Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has invited Secret Service Director Julia Pierson to appear before his committee today concerning recent breaches of security at the White House.
“The recent intrusion of an individual into the White House is the latest in a string of high-profile incidents for the Secret Service. These significant security breaches reveal our weaknesses as well as our response capabilities to our nation’s enemies," said Issa in a
statement released by the committee.
Issa said he wanted to hear "what steps the agency is taking under her leadership to improve security and put an end to dangerous embarrassments."
While several individuals have scaled the fence at the White House in recent years, there have been two incidents in the last week. In addition, the latest incident carried more gravity when more was learned of the about the background and weapons in the possession of Omar Gonzalez, the man who broke into the White House on Friday.
On Monday, federal judge ruled Gonzalez was a “danger” to Obama and he will be held on bond until a scheduled October 1 court appearance.
After a search of his 1996 Ford Bronco, police discovered a cache of weapons, including a 12-gauge shotgun; a .308-caliber rifle with scope and bipod; an AR-15 rifle with flashlight and scope, as well as a map with a line drawn to the White House,
reports The Wall Street Journal.
Issa received a briefing from Secret Service officials in 2009 following a similar breach. After that briefing, Issa said he was assured by the agency that it "was the result of human error and the failure of an agent to follow established security protocols" and that "moving forward, the Secret Service has told us that they are
examining its protocols and procedures to ensure that this never happens again."