The most recent incident of misconduct by Secret Service agents shows that despite the appointment of a new director, nothing has changed internally, Secret Service expert and best-selling author Ron Kessler said Wednesday on
Newsmax TV's "America's Forum."
It's especially telling that it took five days for Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy to learn about the latest incident — two senior Secret Service agents who were reportedly
driving drunk and crashed a car into a White House security barrier. Clancy learned about the accident through an anonymous email.
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"What does that tell you? The hearing seemed to be predicated on the idea that he had just taken over, which is true, as of February he became the permanent director.
"But he had been acting director since October, and he said it will take time to change the culture," Kessler said, referring to a Tuesday hearing where
Clancy answered questions from the House Appropriations Committee.
"He seemed to have absolutely no idea how to do that," Kessler said. "He really came across as a pathetic figure, and it just demonstrates that President [Barack] Obama has been asleep at the switch ever since the Salahis penetrated the White House — you remember the party crashers five years ago? — when at that time Obama should have taken action, should have brought in an outside director who would shake it up.
"That was what the recommendation was of the four-person panel, not to mention when I broke the First Family detail, that's the only way to change the Secret Service, which has a management culture of laxness, corner-cutting, and covering up."
Kessler disagreed with Clancy's assertion that the agency has an issue with agents who turn to alcohol to cope with the stresses of the job.
"He was exaggerating on that," Kessler said. "I don't think alcohol is part of the culture at all."
Clancy, a longtime agent promoted by Obama following revelations that cast a bad light on the agency, including a 2012 prostitution scandal by agents accompanying the president on a trip to Colombia, "should be out of there," said Kessler, author of
"The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents."
The culture of "covering up for high ranking officials" has continued under his leadership, according to Kessler, and as a result, the life of the president is threatened.
Clancy replaced top managers with managers from "the very same culture and he seemed to be really befuddled about what to do about changing it," Kessler said.
"Agents tell me it's a miracle that there has not already been an assassination."
Agents have reported that they are treated well by the president and first lady Michelle Obama, though they "have been dismayed to overhear Michelle urge her husband to be aggressive in attacking Republicans and siding with blacks in racial controversies."
Kessler lauded Clancy for asking for more money for the CIA, including a simulated White House for training.
"The Secret Service is really crumbling all around in terms of infrastructure, and that's definitely something they should have — just the way the FBI has so-called Hogan's Alley, which is a fake town where agents are trained in making arrests," he said.
"They need to have that and that was one of the problems, among many, when [Omar] Gonzalez penetrated the White House back in September.
"One good thing was Clancy proposed a 16 percent increase in the budget," Kessler said. "This is one federal agency that really needs more money, not less money. Overall in the government you could replace one or two federal employees and not lose anything, because there's this really lazy culture."