Secret Service head disputes reports
WASHINGTON – The new director of the Secret Service went on the offensive Thursday on Capitol Hill, disputing characterizations in news reports that two senior agents crashed a government vehicle into a security barrier at the White House after a night of drinking earlier this month.
“Previous reports of a crash are inaccurate - there was no crash,” Joseph Clancy said during a hearing by a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. “The video shows the vehicle entering the White House complex at a speed of approximately 1 to 2 mph and pushing aside a plastic barrel. There was no damage to the vehicle.”
Clancy also told lawmakers that some video recordings of the March 4 incident have been erased and the agency is working to recover them.
Earlier this month The Washington Post reported that a pair of senior agents drove a government vehicle into a White House security barrier after a night of drinking.
ACLU seeks records on airport security
NEW YORK – A civil rights group is trying to force the federal government to turn over information about airport “behavior detection” programs designed to spot passengers who are potential threats.
A Freedom of Information Act lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in New York City.
The American Civil Liberties Union says the government has been slow to respond to its request to learn more about behavior detection programs that have been used nationwide since 2003.
The ACLU says there are no known instances in which the techniques were responsible for apprehending someone who posed a security threat.
Associated Press
