The Secret Service is facing fresh questions after a report that two of its senior agents crashed a government car into a security barrier outside the White House.
The Washington Post first reported the story on March 11, 2015. According to the Post and the Associated Press, the crash happened on March 4 after the agents attended a late night party for a retiring agency spokesman. The agents involved were described as a top member of President Obama’s protective detail and a senior supervisor from the Washington field office.
The Post reported that uniformed officers on duty believed the two agents may have been intoxicated and wanted to arrest them and conduct sobriety tests. According to a law enforcement official who spoke to CNN, a supervisor overruled those officers and the agents were allowed to go home. Those details come from anonymous sources and have not been confirmed on the record by the agency.
The Secret Service said the two agents have since been reassigned to jobs with no supervisory or operational duties. Director Joseph Clancy asked the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General to investigate, and an agency spokesman confirmed he had been briefed. A senior administration official told reporters the White House would not comment further while that review is ongoing, and said the president supports the decision to hand the matter to the Inspector General.
The incident adds to a string of security embarrassments for the agency in recent months. For now, the allegations remain under investigation and no findings have been released.
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