Just three
days before a knife-wielding veteran broke into the White House, Secret
Service let an armed felon ride in the same elevator as President Obama.
The
startling revelation that the commander-in-chief's life was compromised
was revealed today, as the director of the Secret Service testified
before Congress to explain the recent lapses in security.
The
newest security slip-up happened on Mr Obama's September 16 trip to
Atlanta, Georgia for a briefing on the Ebola crisis at the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
At
the CDC, Mr Obama and his security detail entered an elevator when a
contract security officer operating the lift started taking photos and
video of the president.
Sources told the Washington Exmainer and Washington Post
that the unnamed CDC officer ignored Secret Service orders to out the
phone away, and continued to act 'oddly' and 'unprofessionally'.
When
the president got out of the elevator, some of his Secret Services
officers stayed behind to question the CDC employee with his supervisor,
at which point they discovered he had three prior convictions for
assault and battery.
When
the supervisor fired the officer on the spot for acting 'highly
irresponsible' she told him to hand over his gun - to the extreme shock
of the Secret Service members present.
Before
the president travels anywhere, Secret Service are supposed to conduct
background checks on employees who work at all the venues the president
will visit.
Anyone
with a prior conviction is not usually allowed in the same room as the
president, and only sworn law enforcement are allowed to carry guns.
The unruly security officer checked both of those boxes but somehow managed to evade Secret Service's prior detection.
Republican Representative Jason Chaffetz, of Utah, was outraged to hear about the latest lapse in security.
'You
have a convicted felon within arm’s reach of the president, and they
never did a background check. Words aren’t strong enough for the outrage
I feel for the safety of the president and his family,' Rep Chaffestz
told the Washington Post.
'His life was in danger. This country would be a different world today if he had pulled out his gun,' he added.
Secret Service Director Julia Pierson is reportedly having a top agency manager look into the matter.
Director
Pierson had her plate full today when she spent three hours being
grilled by a Congressional committee on the job Secret Service has been
doing as of late.
Sorry: US Secret Service Director Julia Pierson apologized for a Sept. 19 White House perimeter breach by a man carrying a knife
It was
also revealed in the hearing today that at least two uniformed officers
noticed Army veteran Omar J Gonzales acting strange around the White
House just before he jumped the fence and made it all the way to the
East Room on September 19.
Gonzalez
had been stopped outside the White House before, carrying a small
hatchet on August 25, and the officers remembered him from that run-in.
However, Prison says they observed him 'for some time' on September 19, but did not intervene.
'It
is clear that our security plan was not executed properly,' Pierson
told lawmakers. 'I take full responsibility; what happened is
unacceptable and it will never happen again.'
Trespasser: Omar Gonzalez made it all the way into the East Room of the White House before Secret Service DAILYMAIL.CO.UK
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