Secret Service agent retiring amid probe
A senior member of President Obama’s Secret Service detail will retire from the agency amid an investigation into his involvement in an alleged drunken driving incident.
An agency official confirmed that Marc Connolly will leave the Secret Service. The decision comes as the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general continues to probe the incident, in which Connolly and another agent allegedly drove into a barricade outside the White House.
The Washington Post first reported Connolly’s departure.
{mosads}The agency said in a statement that both Connolly and the other man in the vehicle, George Ogilvie, have been placed on administrative leave.
The inspector general report on the incident is expected to be released Thursday.
Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy said in a statement the behavior described in the report “is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
“I am disappointed and disturbed at the apparent lack of judgment described in this report,” he said.
Clancy testified before Congress soon after the March 4 incident, saying he did not learn of it until five days after it occurred. He said he was tipped off by a whistleblower.
The two agents allegedly disrupted an active bomb investigation near the White House.
The agency said in a statement the inspector general report shows Clancy “acted appropriately upon receiving information about the potential misconduct.”
Surveillance video of the incident had been deleted. But the report says “there is no evidence suggesting the video of the incident was intentionally deleted or destroyed.”
It had been the agency’s practice to save video not being used in an investigation for only 72 hours, but Clancy told lawmakers in March it would increase that to a week.
Clancy said in a statement he will continue to work to repair the agency’s image, which has suffered after a series of incidents over the past three years.
“The Secret Service takes allegations of employee misconduct very seriously,” he said. “The Secret Service has and will continue to institute policies and practices to address employee misconduct and demand the highest level of professionalism of all employees.”
—Updated at 8:42 p.m.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed..
