‘We had a good stern talk about that’

A member of US Secret Service's Counter Assault Team walks on the north lawn of the White House. Picture: Yuri Gripas Source: AFP

BLACK suits. Black sunglasses. Broad shoulders. It is the signature look of the US Secret Service and it demands respect. Their motto is: "Worthy of Trust and Confidence".

But dig a little deeper and things are not so shiny. The list of indiscretions credited to the Secret Service include soliciting prostitutes, drinking — and passing out — in hotel hallways, crashing a government car into the White House and allowing a fence-jumper to get deep inside the White House residence.

The agency's new director, Joseph Clancy, admitted yesterday during an inquiry into the most recent failure that the job, which involves protecting the president and the first family, is so stressful it often leads employees to drink.

A high profile Republican said "there is a clear culture problem at the Secret Service". But it appears to go much deeper than that.

These are the embarrassing stories shaming America's top agents.

DRUNK DRIVING THROUGH BOMB THREAT BARRICADE

Members of the Secret Service patrol the top of the White House. Picture: Jacquelyn Martin / AP Source: AP

You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried.

The latest gaffe involving the US Secret Service happened less than a month ago when two agents were caught on video driving a government car into a barricade cordoned off by police investigating a potential bomb threat.

Secret Service agents Mark Connolly and George Ogilvie are believed to have been drinking before their vehicle rolled to an uncontrolled stop near the entrance to the White House grounds.

Police, security and an explosives disposal team were responding after a woman stopped her car near the White House and emerged carrying an object she said was a bomb. That's when the Secret Service made their clunky arrival through security tape and into a barricade.

The Department of Homeland Security, which runs the Secret Service, is investigating. US President Barack Obama said he was "disappointed" and Mr Clancy said he was "very eager to hear the results of this investigation".

PRESIDENT'S MEN 'PASSED OUT IN A HALLWAY'

Guarding Air Force One is on the list of jobs. Source: News Limited

The president's closest security detail let their hair down on a night off during a visit to Amsterdam in March last year but one member of the Secret Service took it a bit too far.

Three agents were sent home after one of them was found drunk and fast asleep in a hotel hallway.

Homeland Security was quick to clarify that the incident occurred before the president arrived and that the behaviour of the agents did not compromise his security in any way. But it was an embarrassing moment for Washington.

The Washington Post reported at the time that hotel staff discovered the agent "highly intoxicated". The two other agents were deemed "complicit" and disciplined accordingly.

Drinking, it appears, is a theme. Mr Clancy said this week that: "There is an element within our agency that does cope with the stresses (of the job) by using alcohol."

But he stressed it was no excuse for poor behaviour or going too far.

"People know the rules," he said. "It's up to individuals to have the self-discipline."

TWELVE AGENTS, PROSTITUTES AND 'SOILED BEDS'

The hotel at the centre of the Colombian prostitute scandal. Source: AP

Diana Suarez, the Colombian escort who shamed the US Secret Service. Source: Supplied

A dozen Secret Service agents were caught up in a scandal that led to the establishment of new Secret Service rules for personnel in April 2012 when they brought prostitutes back to their hotel rooms. The incident took place after a night of drinking in the Colombian resort city of Cartagena.

The Associated Press reported that agents and members of the US military invited prostitutes to their hotel rooms and "also allowed dogs to soil bed linens and building grounds".

Prostitution is not illegal in Colombia but it goes without saying that the president's top men should avoid it during service. Eight of the men were reportedly ousted, three were cleared of serious misconduct and one was stripped of his security clearance.

Diana Suarez, 24, revealed details of the incident during an interview with a local radio station. The young mother said she was not a prostitute but requested an "$800 gift" for her company. She said the agents' security was compromised and that she had access to luggage and documents left out in the open.

Like in 2014, the agents had arrived before the president.

MAN ENTERS WHITE HOUSE CARRYING 3.5-INCH BLADE

Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, of Copperas Cove, Texas, near Fort Hood, was arrested and charged with unlawful entry to the White House complex.

Perhaps the most troubling incident of all took place last September when Omar Gonzalez scaled the White House fence, ran past security and made it into the most secure building in America carrying a knife. In his vehicle, the 42-year-old Puerto Rican man had a machete, two small axes and 800 rounds of ammunition.

Gonzales, who served in Iraq, was arrested near the White House museum but not before an evacuation of the White House, including staff and journalists working on the grounds.

The intruder was jailed for his trouble but the security breach could have been much more serious had the president and his family not left the White House minutes earlier.

Gonzales was known to police after leading them on a high-speed chase through Virginia months earlier and being stopped outside the southern fence of the White House with a small axe in his pants.

The White House said it was concerned and the Secret Service would review security measures inside and outside the premises.

'WE HAD A GOOD, STERN TALK ABOUT THAT'

Director of the United States Secret Service Joe Clancy told the House Appropriations Committee that he was 'frustrated' by the investigation into the latest incident. Picture: Jim Watson / AP Source: AFP

The agency's director is under the pump. He faced hard questions from politicians from both sides of American politics during testimony before the House Appropriations Committee this week and said he was "frustrated" by how long it was taking to get to the bottom of the most recent incident.

"I am very eager to hear the results of this investigation. I don't know how long it will take, but I am committed to due process," Mr Clancy said, according to the New York Times.

He said: "We had a good, stern talk about that" when referring to ongoing delays.

That same frustration was felt by his predecessor Julia Pearson, who resigned after the fence-jumping incident.

But Mr Clancy said the agency's indiscretions go much deeper than errors in judgment. He asked the committee to approve an increase in the Secret Service budget to allow more staff to be hired, better training, upgrades to radio communications and the building of a taller fence around the White House.

President Obama, accompanied by aide Reggie Love, (rear), and a US Secret Service agent. Source: AP

It's not the first time the Department of Homeland Security had raised shortcomings within the agency. A report released last year labelled the Secret Service "stretched beyond its limits". It demanded 85 agents and 200 uniformed officers be hired.

The Times reported the agency was "starved" of strong leaders. The report suggested agents work too many hours and money that could be used to improve security is instead used to pay staff overtime.

New, strong leaders are being sought actively by the agency, which advertises places online.

Special requirements to work for the agency are listed on the Secret Service website include: "working long hours", "travelling away from home for periods of up to 30 days and sometimes longer", and "relocating to duty stations throughout the US".

But it's not all bad.

"The protective mission of the Secret Service encompasses protection of, among others, the President, the Vice President, former presidents, visiting heads of state, and major presidential and vice presidential candidates," the job ad reads.

Just stay away from the booze.

A Secret Service agent stands guard of US President Barack Obama. Picture: Saul Loeb Source: AFP

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