Following another security breach at the White House over the weekend, one former Secret Service agent is voicing his concerns over the potential security problem looming over Washington.
Former agent Dan Bongino explained in a telephone interview with Fox News on Saturday that given the current state of security affairs within the Secret Service, President Donald Trump is not safe in the White House.
"The president, in my humble opinion, is just not safe at the White House anymore because they’re not serious about the security plan," Bongino said. "They’re serious about how the White House looks and uniform division, but they’re just not serious about the security plan at the White House anymore."
Bongino's comments came after a man breached the White House security ring late Friday, scaling the White House fence and making it to within yards of the executive residence before being apprehended by agents. In response, the Secret Service said "nothing of concern to security operations was found," according to a statement provided to CNN.
However, Bongino, who used to work on the presidential security detail for former President Barack Obama, strongly disagreed with the claim.
"So first, let’s scrap this nonsense that this is how the system was supposed to work, that the system was supposed to allow a man with a backpack up to the South Portico a hundred yards — maybe just a tad bit more from the president of the United States. That’s an absurd statement," Bongino explained.
"To put out a statement like that is outrageous," he added. "And I’ll tell ya — I love the Secret Service, I love the men and women there, the rank-and-file agents are the best people I’ve ever met — but the management is an absolute disaster."
When asked how to fix the breaches of security, which have happened multiple times in recent years — including a man who made it inside the White House all the way to the famed East Room in 2014 — Bongino said the Secret Service "knows what has to be done," but refuses to implement better security features.
"You can put double fencing. You can angle the fencing outward so it’s nearly impossible to scale. You can put more personnel and special weapons teams on the South Lawn," he explained.
Those security features haven't been implemented in the past because "special interests" stopped prior administrations from transitioning the White House into an "armed camp," Bongino said, bluntly adding, "which is ridiculous."
"If you think the Secret Service right now under the current security plan is prepared for a multiple-man tactical assault on the White House, you’re out of your mind," Bongino reiterated.
Chris Enloe
Staff Writer
