What is going on with the White House Secret Service? A Secret Service White House breach

Story by CBS News
Written by Jake Miller

The security breach late Friday at the White House is prompting a new round of criticism for the Secret Service, with lawmakers and outside voices saying the incident highlights glaring deficiencies in the agency's protection of the president and the first family.

Just minutes after President Obama and his daughters departed for Camp David Friday evening, a man jumped the White House fence and sprinted across the North Lawn toward the residence. He was eventually tackled by agents, but not before he managed to actually enter the building.

"Never before has an intruder on the grounds managed to enter the White House itself," said Ronald Kessler, author of a recent book that is very critical of the Secret Service. "The incident on Friday evening is the most shocking example yet of how dangerously lax the Secret Service has become, failing at its most basic job - to protect the President and first family in the White House."

CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett said criticism of the Secret Service, which has endured a number of black eyes in recent years, "will only increase" after this latest incident.

Garrett highlighted some basic questions the Secret Service must answer: "Why wasn't the intruder tackled? How long was it before the intruder was detected? Did agents decide not to use dogs to stop the intruder?"

Law enforcement officials have emphasized the need to balance the president's security with the free access rights of the public. One official told CBS News that Friday's breach should be considered "in context."

"The family was not in residence, the individual didn't appear to have a weapon. He wasn't carrying any bags or a backpack," the official said. "The Secret Service has to be able to balance security with access and reasonableness. Closing Pennsylvania Avenue to pedestrians is not reasonable, but this access does result in fence jumpers periodically."

But some in Congress are already highlighting the incident as the latest example of the agency's negligence.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said the breach was "totally unacceptable," according to The Associated Press, and he accused the Secret Service of "failing to do their job."

"These are good men and women, but the Secret Service leadership has a lot of questions to answer," he said.

"Was the door open?" he asked.


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