Secret Service leaves George H. W. Bush Unprotected for 13 Months

When a security expert reported that former President George H. W. Bush’s household security system was failing, you’d think the Secret Service would go into overdrive, post extra guards, and fix the system within days. What they actually did just adds to the list of problems that is quickly tarnishing the once-renown Secret Service’s reputation and turning them into an embarrassment.

Bush’s security system was warned to be failing back in 2010 and the request to install a replacement system was vetoed. The system finally broke in 2013, but the Secret Service stalled for 13 months before installing a new system in the winter of the following year.

A “roving post” was assigned to guard the property while the system was down, but nobody knows what day the guard started his job. Other agents monitored the Bush residence via surveillance cameras. Apparently the Secret Service now deals with a failing household system by simply turning it off – at least that’s what happened to Joe Biden in January. This incident doesn’t bode well for Bush’s summer home in Maine and other properties with aging security systems.

This unacceptable and worrisome behavior seems to be part of a trend that started in 2012 when 12 Secret Service agents were fired after engaging prostitutes in Columbia. They were supposed to be “securing the area” prior to a Summit of the Americas meeting. Last year the Secret Service failed to prevent an armed, previously arrested individual from boarding an elevator with President Obama. And just last week, two agents got drunk and drove right through a bomb inspection area.

At the White House, there have been over 15 incidents of fence jumping in the past 5 years. One man, armed with a knife, even managed to sneak into the mansion before he was arrested (Sep. 2014). Another would-be intruder fired a few shots towards the White House and almost managed to escape because the Secret Service agent in charge thought the gunshots were just noise from a nearby construction site.

One would think that the Secret Service would be on their best behavior as this disastrous Presidency draws to a close, especially considering all the wackos out there attempting to hurt the president. To their credit, they did decide to install pikes on top of the White House fence.

Either the Secret Service just isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, or the man in charge just can’t find the right men for the job.