Julia Pierson has resigned her post as director of the United States Secret Service, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced Wednesday.
Joseph Clancy, formerly Special Agent in Charge of the Presidential Protective Division of the Secret Service, will lead the agency on an interim basis.
President Barack Obama spoke with Pierson on Wednesday afternoon “to express his appreciation for her service to the agency and to the country,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.
Pierson offered her resignation because “she believed it was in the best interests of the agency to which she had dedicated her career,” Earnest said. “The secretary agreed with that assessment. The president did as well.”
I really think this was the only choice that she had at this point.
I watched the back and forth during her appearance before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, at it was one of the first times in recent memory where I have seen both the Democrats and Republicans in agreement. They both wanted her out.
And after she failed to volunteer the incident involving an armed private security contractor sharing an elevator with the President, I kind of knew her goose was cooked.
As I wrote before this President is the MOST threatened President in history, and the fact that time and time again the Secret Service seems to be sleepwalking through their job is entirely unacceptable.
Not to be too paranoid at this point, but I would kind of like to see a different screening protocol utilized. Perhaps it is time to ask agents about their political affiliations, their history with racism, and whether or not they ever contributed to SarahPAC?
I see it, most threatened President. I say a prayer for him ever now and then, because I can see it without actually being there.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the NSA instead of the FBI can vet Secret Service agents. If they are on with SarahPAC, dominionists and other home grown terrorists identified by HateWatch, that should be an immediate disqualifier. Affiliations with anything Koch should also raise major red flags, too.
ReplyDeleteLook at the two who have been recently highlighted David Chaney (pimped by Todd) and Dan Bongino his bro in Cartegena and HE wrote a book against...AGAINST the POTUS for being "too harsh" on the partiers at Cartagena???? and he quit b/c he didn't want to guard the potus? This is the kind of ASSholes guarding our POTUS? I saw RW'r say POTUS has the Muslim brotherhood (guarding him), well he would prob be safer ! <---snark...but...WTF? Are all of these guys RWNJ who Will look the other way? Everyone lol'd at the RW congress man who mentioned ADT but he had a point! Why doesn't the White house have window security? He made a great point how a maid found the damage in one of the private rooms NOT the SService!!! A Maid!!! B/c its the Whitehouse and a Black man there? This is Bullshit! Too be fair this woman(director) was handed a bowl of shit and hasn't had time to flush it yet but still she had no vision no answers no nothing....
DeleteThey will have to hire Secret Service by Party!! Dem potus R's need not apply.
R' potus dems need not apply.
Fox news and our Grifter Bitch (no offense to all female dogs) from the north have caused total and repairable damage to this country and fucked up! She is a Treasonous Seditious bitch and should be locked up along with BrietFart and all of Fox news. Wait until Hillary is elected. This shit won't fly.
Potus is too nice. So was Kennedy.
Oh and I still think Bongino quit b/c he was guarding the grifter also, too in Alaska with Chaney.
irreparable....spellcheck :( sry
DeleteThe NSA? Seriously? Isn't the NSA in charge of the TSA? The TSA that steals stuff out of our luggage and body searches grannies and baby diapers?
DeleteSomething strange is going on here; I think there's more to this story. Either she was being set up or who knows what, but for the intruder to get as far into the White House as he did, he had to have bypassed several layers of security.
ReplyDeleteI'm not usually a conspiracy theorist, but it seems like there was some coordination going on with no one seeing that man jump the fence, run across the lawn, approach the White House, walk IN to the White House, down a hallway, down another hallway, etc. Somethings not right there.
R in NC
From what I read, it appears that the SS agents on the roof of the White house did see him, but didn't shoot because he had no weapons in his hands.
DeleteHowever, he could have been wearing an explosive vest, and taken down the front of the White house.
They really need a much taller fence around the grounds, and could consider running high voltage wiring on the top couple of feet.
They said that they couldn't let the dogs loose because there were too many agents on the lawn. If that is correct, then didn't those agents see him go in the door and if so, why didn't they go in after him?
DeleteThe entire thing doesn't make sense.
Something strange is going on here;
Delete***
Nothing strange except the fucking Secret Service looked the other way!!!
Heard FLOTUS raised the fucking roof as she should have but fox will bring up "angry black woman" meme.
One of the girls was at the house with the grandma!!!!!!
WTF?
Too many agents on the lawn? Doing what? Sunbathing?
DeleteI don't care. A WELL-TRAINED dog knows who the perp is and can tell the difference between a running assailant and his fellow human secret service agents. If he can't, they need to replace him with a better trained dog. And a better trained handler too.
O/T -- SarahPalinChannel today:
ReplyDeleteSally's new word is "vim."
There's a big white empty spot where the Quote of the Day was supposed to have been posted, but it's been empty all day.
Therefore, I'll suggest a quote for Sarah. You're welcome.
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time." -- Abraham Lincoln
Or a Bible verse, Sally!
Delete"Professing themselves wise, they became fools." -- Romans 1:22
Perfect for the hypocrite harridan!
In my world (where I rule), a donation to SarahPac would prevent one from holding any office, including county dog catcher. But, in my world, there would be no SarahPac....
ReplyDeleteThey should also screen agents for mysogony (sp) cuz Hillary will be our next president.
ReplyDeleteEasy way to remember how to spell misogyny. MIS=against GYN (as in GYNocological) = female
DeleteIt's a miracle that there were no disasters.
ReplyDeleteIt's also annoying that Sarah Palin was able to walk right up to the President at that Alfalfa dinner in Washington, back in 2008, the one where Joe Lieberman blocked her. I cannot imagine how she was able to just walk past security and get that close to him.
It's also annoying that Sarah Palin was able to walk right up to the President at that Alfalfa dinner
Delete****
Yes she could of had a gun? And the two who crashed the party one night? This is a ongoing SERIOUS problem. If I were potus I would hire my own BLACK security team and fuck the Service!
All of the invited attendees of something such as the Alfalfa Club Dinner, with the President in attendance, have been background checked prior to the event and anyone not passing muster would not be allowed in. Also there is TSA level scan and search at the door and each attendee must pass through before entering. This would even include the serving and cook staff.
DeleteHeh! Joe should of gotten a medal for that...! THE BEST PHOTO!
DeleteThanks :)
7:32 In theory, or according to procedure, but the SS has been lacking.
DeleteIn addition to the guy getting well inside the White House, the article stated that during the President's recent visit to the CDC an armed contractor with a criminal record was in the elevator with the President! And that wasn't suppose to happen. But it did.
I think the BIG Takeaway from this Secret Service info is that we are all assuming certain "well, dah!" basic security precautions are being taken and they are NOT.
SS has been corrupt for some time. It irritates me the way they are calling it the Obama SS. One of the agents in the prostitution case in Columbia was on the Palin detail when she was McCains running mate. He and Todd were quite "close". Yeah, I think and independent investigation is long past due...like several administrations past due!
ReplyDeleteMcCains running mate. He and Todd were quite "close".
Delete****
Yes! Todd pimped out Shay to him! Todd introduced him as a "coworker" and said she should treat him special. She did not know he was SS until Cartegana broke.
I so agree w/your last paragraph. My first reaction to all of this news as to the SS: It just seemed like the supposed guards to the POTUS were sleep walking and could have cared less about really protecting him!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that our wonderful president (and his family members) were not harmed in any way in spite of the lackadaisical attitudes of the SS!
And, I really don't like how MSNBC is covering this subject. Rachel Maddow, on her show, laid out the floor plan to the White House and actually showed the access to the living quarters of our president!
Her coverage provided vital information that could be used by terrorists - in our country or outside of it - to harm our president and his family members..
Some of the announcers are nuts (Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow) and feed the uproar - just making possibilities worse for President Obama and his family.
Anybody can google "floor plan of the White House" and get the same information. That vital, non-secret information is right in front of you every day.
Delete"Julia Pierson has resigned her post as director of the United States Secret Service"
ReplyDeleteHow could she not have resigned? There has to be meaningful accountability in this area. Besides the tragic personal costs of an injury or death close to this presidency, it would cause unimaginable political and social consequences this country might not recover from in generations.
Or ever.
(I felt - and still feel - great antipathy towards Nixon, Reagan and Shrub, but I never wanted any physical harm to come to them.)
BJC, I agree with everything you said.
DeleteMe too also!
DeleteIt is unthinkable! I didn't like them but violence is not the answer, Voting is.
I remember how horrible it was when Kennedy was killed, I was a child unaware of political parties or whatnot...
I renumber in recent years the Woman in India assassinated, its a horrible, vile, unspeakable act, yet these RW assholes they SAY this SHIT!? Who DOES that?
This country is fucked up.
I will say it until the day I leave the planet, Sarah fucking Palin made it ok to be a asshole racist.
She made it cool. Don't retreat reload!
Bitch.
All of them any of 'em should be arrested.
And guns should be way restricted, even the fucking cops are nuts. Its like the wildwest. :(
Other heads need to role besides hers! Who was the agent in charge of the White House? He or she really need to be fired or resign!
ReplyDeleteI believe her name is Julia Pierson, rolling her head again won't accomplish anything.
DeleteBut, now that she's unemployed, mebbe she'll be able to find the time to get a haircut.
DeleteAlso potential Secret Service members should be asked in the interview process if they sampled some of Todd Palin's prostitutes and then be dismissed from having a job protecting President Obama and his family in the White House.
ReplyDeleteI watched "The View", and Nicholle, the expert on the white house floor plans, explained how close he came to entering the first family's living quarters ------ As a simulated movie showed him already IN the First Family's living quarters. Whoopie made light of it by saying, "Everyone loves the President and want to get as close as possible to him, you know, at least that's where I let my mind go, because the alternative is too difficult to imagine. Yeah, she did the right thing by resigning, but wasn't it nice to see Republicans AND Democrats on the same side of an issue? I haven't seen that happen since, well, since he took office the first time.
ReplyDeletebut wasn't it nice to see Republicans AND Democrats on the same side of an issue? I haven't seen that happen since, well, since he took office the first time.
Delete****
Aren't congress and senate protected by SS? Maybe they got a clue "It could be one of us"?
To have the Secret Service "Look the other way" which it appears that is exactly what they did is mindblowing?!
They should all be fired.
Again, I think too many of them ARE watching Fox news instead of guarding POTUS. Some idiot tried to say "Well potus wasn't there that night and they were guarding him...." (where-ever he was ) But Malia was there with her grandma!!!
FLOTUS wasn't there and when she found out, damn I bet she raised the roof.
This shows as a country how fucked up it is the political climate and I think the congress and senate got a taste of it b/c next time it could be THEM the secret service chooses not to guard.
I would bet money that our usually cool President and First Lady went ballistic when they found out about this security breach. They may be very controlled in their reactions to most things, but I suspect all bets are off when it comes to the safety of their girls. I have no doubt that heads rolled, as they should have.
ReplyDeleteIt's terrifying enough to think of the thousands of threats our President and his family have received. It's so much worse when they can't trust the Secret Service to do their jobs and keep the First Family safe.
I suspect if they haven't shortly (due to an investigation as to exactly who was supposed to be responsible and in charge) they will but we won't hear about it.
DeletePierson was the frontman, the figurehead, who we are all watching as she is at the top. When they start firing the ground crew that dropped the ball, we won't hear about them. And I'm sure they'll all move into lucrative positions in the private sector. Former Secret Service and all.
Maybe someone finally got a clue that if one of their crazies DID off the president, the Repugs would catch HELL. Sure, they'd try to prove that the assassin was a secret Dem, but they know they can kiss their ever being elected GOODBYE. No amount of Faux News or Kock-Sucking will be enough to repair the inevitable damage.
ReplyDeleteI am appalled! That video graphic of the man's path. How did he get so far into the White House!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the man at the inquiry who said he didn't want anyone to ever even imagine, even imagine the possibility of getting close to the President.
I fear that this will entice crack pots and enemies into thinking it's worth the effort to just try to reach the President. Or as someone else said, that guy could have easily had a suicide bomb and blown away a big portion of the White House and anyone nearby.
Good to see that both Rs and Ds were of one mind on this during the hearing.
The pundits will pundit and Screechy will screech but it appears, at least those at the hearing, were firmly behind keeping the President, his family, and the White House safe. I was glad they didn't mince words. The Rs may hate the man, but he is our President and I'm glad to see they care about his safety.
I can't remember how old I was, but I clearly remember learning about JFK. Where I was, what I was doing, and what followed. I was about 5 and even that young it left a permanent fearful memory that I carry all these many years later.
Whatever-
DeleteI hear ya...JFK that day was horrible and we were too young to know about political parties all we knew was the potus had been killed, everyone was crying...
One thing was weird at the hearing headed up by Issa....
Darral Issa & John McCain were all over the Cartagena "scandal" b/c it was Obama's Secret service...ALL OVER it until...it was revealed David Chaney and Todd Palin in Alaska in 08 and they dropped that puppy like a hot potato!!!
Those two we need to email and demand that they investigate ALL security breaches at least back to 08!!! If Issa and McCain had done the job right in the first place the Palins would be jail and those SS agents gone and maybe fox news would have to tone down the rhetoric without HER screeching every 5 mins there.
Anyway Issa & McCain dropped the ball and I tweeted out plenty for all to see yesterday during the hearing.
Why do you think the bots are not here? Gloating?
They know about Todd. Pimping. and the Secret Service.
8:08 My second thought was...there sure are problems and coverups at SS. Maybe with all we and everyone else are learning, it is time for Malia and others to try opening up info on Todd the Pimp and SS guys.
DeleteNot trying to be a conspiracy cook but as someone previously alluded to: If Todd had the goods on them and someone hinted they should just turn the other way "only for a moment" and if several of them didn't realize the others were doing the same thing at the same time...WHAMO, Perfect Storm.
With the current info any "suggestion" of impropriety by SS agents SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED. It's not just boys being boys. We're talking about real problems directly involved with the safety of POTUS and his family and the White House building.
For those who don't know, Google up the book "Boys Will be Boys" by Shailey Tripp. Or go to Amazon. It details specifics about Todd's prostitution ring.
You will notice the name. Tripp. Same unusual name that Bristol and Levi gave their son. Also check other articles here at IM about the license plate.
I had to do some research to find out what was going on. I stumbled across a CNN article, and ran across this:
ReplyDelete"House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said his panel will continue to investigate the agency.
"House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said his panel will continue to investigate the agency. "Problems at the Secret Service pre-date Ms. Pierson's tenure as director, and her resignation certainly does not resolve them," he said.
This line. This line is horrifying. Headed by Darrell Issa? Investigating (and possibly finding blackmail over) the secret service men who guard the president every waking moment? Basically facing subpoenas to be quizzed about every private moment in the Whitehouse, with their job on the line?
I smell an impeachment outcry coming in the future, if Obama's ever so much as smoked a joint or kissed a lady in private as president.
I've got a very, very unsettling feeling about this.
Well, don't let it keep you up at night. There are Dems on the committee, too.
DeleteLucky she wasn't fired for not investigating Todd Palin pimping his stable to the Secret Service.
ReplyDeleteI work for the Federal government. Over the 8 long years the government was under Bush-league management I watched C-team managers put into place at the top, and proceed over 8 years to push good people out of the management ranks & replace them with good little soldiers, often the least productive and least talented individuals (but good little Nazis). There are very few political appointees in an agency: once you populate the civil service management ranks with dolts, you're screwed. Obama's appointee to head the agency was a breath of fresh air and cleaned up some of the mess, but upper management kept her insulated, and she was only around for 3 years before stepping down. Six years after 2008, management culture is still more Bush than Obama. One thing about dolts in civil service management: they never leave.
ReplyDeleteThe SS, meanwhile, has long had problems being a cowboy culture. Imagining this plus the same forces I saw at work in my own agency is not a pretty picture. Whether the SS is anti-Obama, I don't know; I can believe some of that exists. But there is a saying, never attribute to malevolence what can be explained by incompetence.
Yes, she had to resign.
ReplyDeleteOnce might be an oversight.
But three times?
First they ignore the shootings.
Then it's the elevator.
Then the front door. And lying about how far the guy got. I mean tackled by an OFF DUTY SS? Really? What? The guy didn't get the memo to let the perp through?
While I think admin. is ultimately responsible and have fallen on their swords admirably, there is rot amongst the troops. If anything, that is what admin. is not addressing.
Pierson and her management staff should have been cleaning house since the prostitute scandal. If they had done that properly and followed up by more training and stricter policies, we would not have had the three (that we know of) most recent security breeches.
It's like the Secret Service details are hoping someone takes out the president. Is it such a cushy job that they are getting just plain lazy and careless? Or do they secretly hope that someone will succeed?
They do realize that if that happens, they'll be guarding President Joe Biden, right?
Oh, and they'll ALL be fired. Every last one. The public will demand it.
(BTW, Julia, I would have fired every agent directly responsible for the shooting (neglect), elevator and this recent incident. I don't care what their excuses were. I might even replace the dogs, even though they only do as they're told. Even dogs are capable of thinking and discretion, as in, "Gee, my master didn't say anything but that guy shouldn't be running across the lawn like that. I think I'll go detain him and see if I get a cookie."
9:49 I agree. People should have been fired or demoted out of Secret Service for the prior lapses in protecting the President.
DeleteI also thought the dog things was weird. Are the dogs trained to shred someone? Or just stop someone like police dogs are?
And, what does it matter? I think anyone who makes a sprint across the White House lawn, armed or not armed, mentally ill or nor, should expect to be tackled by a dog. And really, I would have thought they'd been shot.
I am totally OK with shooting people who sprint across the White House lawn heading for the door. Shoot first and ask questions later.
The higher priority is to protect the President.
The one person at the top is conceivably the person who was working the hardest to clean up the mess. If the management ranks are populated by civil service dolts who are determined to thwart changes, it is a very, very rough road for the top person. Firing civil service dolts in management positions is not easy if they haven't done anything clearly actionable; forcing them out, or at least out of the way, might be possible but isn't easy. I don't know the particulars here, only what I've seen in the agency I work for.
DeleteI have been horrified by the Secret Service for a long time, since JFK was shot right after they backed off his car. That was in the 1960s, all these decades they have gotten worse along with so many other agencies. Anyone put in charge of the SS will be trying to fix a nightmare. When bullies have someone telling them they have to stop their wrongdoing and follow rules they organize gangs to get rid of that person. They set them up, tell lies, write letters to key people who can fire them or get them to resign. Those stories that have been leaked would have been kept secret before. Either someone has a conscience or they were strategically leaked. We don't know the whole story and probably never will.
ReplyDelete