Several Secret Service supervisors attended the party with heavy drinking earlier this month that led to two senior agents driving a government car into security barricades at the White House, The Washington Times has learned.
Numerous supervisors attended the March 4 party at a bar several blocks from the White House and “subsequently drove their government vehicles home,” according to an agency source with knowledge of the incident.
The event was a retirement party for longtime Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan.
Another spokesman for the agency declined to comment Thursday on the report that supervisors attended the affair and later drove government cars.
The Secret Service confirmed Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general is investigating reports that two agents drove a government car into a security barrier near the White House after drinking at the party.
The incident was reportedly caught on camera. Congressional staff has been briefed.
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One of the agents involved is Mark Connolly, the second-in-command on President Obama’s security detail. The other agent has been identified as George Ogilvie, a senior supervisor in the Washington field office.
Among the accusations being investigated is that officers who stopped the car at the White House and wanted to give the driver a sobriety test, were told by a supervisor or supervisors to stand down.
The top lawmakers on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee — Republican Chairman Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Democratic Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland — said the incident raises questions about the effectiveness of the Service’s new director, Joseph Clancy, whom was appointed by President Obama recently to clean house at the beleaguered agency.
“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,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “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.”
But according to White House spokesman Eric Schultz, while Mr. Obama was disappointed to learn about the incident, Mr. Clancy has the president’s confidence and is the right man to reform the troubled agency.
“Nobody has higher standards for the Secret Service than Director Clancy,” Mr. Schultz said.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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