Blake Hall
According to the Washington Post Thursday morning, agency officials are investigating the possibility that two senior Secret Service agents — including a member of the president’s own protective detail — drunkenly crashed a government car into a White House barricade last week after a late night of carousing.
When the accident occurred on March 4, the officers on duty wanted to conduct sobriety tests on the tipsy agents but, according to an undisclosed government source, were told by their supervisor to let them go home instead.
The controversy could not have come at a worse time for the agency. After a string of much-publicized security lapses in the past half year, President Obama recently appointed a new director — Joseph P. Clancy — who hasn’t had to wait long to put out a fire. He’s already tapped Homeland Security to deal with this particular inquiry, citing that the incident deals with senior officials.
“If misconduct is identified, appropriate action will be taken based on established rules and regulations,” said agency spokesman Brian Leary.
The two agents in question are Mark Connolly and George Ogilvie.
Here’s a full rundown of what allegedly happened the night of the incident, from the Washington Post:
It occurred about 10:30 p.m. on the White House compound near 15th Street NW and Freedom Plaza, as D.C. police officers and Secret Service officers were trying to clear the scene because of an investigation of a suspicious package, according to the people familiar with the incident.
Witnesses reported that the car’s overhead flashing lights had been activated and both agents were showing their badges to get through the section of the grounds that had been closed off, according to people familiar with the incident.
The vehicle ran through security tape before hitting the barricades, which an agency official said had been set up temporarily during the investigation of the package.
Secret Service rules prohibit turning on flashing lights without a security reason and driving a government vehicle after drinking alcohol.
The two men had been attending a party at a nearby downtown Washington bar to honor the retirement of departing Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan.