firsthand
VIP Member
The US Secret Service agents who let a gatecrashing couple enter a White House dinner without an invitation have been suspended from their duties, the head of the agency said Thursday.
"In our own judgment, a mistake was made," said Mark Sullivan, director of the Secret Service, special police force tasked with which is charged with protecting the president.
"We cannot afford even one mistake," Sullivan said at a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, as fallout from the affair mounted.
The couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, not only entered the November 24 state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh uninvited, but mixed and mingled with numerous US senior officials, including President Barack Obama, and foreign dignitaries.
"I regret on Tuesday, November 24 established protocols and procedures were not followed allowing two individuals entry into the White House," Sullivan said, adding that the breach was "unacceptable and indefensible."
Officials concede that the Salahi's admission into the event was a massive security lapse that could have caused untold damage had they harbored malicious intent against the president or his guests.
Security experts have said that although the Salahis went through a metal detector, a determined terrorist could have found other means to inflict harm, including smuggling a biological weapon into the White House.
The incident has provoked White House and congressional outrage, with lawmakers demanding to know how the pair were able to enter the presidential residence without permission.
:doh: wonder where his next job will be lol
"In our own judgment, a mistake was made," said Mark Sullivan, director of the Secret Service, special police force tasked with which is charged with protecting the president.
"We cannot afford even one mistake," Sullivan said at a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, as fallout from the affair mounted.
The couple, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, not only entered the November 24 state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh uninvited, but mixed and mingled with numerous US senior officials, including President Barack Obama, and foreign dignitaries.
"I regret on Tuesday, November 24 established protocols and procedures were not followed allowing two individuals entry into the White House," Sullivan said, adding that the breach was "unacceptable and indefensible."
Officials concede that the Salahi's admission into the event was a massive security lapse that could have caused untold damage had they harbored malicious intent against the president or his guests.
Security experts have said that although the Salahis went through a metal detector, a determined terrorist could have found other means to inflict harm, including smuggling a biological weapon into the White House.
The incident has provoked White House and congressional outrage, with lawmakers demanding to know how the pair were able to enter the presidential residence without permission.
:doh: wonder where his next job will be lol