A man who falsely claimed to be a member of Congress was able to get into a secure backstage area where President Barack Obama was last month, Bloomberg News reported.
President Barack Obama speaks on stage for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Phoenix Awards dinner, September 27, 2014 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
The incident occurred on Sept. 27, when the president and first lady Michelle Obama attended the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation awards dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
Citing an anonymous source, Bloomberg News reported that a man who claimed to be Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.) was able to go back stage at the event.
The source did not know how close the imposter got to the president and first lady, but the incident comes to light the week that Julia Pierson resigned as director of the Secret Service following security lapses.
Word of the congressional impostor is the latest in a series of revelations about security breaches to emerge in the last month. A fence-jumper was able to enter the White House in September, though the first family was not home at the time. Perhaps more alarming was that a convicted felon carrying a weapon was permitted on an elevator with the president in Atlanta.
At the Congressional Black Caucus dinner, a member of the White House staff saw that the man was not Payne, and another White House staffer asked the imposter to leave, Bloomberg reported. The man left and was not detained by law enforcement.
Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said the agency screened everyone who attended the dinner, including the man posing as Payne.
“This guy went through security, fully screened,” Leary told Bloomberg.
