Secret Service shakes up its leadership
Four top U.S. Secret Service executives have been removed from their leadership positions, a source confirmed to CBS News.
The apparent shake up at the agency follows a string of security lapses and problems over the last year, including an incident in September in which a man jumped over the White House fence and entered the White House. In October, then-director Julia Pierson resigned from the agency.
The four executives were asked to retire or resign and seek a position elsewhere in Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security. Those executives were identified by a source as Dale Pupillo, who oversaw protective services; Paul Morrissey, who oversaw the agency's investigative mission; Mark Copanzzi, who oversaw technology; and Jane Murphy, who headed the government and public affairs department.
"Based on the Independent Panel review, and my own assessments, I will be implementing leadership changes in the Secret Service management team," acting Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy. "Change is necessary to gain a fresh perspective on how we conduct business. I am certain any of our senior executives will be productive and valued assets either in other positions at the Secret Service or the department."
- Fence-jumper made it farther in White House than Secret Service let on
- Secret Service Director Julia Pierson steps down
Clancy, a former top agent at the agency who was in charge of the president's security, took over as acting director last October after former Director Julia Pierson resigned. She came under pressure to step down after a string of security breaches, the most prominent one occurring in mid-September when a man scaled the White House fence and made it all the way inside the East Room of the White House before being apprehended.
Another news report that came out not long after the fence-jumping incident revealed that it took the Secret Service took four days to realize a gunman had fired at and hit the White House in 2011, despite the fact that some agents on duty believed the building had sustained fire.
In its review of the White House breach by the fence jumper, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) faulted the Secret Service for insufficient training of the officers on duty, noting that "staffing shortfalls" have left the agency unable to provide regular training for its uniformed division officers. It also noted that the training they did receive did not prepare them for "non-lethal force scenarios" like the one that unfolded on September 19.
Clancy called the report "devastating" when he testified before a congressional panel in November and promised both immediate action and long-term reform of the agency.
A larger DHS report in December concluded that the Secret Service needs more money, more staff, more training, and an outsider at the helm, among other necessary changes, to adequately fulfill its core mission of protecting the president.
While much of that report will remain classified, the executive summary that was made public faulted the agency for being too "insular" and concluded that it was "starved for leadership that rewards innovation and excellence."