Secret Service Director Comes Under Fire by House Panel
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Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — The head of the Secret Service faced another round of angry questions by a House Panel on Tuesday about agents’ questionable behavior and a potential bomb that sat outside the White House unchecked for more than an hour this month.
House Oversight Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, questioned Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy over the possible bomb threat that was left unattended just outside the White House gates.
“For 17 minutes, 17 minutes, traffic continued through the intersection and several pedestrians walked within feet of the potential bomb,” Chaffetz said.
Chaffetz said he didn’t understand how the Secret Service did not immediately respond after a woman dropped what she said was a bomb outside the White House gates.
“These agents placed themselves, their colleagues, the president and his family in potential danger,” he said on Tuesday.
The potential bomb and the Secret Service agents who nearly drove over it were all caught on a Washington DC Police Department security camera.
Clancy told the panel on Tuesday that agents did not inform him until several days after the incident, and that an independent investigation is currently under way.
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