Director of the United States Secret Service Julia Pierson testifies before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC September 30, 2014.JIM WATSON/AFP / Getty Images
Lawmakers from both parties on Tuesday assailed Julia Pierson, the director of the U.S. Secret Service, about security breaches at the White House, including the intruder who earlier this month breached multiple security measures and evaded capture as he ran around the first floor of the mansion.
Ms. Pierson told the U.S. House committee on oversight and government reform that she took full responsibility for the breaches and pledged that "what happened is unacceptable and it will never happen again." But her promise of a comprehensive review of the incidents appeared to do little to satisfy members of the committee.
Representative Stephen Lynch, a Democrat of Massachusetts, lashed into Ms. Pierson, saying that he did not believe the Secret Service takes seriously its duty to protect the president. He said he had "very low confidence" in her leadership. "I wish to God that you protected the White House like you're protecting your reputation right now," Mr. Lynch said.
Throughout the first several hours of the hearing, Ms. Pierson spoke mostly in a steady monotone, exhibiting little emotion as lawmakers questioned her leadership and criticized the performance of her agency. At times, the 30-year veteran of the Secret Service appeared flustered as lawmakers pressed her for short, quick answers.
Ms. Pierson repeatedly acknowledged that "mistakes were made," a phrase that failed to capture the anger and frustration of many of the lawmakers. Representative Gerald Connolly, a Democrat of Virginia, told Ms. Pierson that he did not "get a sense of outrage" from her about what happened. She responded, "We all are outraged."
Several members severely criticized the agency for its response to the Sept. 19 incident. when Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, made his way deep inside the President's residence, armed with a serrated knifeUnder intense and sometimes combative questioning, Ms. Pierson said, "I do not think the security plan was properly executed."
Shortly after the hearing, the United States attorney's office in Washington announced that White House intruder Omar J. Gonzalez was indicted by a grand jury on charges of unlawfully entering a restricted government building while carrying a weapon. He was also indicted on charges of carrying a dangerous weapon in public and unlawfully possessing ammunition. The ammunition was found in his car after the incident along with two hatchets and a machete.
The White House's list of uninvited guests continues to grow
Like his predecessors, U.S. President Barack Obama refers to the White House as "the people's house," and over the past two centuries a surprising number of uninvited people have made their way in.
Long before the latest fence-jumper captured international attention by getting as far as the East Room, the history of White House security breaches was vast and varied. One intruder in a white karate outfit carried in a knife hidden in a Bible; a stranger slipped in to watch a movie with President Franklin D. Roosevelt; and a pilot crashed his Cessna into the mansion.
Before the most recent incident, 16 people had jumped the White House fence over the past five years, including six this year alone, the U.S. Secret Service director told Congress on Tuesday. Many of them did not seem intent on harming the President, but are anxious to draw attention to some issue or cause. One this year was actually a toddler who had slipped through the fence.
For much of the history of the United States, the White House grounds have been reasonably open to the public, resulting in breaches far more astonishing than the one on Sept. 19.
President Theodore Roosevelt once agreed to see a man who insisted he was expected, but when the President realized he did not know him, ordered an usher to "take this crank out of here." In the man's back pocket was a revolver. Herbert Hoover came downstairs for dinner one night to find a man in the Blue Room. John Tyler was walking on the south grounds of the White House when an intoxicated painter hurled rocks at him. During Ronald Reagan's second inauguration, a man followed the Marine Band into the White House and wandered around for 15 minutes before being discovered. On Christmas Day, 1974, a man claiming to be the messiah crashed a Chevrolet Impala through the Northwest Gate and drove all the way up to the North Portico, where he got out with flares strapped to his body.
For all of that, most presidents consider the White House to be the safest fortress where they can be. None of the four presidents who have been assassinated were killed at the White House.
With a file from Peter Baker, New York Times News Service