers attributed the noises first to a car backfiring and then to gang members involved in a two-car gun-fight along Constitution Avenue.
Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported that Secret Service Officer Carrie Johnson, who was under the Truman Balcony of the White House when the bullets hit, believed the building was under fire and placed a call to headquarters to alert others but later did not question her superiors’ version of events out of fear of being criticized.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Chaffetz said neither Johnson’s call to headquarters nor her name was mentioned in an internal Secret Service unclassified “spot report” about the 2011 White House shooting that includes a minute-to-minute breakdown of the night’s events and the Secret Service response.
“Why is it that when I look at this report, there isn’t even a mention of Officer Carrie Johnson?” Chaffetz asked.
Pierson responded only that the report “reflects an active investigation.”
“I don’t know what information that you have relative to Officer Johnson’s reporting,” she said.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., also pressed Pierson about agents’ failure to raise security concerns out of fear of retribution.
“Does it trouble you that some of your own agents apparently do not feel comfortable raising security concerns?” he asked. “This is just one person, and there are others who would rather be whistleblowers … than to bring their concerns to you.”
“Yes, sir, it does,” Pierson responded. “It’s unacceptable.”
At the beginning of the hearing, Pierson said she took full responsibility for the Sept. 19 breach of the White House by an intruder and vowed not to let it happen again.
Cummings reminded her of that pledge and said it would be impossible to accomplish if agents aren’t keeping her apprised of problems.
“If you’re heading an agency where the folks are not providing you with the information to do the right thing, to make the changes, how do you even know what the problems are?” he asked.
Correction: The article originally reported that the CDC security officer was convicted of assault. He was charged but never convicted.
