Congress grills Secret Service director over White House breach

WASHINGTON -- Under withering criticism from Congress, Secret Service Director Julia Pierson admitted failures yesterday in her agency's mission of protecting the president but repeatedly sidestepped questions about how a knife-carrying intruder penetrated ring after ring of security before being tackled deep inside the White House.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike expressed the view that the latest breaches of White House security had blemished the storied agency, and several pressed for an independent inquiry into what went wrong. They were not assuaged by Pierson's vow that "I'll make sure that it does not happen again" or by the agency's own investigation.

"I wish to God you protected the White House like you protected your reputation here today," Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) told Pierson at a public hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that was followed by a classified, closed-door briefing.

GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who has led Congress' investigation, said afterward: "The more I learn, the more it scares me."

Yet another incident came to light yesterday. On Sept. 16, an armed federal contractor with three convictions for assault and battery rode on an elevator with President Barack Obama and his security detail while the president was visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post reported.

Secret Service protocols state that when the president is on the road, all of the people who could have access to him in close quarters must be checked in advance for weapons and criminal histories, the Post reported. The gun was discovered only because the contractor was questioned after he disregarded agents' orders to stop taking video of Obama on the elevator, the reports said.

Calm but defensive in her testimony, Pierson disclosed that shortly before Omar J. Gonzalez, an Army veteran, jumped the fence on Sept. 19, at least two of her uniformed officers recognized him from an earlier troubling encounter but did not approach him or report his presence to superiors.

Gonzalez was stopped on Aug. 25 while carrying a small hatchet near the fence south of the White House, Pierson said. Weeks later, the same officers observed him "for some time" on the Pennsylvania Avenue north side but never intervened.

On Sept. 19, Gonzalez went over the fence, sprinted to the unlocked front door and ran through half the first floor before being tackled. Pierson said she did not know why Gonzalez was not intercepted earlier.

Obama and his daughters had left for Camp David shortly before the episode; Michelle Obama had gone there earlier in the day.

"Personnel actions will be taken" once the agency's review is complete, she said, in what appeared to be a euphemism for discipline or firings.

Lawmakers stopped short of calling on her to resign.

Chaffetz said he was not there "yet." Lynch said, "Let's just say I'm not impressed with how she has dealt with White House security."

Obama continues to have confidence in the Secret Service, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said yesterday, though the spokesman urged the agency to release nonclassified results from its review as soon as possible.

Even when their protectors fall short, presidents rarely publicly criticize those who risk their lives to keep the first family safe, but rather express appreciation for their service. That means Congress provides the only real public oversight.

Pierson's assurances left lawmakers cold.

They were aghast. too, about a four-day delay in 2011 before the Secret Service realized a man had fired a high-powered rifle at the White House. The Washington Post reported Saturday that some Secret Service officers believed immediately that shots had been fired into the mansion but they were "largely ignored" or afraid to challenge their bosses' conclusions that the shooting was not directed at the White House.

Such breaches, combined with instances of agent misbehavior, cause "many people to ask whether there is a much broader problem with the Secret Service," said Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.)

"The fact is the system broke down," said committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) "An intruder walked in the front door of the White House, and that is unacceptable."

Pierson said that the front doors to the White House now lock automatically in the event of a security breach. She said that on Sept. 19, a guard was trying to lock the doors manually when the intruder knocked the agent down.