Coverup by the Secret Service?; More Expulsions at OU Coming
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST: I'm Michael Smerconish. Welcome to the program. Breaking news. CNN is learning of some real doubts about the latest scandal swirling around the Secret Service. Questions about whether aspects of it are true. Let's start at the beginning. This week "The Washington Post" reported on the troubling incident involving two senior agents who allegedly went out drinking, and then drove a government car into an investigation of a suspicious package right in front of the White House. All of this was particularly frightening since one of the men is the number two agent who directly guards President Obama. But now two law enforcement sources tell CNN that story was overblown. Officials tell CNN that the agents simply drove up to the investigation scene, not into it and there is not clear evidence that they were drinking. Nor is it clear that there was any discussion of giving them a sobriety test. Still there are serious questions about the incident. Let's go to CNN's Erin McPike standing by at the White House with the very latest. Erin.</s>ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael, first we should point out that there has been no public accounting from the Secret Service about what actually happened. It has all been background information. The only thing that we know from the secret service from their spokesman is that there is an investigation into this incident. Now, the incident occurred on March 4th and what happened is that there was a retirement party at a bar in Chinatown that is seven blocks due east of the White House. And these two senior Secret Service agents were at this party for their colleague, they came back at the end of the night in a government car, so that the other agent could get his car which was located here. At the time there was an area blocked off by the barricade at the White House because there was some suspicious activity. There had been a bomb threat and there were Secret Service agents who were investigating that. These two men in this car drove up to the edge of that activity, and their car tapped an orange barrel that was outside the area. There was no collision, there was no damage, there may not even have been asked for a sobriety test. That's what we still have to figure out. But the problem here is that the incident wasn't reported to Joe Clancey who is the director of Secret Service until five days later, and that's what's raising a lot of questions about the culture at the Secret Service and has Clancey really restored credibility to this agency since he took over several months ago. Michael.</s>SMERCONISH: But Erin, if the incident was overblown and you're making it crystal clear we really just don't know at this stage, but if in fact it was overblown in the presentation in "The Washington Post," that might explain why it wasn't brought to the attention of the director for those five days.</s>MCPIKE: That is exactly right. What is clear is that there was potentially some sort of misconduct but because it made it into "The Washington Post" it is clear that Joe Clancey needed to be involved in some way. It also has made its way to the White House but they're looking for some answers so Joe Clancey will be giving those answers to Capitol Hill in a series of private and public briefings on Monday and Tuesday. And we have already heard from Jason Chaffetz, he is the House Tepublican who leads the committee on government oversight and reform and he has been very concerned about what Joe Clancey knew and when he knew it, and those questions will come out in the coming days, Michael, but there are some details that we just can't know because obviously at this point there cannot be a sobriety test because it's 10 days later.</s>SMERCONISH: The image that was created at least in my mind by the initial reporting of this incident is that these individuals had had way too much, came barreling up to the White House, smashed into a barricade and interrupted what was then an active crime scene. That might not be the case. That's the take away, right?</s>MCPIKE: That is absolutely the takeaway. That they may not have been drinking at all, they may have had one drink or two, much earlier in the night and may not have been drunk at all and just came back and were around the area where this investigation was going. But nothing may have happened. There could have been a lot of misleading information given to "The Washington Post."</s>SMERCONISH: Erin, thank you so much for that report. Joining me now is Ron Kessler. He is a "New York Times" best-selling author of several books about the Secret Service. He's also an award winning investigative reporter. Ron, what do you make of this latest development?</s>RON KESSLER, AWARD-WINNING INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: I think this is a typical cover-up by the Secret Service. I'm used to seeing that because they tried to cover up revelations in my book, the first family detail. "The Washington Post" reporting on the Secret Service problems has been very accurate, and why is it that these two very high ranking individuals were removed from their post and put in non- operational positions. Obviously something very serious happened there. And -</s>SMERCONISH: You use the word cover-up. You used the word cover-up. And programs that's what the evidence will show. I'm far more concerned that their reputations, these men are innocent until proven guilty, that their reputations have been besmirched with a rush to judgment.</s>KESSLER: Well, you know, the so-called pushback is all anonymous. If really there was a factual basis the Secret Service would issue on the record statement about it. And the fact that they removed these individuals, tells you that in fact they were involved in wrong doing. And Joe Clancey, the new director, appointed by President Obama, despite all the recommendations of his own panel, that he get an outside director to shake up the Secret Service, is very good at covering up. I'll give you one example. There are many. At a hearing on the House - in the House, he was asked why is it that the Secret Service issued false information about the intrusion by Mr. Gonzalez at the White House? Why is it that the Secret Service said he had been apprehended at the door that was not true, he went all the way into the White House. Why did they say that he was not armed. That was not true, he was armed. And is anybody going to be held accountable? And the answer from Clancey was "oh, there was no problem there."</s>SMERCONISH: But Ron, respectfully, in this case he wasn't told for five days. The criticism is that he was out of the loop so how can you possibly say that he's been involved in some degree of cover-up?</s>KESSLER: Because of the so-called -</s>SMERCONISH: May I share with you what most troubles me about this that hasn't been reported on in the media. Because I think our attention has become diverted to what happened at the "crash scene" which apparently wasn't even a crash. It's this - a woman shows up at the White House, comes to the perimeter and she - as initially reported drove a government car into the White House security barricades after drinking late at night at that party last week but the underlying incident was that a woman comes up to the White House and says "I think this is an f-ing bomb" and throws an object later revealed to be a book, has some kind of a skirmish with an officer outside the White House and gets away. And wasn't apprehended for two full days. I hate the idea that someone can come up to the perimeter of the White House, pose a bomb threat and be able to escape without being apprehended. What's your thought on that?</s>KESSLER: I don't see that you know is necessarily a problem. Law enforcement doesn't have super natural powers to apprehend anybody.</s>SMERCONISH: At the White House? At the perimeter of the White House? What if she were a radical Islamist and she was a member of ISIS or some affiliate group and in fact, it were a bomb and thank god they were able to stop it before it detonated we would all be talking about that. That's what concerns me is that the White House is vulnerable.</s>KESSLER: That is certainly something that should be looked into. But you know, there are not very clear examples of Secret Service screw- ups that are very scary and agents tell me that it's a miracle that there has not already been assassination given all of the problems that are coming out. In my book "The First Family Detail" I go into dozens of other examples. For example, agents will let people into events without magnetometer screening or metal detection screening. That's outrageous.</s>SMERCONISH: Well, let me ask you this question. I can put up on the screen - there have been a number of high profile incidents recently involving the Secret Service. Let's just remind our viewers of some of the things that the prostitution issue in Colombia, drunkenness in Amsterdam, the White House fence jumper, the guy who was armed and on an elevator with the president and now this more recent incident that we're discussing. In your book you write that the Obamas have been very considerate of the United States Secret Service that they have treated the United States Secret Service with dignity and with respect which I think is a wonderful thing. Might that be to their detriment? In other words, might the president be too reluctant to put the hammer down to protect his own security because he is so respectful of the Secret Service and the role they play?</s>KESSLER: Yes, I think that's a very good point. He is mesmerized by those agents who are very impressive. And he thinks well, the whole Secret Service must be like that. But somehow the rest of the world knows this agency has become an embarrassment. And really at this point there's one person responsible for the problems at the Secret Service and that is Obama because over and over again going back to the intrusion at the state dinner at the White House by the</s>SMERCONISH: Ron Kessler, thank you for your expertise and for being here.</s>KESSLER: Thank you. Coming up, Ferguson, Missouri is unraveling amid questions of which official may be the next to go. I'm going to tell you about one possible solution to Ferguson's problem. It's truly a radical idea. Plus, more fallout from that racist video that took down the Sigma Alpha Epsilon at OU. Now the chapter is fighting back with the help of a high powered lawyer, the first black member of that fraternity tells me why he thinks that's a terrible decision.