WASHINGTON
The Obama administration is investigating claims that two senior Secret Service agents crashed a government car into an object near the White House last week after a night of drinking.
The March 4 incident allegedly included a top member of President Barack Obama’s personal security detail.
The Washington Post first reported the story Wednesday evening, writing that the agents drove into White House security barricades. But a law enforcement official familiar with the case told The Anadolu Agency that the object in question was a construction barrel.
The agents have been reassigned "to non-supervisory, non-operational assignments," according to a Secret Service official who spoke on condition on anonymity.
The Post identified the agents as Mark Connolly, the second-in-command on Obama’s detail, and George Ogilvie, a senior supervisor at the Washington field office.
Secret Service spokeswoman Nicole Mainor said that the agency’s recently appointed director, Joseph Clancy, was briefed on the incident, and that he asked the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General to investigate.
“The Secret Service will fully cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General in this investigation,” she said.
The White House said Obama still has full confidence in Director Clancy. Obama was informed of the incident “earlier this week,” and was “disappointed” by the allegations, White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz told reporters aboard Air Force One.
The incident is the latest in a string of embarrassing missteps for the agency that is charged with protecting the president, vice president, and their families.
“Although recent steps have been made to bring new leadership in at the highest levels, this incident begs the question of whether that is enough,” said House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz and ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, in a joint statement.
“The fact that this event involved senior-level agents is not only embarrassing but exhibits a clear lack of judgment in a potentially dangerous situation,” they added.
