WASHINGTON — An armed man who jumped the White House fence this month made it far deeper into the mansion than previously disclosed, overpowering a Secret Service agent inside the North Portico entrance and running through the ceremonial East Room before he was tackled, according to a member of Congress familiar with the details of the incident.
The man, Omar J. Gonzalez, who had a knife, was stopped as he tried to enter the Green Room, a parlor used for receptions and teas, said the congressman, Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, the Republican chairman of a subcommittee looking into the security breach. Earlier, Secret Service officials indicated that Mr. Gonzalez, 42, had only made it steps inside the North Portico after running through the door.
The new development, first reported by The Washington Post, raised immediate questions about whether the Secret Service had been forthright in its initial accounts of the episode. It will set the stage for an explosive congressional hearing on Tuesday when lawmakers say they intend to grill Julia Pierson, the director of the Secret Service, about whether an undisciplined culture inside the long-heralded agency has eroded its ability to protect the president and his family.
It sounds like the entire Secret Service needs an over-haul. There have just been too many incidents in recent years that compromise our president and our national security. This issue transcends all political party and needs to be dealt with swiftly and severely. If heads roll, TFB. Its past the time for internal correction. Perhaps this is just the job for Congress, as long as they stick to topic and don’t try to bring in politics.
