Secret Service director Julia Pierson steps down after security flubs
Secret Service director Julia Pierson resigned after a series of security breaches. Pierson had been in the position for 18 months before both representatives of both parties called for her resignation. Pierson had been with the agency for 30 years.
Pierson was heavily criticized after several security lapses. On Sept. 19, Omar Gonzalez, 42, carried a knife and jumped over the White House security fence, overpowered one Secret Service officer and made it to the far southern end of the East Room, where he was tackled by a counterassault agent.
President Obama initially stood by Pierson, saying he had “full confidence in these professionals to do their job.” He retracted his support after he learned from news accounts that a private security guard with a gun and a criminal history had been permitted to board an elevator with him last month in Atlanta. The guard had not been screened by the agency.
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On Oct.1, Obama released a statement through his press secretary saying that “new leadership of the agency was needed based on recent and accumulating accounts.”
Pierson stood before a House hearing on Sept. 30 and defended herself. Representatives from both parties called for her resignation.
Some critics say Pierson had an impossible task of straightening out her predecessor’s mess in 18 months after Mark Johnson’s 30-year tenure at the helm of the troubled agency.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson will serve as the interim Secret Service Director.
Sources: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/julia-pierson-resigns-as-secret-service-director/2014/10/01/ea39a396-499f-11e4-891d-713f052086a0_story.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gaffes-testing-special-bond-between-president-and-his-protectors/2014/10/01/120cf84c-4972-11e4-b72e-d60a9229cc10_story.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/us/appointed-to-redeem-secret-service-director-julia-pierson-will-discuss-another-misstep.html
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/julia-pierson-secret-service-111600.html#.VDg0hOe8HNI
