Case of duped Secret Service agents called an alarming agency breach

[Zorro]

The elite protection force, meanwhile, is downplaying the severity of the case to allies, saying the potential national security threat has been overblown by prosecutors and the media.

Secret Service leaders are downplaying any risk to national security after four of its employees — including an agent assigned to protect first lady Jill Biden — were allegedly hoodwinked by two men impersonating federal agents and plying them with gifts, telling congressional committees and allies that the severity of the breach has been overblown by prosecutors and the media, according to people familiar with the conversations.

But several former Secret Service officials warn that the alleged infiltration of the elite protection agency reveals a major vulnerability extending well beyond this particular case. They said the revelations suggest that agents who had regular access to the White House and the Biden family — and who are supposed to be trained to spot scammers or spies seeking to ingratiate themselves — were either too greedy or gullible to question a dubious cover story.

“If you can compromise Secret Service personnel by cozying up to their agents and their uniformed officers, unwelcome sources can get to the president and the first family,” said Jim Helminski, a retired agency executive and former leader of Joe Biden’s vice-presidential detail.

The case is the latest in a string of embarrassing security breaches and incidents of misconduct involving the Secret Service over the past decade. The scandals have included agents getting drunk and hiring prostitutes on a trip to Cartagena, Colombia, in 2012; an incident in 2014 when a wounded veteran was able to jump the White House fence and get past dozens of armed Secret Service officers and into the executive mansion; and an officer investigated last year after posting comments on Facebook in which she accused lawmakers who formalized President Biden’s win of treason.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/12/secret-service-duped/

[Chainfire]

1. Oh, come on, lets be fair

That is what everyone who goes to Cartagena does.

[2naSalit]

2. A major house cleaning is need there.