Photo credit: Miscellaneous
Ron Kessler is concerned about the recent Secret Service debacle and he should know whether or not to be concerned. He is the author of 20 non-fiction books about the US Secret Service, FBI and CIA. Seven of his books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. “Kessler’s such a skilled storyteller, you almost forget this is dead-serious nonfiction.” Newsweek
Kessler is worried that President Obama keeps expressing confidence in the Secret Service and thinks he should appoint someone from the outside of the agency. “That’s what I said in my book The First Family Detail,” Kessler told Hollywood on the Potomac. A look back at our interview with Kessler when the book first came out: Here is the article.
“He appointed Clancy (Joe Clancy is the 24th and current Director of the United States Secret Service) who is part of this culture,” Kessler emphasized. “Obama is in denial. He minimizes the risk to his own life. A lot is at stake.”
As for President Obama, he issued a statement for reporters via White House spokesman Eric Schultz: “President Barack Obama has full confidence in Secret Service Director Joe Clancy to pursue reforms needed at the agency in the wake of several scandals. Nobody has higher standards for the Secret Service than Director Clancy.”
President Obama with Secret Service agents. Photo credit: pond5
“It all goes back to President Obama,” Kessler said emphatically. “You know, he keeps expressing confidence in the Secret Service even though the four person panel that was appointed by Jay Johnson, Secretary of Homeland security, said that Obama should appoint someone from the outside the agency. These two agents are very high ranking – one is second in command, one was a senior supervisor – when they went to a retirement party and apparently had been drinking and went crashing into a barricade at the White House itself, lights flashing; and then even worse, was when the officers wanted to arrest them, the supervisor overruled those officers and said to just send them home – essentially obstruction of justice. And, on top of that, it took five days before all of this was reported to Clancy. What it tells you is that agents have no confidence that they can honestly report problems and then that’s part of this culture pattern that has lead to all these problems. It’s a culture that punishes agents who report threats and problems and rewards agents with promotions if they just keep their mouths shut. They think that the Secret Service invincible from problems. Clancy, instead of putting them on administrative leave, put them into different positions instead of taking away their guns and badges. These very high ranking agents were given special privilege and they are still honored to be still reporting to the Secret Service.”
“When Obama appointed Clancy, I wrote a column saying this guarantees that there will be more failings,” concluded Kessler. “That was on Feb. 18th and he had been acting director since October and sure enough that is what we got. Obama has deluded himself by thinking that he is going to solve these problems and keeps deluding himself. Agents tell me it is a miracle that worse hasn’t happened. I honestly don’t think he understands the risks. It is colossal mismanagement at minimum and at worse courting danger.”
One of the two agents is eligible for retirement and if you’re invited to the party: Skip the drinks.
