Secret Service agents may have their hands tied by federal laws that prevent them from properly protecting the president, says Newsmax contributor Armstrong Williams, host of "The Armstrong Williams Show."
"What kind of policies do we have in place to keep law enforcement officials like the Secret Service from doing their jobs when there's a threat? That is the issue," Williams said Wednesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV as he participated in a panel discussion with GOP strategist and consultant Noelle Nikpour.
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"It's just like our military. Their hands are tied, they cannot even fight ISIS and these other places because their hands are tied. What is wrong with our country?"
Williams said terrorists have been watching recent gaffs by the Secret Service, which include a knife-wielding intruder entering the White House and an unauthorized, armed man riding an elevator with the president.
"You have terrorists, ISIS, al-Qaida, all kinds of terrorist cells, trying to infiltrate the U.S., and many believe that they're already here. They were able to infiltrate our airports, and yet they look at one of the most important symbols of us in the world, the White House, and they watched someone scale over the fence," Williams said.
"What we should ask ourselves is why wasn't this person just dropped? He had a knife on him, he had 800 rounds of ammunition in his vehicle, what does it say to the rest of the world and these sick minds that are trying to find just slight breeches in our security that they can take advantage of?"
Nikpour approved of the resignation late Wednesday of Secret Service Director Julia Pierson, who accepted "full responsibility" for the security errors.
"The thing that I like the most is Democrats and Republicans both agreed that she was not fit for her job, and I'm really, really glad that she did this," Nikpour said.
"She should have done it a little earlier, but she's done it and she's taken responsibility, which is all you can ask, and she's agreeing to be there while they do a thorough investigation of it."
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