It Took The Secret Service 13 Months To Fix An Alarm At George HW Bush’s Home

Former President George H.W. Bush talks about the Gulf War and liberation of Kuwait, which began 20 years ago this week, during an interview Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011, in Houston. Bush is bringing together his administr... Former President George H.W. Bush talks about the Gulf War and liberation of Kuwait, which began 20 years ago this week, during an interview Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011, in Houston. Bush is bringing together his administration’s key decision-makers to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the start of military operations to liberate Kuwait from occupation by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, during an event at Texas A&M University on Thursday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) MORE LESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — A government watchdog says a security alarm at the Texas home of former President George H.W. Bush was broken for at least 13 months before the Secret Service fixed it.

Homeland Security Inspector General John Roth says in a report released Thursday that Secret Service personnel protecting Bush noticed a failure in the alarm system at Bush’s Houston home in September 2013. A temporary alarm wasn’t installed until April 2014.

Roth says the Secret Service used roving patrols and cameras to monitor the property while the alarm was broken and no intrusions were detected during that time.

The Secret Service has also found that security equipment problems exist at the homes of other former presidents. Their names were removed from the public version of Roth’s report.

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  1. “Secret Service personnel protecting Bush noticed a failure in the alarm system at Bush’s Houston home in September 2013. A temporary alarm wasn’t installed until April 2014.”

    How can that be 13 months ? ( In Denmark November usually counts as 4 months (all dark and cold), but in Houston, Texas?).

  2. Is it really the taxpayers’ responsibility to fix these things at these folks’ private homes?

    (Plus, as ClausCPH notes above, the months do not add up to 13. Try 7).

    Edit: I am not suggesting the Secret Service shouldn’t protect former presidents and their spouses – just that the alarm system in that home should be maintained by the owner of said property. Thank you.

  3. Avatar for acm acm says:

    Yeah, I was thinking, the story really is “Secret Service detects alarm problem; Bushes decide not to fix it.”

    Presumably the 4 months before temporary alarm was added to another 9 months before this item reached the top of the To Do list of either the family or the agency…

  4. Bingo. With all that ill-gotten loot that crime family has (my opinion), they could at least upkeep their own damn property so the Secret Service can perform their services properly.

  5. The Secret Service has also found that security equipment problems exist at the homes of other former presidents. Their names were removed from the public version of Roth’s report.

    I’m going out on a limb here, but maybe Jimmy ----, Bill — , and George W. ----.

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