Reports: Armed Convict Got On Elevator With Obama Two Weeks Ago

President Barack Obama listens during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014, in the Oval Office  of the White House in Washington. President Barack Obama and India's new Prime M... President Barack Obama listens during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014, in the Oval Office  of the White House in Washington. President Barack Obama and India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that "it is time to set a new agenda" between their countries, addressing concerns that the world's two largest democracies have grown apart. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Update: On October 31 The Washington Post reported that the contractor was not actually a convicted felon, as had originally been reported and noted by TPM. Rather, his record included prior arrests. The Post’s updated story can be read here.

More and more reports of Secret Service blunders keep coming out. The latest came on Tuesday afternoon: A security contractor with a gun who had three prior convictions for assault and battery was able to get on an elevator with President Barack Obama earlier in September, according to The Washington Post.

It was a violation of Secret Service protocols, the Post noted.

The Post reported that the incident happened on Sept. 16 when Obama went to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to deliver remarks on the country’s response to the ongoing crisis concerning the Ebola virus.

Secret Service agents asked the contractor to stop using a camera phone he had to videotape Obama while in the elevator, the Post said. Secret Service agents did question him and checked a database to find out out about his criminal background.

A supervisor for the private security firm learned about the Secret Service agents’ concern with the contractor and the contractor was then fired. He agreed to hand over his gun as well, which surprised agents who did not know until then that he had been armed while he was near Obama.

Elements of this were first reported by The Washington Examiner.

The new report comes as the Secret Service is already under scrutiny over a man scaling the White House fence and making it deep into the White House before being tackled by an off-duty agent.

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: