- Joined
- May 11, 2013
- Posts
- 25,115
- Reaction score
- 13,678
- Points
- 2,870
...you know, I'm starting to wonder if the Secret Service isn't just mailing it in nowadays...
An unidentified man posing as Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.) made it through a Secret Service screening and backstage with President Obama at a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation event, a White House official told Bloomberg news.
A White House staffer asked the man to leave after a colleague found out he was not the New Jersey representative, according to Bloomberg, which reported the latest example of lax security surrounding the president on Friday.
It’s not clear how close the man got to Obama or the first lady.
The news comes after a slew of blunders forced the resignation of Secret Service Director Julia Pierson this week. The incidents included an armed security contractor with a criminal record being allowed to ride in an elevator with Obama last month.
A Secret Service spokesman said the agency screened all who attended the CBC dinner held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center where Obama spoke.
“This guy went through security, fully screened,” said Brian Leary, an agency spokesman.
LaVerne Alexander, Payne's chief of staff, said Thursday she was unaware of the incident, according to the report.