Secret Service Director Joe Clancy is expected to tell a Senate committee Thursday that the story of two agents allegedly crashing into a White House security barrier on March 4 has been somewhat overstated,
CNN said.
Clancy, in prepared remarks, is expected to testify that he had reviewed security footage and determined the two agents were traveling in their vehicle at about 1 or 2 miles per hour, and simply bumped a plastic barrel, moving it aside — not crashing as was previously described in some media accounts of the incident, which have also suggested the two agents might have been intoxicated.
"There was no crash," he is expected to tell lawmakers who are continuing to attempt to get to the bottom of the incident.
Noted CNN: "The Washington Post previously reported that two agents hit a gate outside the White House and interfered with an active investigation into a suspicious package. A senior supervisor on the scene also reportedly overruled another agent who wanted to breathalyze the agents in the vehicle …"
While Clancy notes in his prepared statement that the investigation of the incident remains ongoing, he said his extreme concern was about the details. He defends his own reforms at the embattled agency, which has come under fire in recent months over blunders that some lawmakers have charged impede the security of the White House and president.
"While I am extremely concerned by the allegations of misconduct and the potential for alcohol involvement, I must reserve judgment on these matters until the OIG investigation is completed," Clancy is expected to say, according to CNN.
The latest testimony will cap a tough week for Clancy, who says the security incident marked a first test of his leadership,
NPR reported. It has also forced him to get "stern" with his staff over a five-day delay in telling him about the episode.
While President Barack Obama expressed "disappointment" over the incident, he also told reporters that Clancy continued to have his full confidence,
Politico said. Clancy has said in recent hearings that he is working hard to change the agency's current culture.
Clancy, on Wednesday, told lawmakers at a closed-door meeting that some videotapes of the episode may have been erased. That story didn't sit well with House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz.
"We inquired if there were additional tapes and angles, and the director informed us that there may not be because it's their policy to erase them 72 hours after they record, which is just unfathomable,"
Chaffetz told CNN. "I can't think of any good reason to do that.
"This is not your local 7-11," Chaffetz said. "This is the White House."