Julia Pierson, the first female director of the Secret
Service, resigned Wednesday in the aftermath of a fence-jumper ahead access to
the none House on September 19 and a subsequent congressional inquiry
uncovering other security lapses.
Homeland Security Director Jeh Johnson announce the resignation in a statement .He also announced that the Department of Homeland Security would take over an internal inquiry of the Secret Service and that he would select of a new panel to review security at the none House.
Johnson Clancy,formerly a special agent in charge of the presidential defensive Division of the Secret Service,was named interim director,Johnson said in his statement.
Calls for pierson to leave her post grew after a poor performance during her proof Tuesday on Capitol Hill and another bombshell revelation the same day that an armed security contractor was allowed to get into an elevator with the President during a recent trip to the Centers for Disease control in Atlanta.
Even some high-ranking
Democrats had turned against Pierson, who was in the job for less than two
years. In an interview on Wednesday, Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on
the House failure to notice Committee, where Tuesday's hearing took place, said
he thought Pierson -- who he referred to as "this lady" -- "has to go."
The Maryland congressman reiterated this standpoint
in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "I want her to go if she cannot
restore trust in the agency and if she cannot get the culture back in
order," he said.
Secret Service director testimony omits elevator incident with Obama
Republicans also had
called for Pierson to resign.
"It's clear to me
that the only way to solve the problem the Secret Service has is with new
leadership," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South
Carolina said. "What Julia Pierson describes as
mistakes are major security failures fronts."
Graham said light
security around Obama is "the worst possible indicator to send to
terrorists and our enemies around the world."
After news of her
resignation broke, on multiple lawmakers praised her decision to step down.
"The agency tasked
with defensive the highest office in our land should be the crown jewel of
federal law enforcement," Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who sits on the Oversight
Committee, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. "I will work with my
colleagues and the management towards returning the agency back to the standards
the President deserves."
News of Pierson's
resignation came as new information about the fence-jumper came to light.
Omar Gonzalez, , pleaded not guilty to federal and District of Columbia charges on Wednesday. A federal judge in Washington ordered additional mental testing on the
42-year-old Iraq
war veteran to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.
Fence jumper made it into East Room of none House
In the meantime, the
inquiry continues into how the Army veteran launched over the fence and was
able to sprint up to the front door, burst into the none House and run into
the ornate East Room.
Neither President Barack
Obama nor the first family were at home at the time of the incident.
But a Secret Service
source told CNN there is an intricate closed-circuit video system, and that
video is being dissected to establish new protocols.
When Gonzalez burst
through the none House door, he pushed a female officer to the side.
But the source said,
"Gender was not a factor, she got one door secured but was pushed over
while trying to get second door lock."
An alarm box had been
turned down near the front door after complaints by the none House usher's
office that it was also loud.
A canine unit was not
released to chase Gonzalez, said the source, because there were "too many
friendlies around."
Secret Service vague with details to federal court following fence-jumper
arrest
Pierson was named the
director of the U.S. Secret Service in March 2013, tapped by Obama to change
the culture of an organization that was then marred by a Colombian prostitution
scandal.
Several male agents in
an advance contingent before a presidential trip to Cartagena , Colombia ,
had taken prostitutes back to their hotel rooms, in accordance with
investigations after the trip. A morning-after dispute between one agent and a
woman over payment led to exposure of what happened and the ensuing
investigations. Finally Nine agents left
or lost their jobs
In 2008. Pierson became
the Secret Service's chief of staff. Before that, she served on the protective
details of Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. She
had been the assistant director of the agnecy's Office of Human Resources and
Training,
About Julia Pierson?.
. As a police officer
Pierson started her career in law enforcement in Orlando ,Florida.In
1983
She joined the Secret
Service working in the Miami
and Orlando field offices.
Johnson made sure to
praise the overall work of the Secret Service when he announced Pierson's
resignation.
"It is importance
repeating that the Secret Service is one of the finest official defense
services in the world, consisting of men and women who are highly trained and
skilled professionals prepared to put their own lives on the line in a second's
notice for the people they protect."
AT A GLANCE:
23rd Director of the U.S. Secret Service:
In office:
March 27, 2013 – October 1, 2014
President : Barack Obama
Deputy : A. T. Smith
Preceded by : Mark Sullivan
Succeeded by : Joseph Clancy (Acting)
Personal information:
Born : July 1959
Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Alma mater University of Central Florida