White House Corruption Spreads to Secret Service

http://www.nytimes.com/...

  NY Times has it that the Secret Service isn't above the poisonous cyanide that is the Bush administration; perhaps it needs to be asked, "why not sooner?"

   The mission statement of the US Secret Service, as per their web site:
**The United States Secret Service is mandated by statute and executive order to carry out two significant missions: protection and criminal investigations. The Secret Service protects the president and vice president, their families, heads of state, and other designated individuals; investigates threats against these protectees; protects the White House, vice president’s residence, foreign missions, and other buildings within Washington, D.C.; and plans and implements security designs for designated National Special Security Events. The Secret Service also investigates violations of laws relating to counterfeiting of obligations and securities of the United States; financial crimes that include, but are not limited to, access device fraud, financial institution fraud, identity theft, computer fraud; and computer-based attacks on our nation’s financial, banking, and telecommunications infrastructure.**
  Sounds, to me, at least, like a prestegious and stressful job. Not for the faint of heart. A job where you hear extremely sensitive things; things that, inevitably, endanger your family. Or, that will.
  The summation of the crisis at hand, according to the NY TIMES:
**But now the blip has become a blowup, with Secret Service agents — under oath in court depositions — accusing one another of unethical and perhaps even illegal conduct in the handling of Mr. Howards’s arrest and the official accounting of it.**
  Sounds like the over arching, egregiously illegal behavior of the President and VP is finally grating on the people within the ranks who are expected to take the most detached view of all, is getting to them. The Secret Service, period, has no opinion. When asked, decades later, about JFK's womanizing, drinking, and drugging, they laugh, they comiserate, and they feel sad. He was a good man,they all agree, and Jackie was a wonderful woman; but he was sick. The pain he was in, the circumstances he was in...it just wasn't right. Never, **never** have I heard an interview where the individuals espouse their political views, their beliefs on his decisions, et cetera. **I have heard, read, watched, etc, where the former agents discuss their relationships with Truman, JFK, etc; NOT their politics.**
  Moreover, I hear from this article, that the exhaustion in dealing with an extremely controversial president, a presidential campaign so intense that blogs are now bilious with malice...is taking a toll. Humans are protecting humans. Humans have limits. Professionalism has limts. Inevitably, you eat your own young.
  It's time to hold the Executive branch to account. Make the legislative, our congress take the executive to the line. There are no saints in politics, but there are sinners.
  Ask the Secret Service.

•  Tip jar

  by TheUnConventionalAnalysist on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 06:40:02 AM PDT

•  And look what happened to the one guy....

  ...he's been transferred to Guam.

  Yup, Guam.

  I'd say that's a career limiting move, wouldn't you?

  by ShaShaMae on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 06:43:01 AM PDT

•  Wow. What a story.

  What a bunch of lying... what Kerry said!

  by NYFM on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 06:46:13 AM PDT

•  Who is "Mr. Howard"?

  by thecoolmacdude on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 06:52:08 AM PDT

  •  The guy who spoke to Cheney

    in Colorado and was initally accused of assaulting him and arrested until the SS changed their story.  Now he is suing the SS.

    by NYFM on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 06:55:37 AM PDT

    •  Thanks!

      by thecoolmacdude on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 07:33:21 AM PDT

    •  OK, it was a good arrest

      I just read did some quick legal research (Yes, I am a lawyer but not in CO) and the local DA prosecuted under the correct charge, if the WH hadn't declined prosecution, Howard would have been convicted of a class 3 misdemeanor (maximum of 6 months in jail and a $750 fine).

      The problem with this case is the federal criminal code is sloppy.  At common law (i.e. the laws we inherited from England and that most states base their criminal code on), what Howard did was battery, that is, an offensive touching of another person.  Offensive touching means that the defendant's physical contact was done with  intent to harm (if only emotionally) the victim.  If there were injuries, then it would be prosecuted as a higher degree of battery.  

      At common law, assault was an attempted battery (he swings and misses) or action that would put the reasonable person in fear of being struck (raising your fist at someone you're arguing).

      So in most states, Howard would be guilty of battery and so his arrest would be justified.  OK, here's the crux of the problem-- the US Code doesn't include battery as a crime and NEVER DEFINES ASSAULT.  Crimes against federal  are treated the same as assaults on federal property , just with higher penalties (max of 8 years instead of 3 years).

      Federal courts look to common law to sort this out and (barring a Supreme Court precedent on point), each federal circuit can interprete common law differently.  Skip to page 4 of this opinion to see an example---
      http://209.85.165.104/...

      Hell, if federal judges can't agree on what "assault" means under federal law, its unreasonable to think federal agents based in different judicial circuits would agree.

      So, the logical thing would be to arrest and prosecute him under state law-- except Colorado doesn't have a battery charge either!  And its assault charge (which is inclusive of battery) has an injury requirement, remember at common law, battery didn't require a showing of injury.

      However, if you look over at CRS 18-9-111 - Harassment - stalking, Colorado calls simple battery, Harassment.

      (1) A person commits harassment if, with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm another person, he or she:

        (a) Strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise touches a person or subjects him to physical contact... "
      Its a class 3 misdemeanor with maximum of 6 months in jail.  

      I would point out that the arresting officer,  Reichle was the Denver Secret Service agent, he knew 10th Circuit law, what's more, as a former Colorado police officer, he was by far the most familiar with relevant state criminal law (the other Denver agent backed him, the DC agents disagreed.  I think Reichle was right to feel left out on a limb, the uncontested facts support the harassment charge, so it was a good bust.  So what if they can't agree on if it was "assault", it was surely battery (or, Harassment in CO), let the DA sort it out (which he did).

      Whether it was a pat or shove--- it doesn't matter-- the evidence is clear Howard touched Cheney and his words make apparent his intent was to "harass, annoy or alarm".   If he hadn't laid a hand on Cheney, this would have been a free speech case, physical contact made it potentially a crime.

      3 hours in jail and to then have the charges dismissed isn't out of line.

      by Beowulf on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 09:24:00 AM PDT

•  Here's the story w/o the firewall

  Same story, no registration.

  by RepackRider on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 06:56:11 AM PDT

  •  Missing from that link are the depositions

    not sure why people don't want to register with the Times but it has everyone's transcribed video depositions in the case in pdf form.  Pretty interesting reading.  I'd say, after reading both Howards' and Reischle's that they screwed him over royally.  Here's the critical passage from Reischle's depo:

    Okay. You believed you had probable  cause to arrest Steve Howards for assaulting the  Vice President, is that correct?  
    A Yes.
    Q Okay. And you also understand that you need probable cause before you can make an arrest,  is that correct?  
    A Yes.  
    Q And you also understand that people have a right to approach the Vice President of the United States and say to him, "Your policies in Iraq are disgusting." You understand they have that right under the First Amendment, is that correct?
    A Yes.
    Q And you understand that if you arrested  him in retaliation for having said that to the Vice President, and that's the real reason you arrested him, you would be in violation of his First and Fourth Amendment rights?
    MR. GALLAGHER: I'm going to object to the form of the question.
    BY MR. LANE: Q You can answer it.
    A Yes. I believe that certainly would be wrong.  
    Q Now, did you ask -- right now -- I mean,  you've given us the names of like five or six agents present that apparently saw what transpired there, correct? You've got Rosalis, Wurst, you've got Colshorn, you've got McLaughlin, you've got Daniels, you've got Doyle, right? There are a lot of people there that saw what happened, right? A lot of agents?
    MR. WESTFALL: I -- I object to the form and I don't want to be cute about it. It's just I'm not sure that there's testimony that every one of those people saw it --

    BY MR. LANE: Q Let me ask you -- did they tell you they all had seen what happened?
    MR. WESTFALL: -- I don't think there's testimony on that.
    THE WITNESS: No
    BY MR. LANE:  Q Okay. Did you believe it was going to be important to find out from agents who were actually within spitting distance of what happened to find out what happened?
    A Yes.
    Q Okay. Did you subsequently interview  agents who were within, say, eight feet of what happened?  
    A I did my best to reach out to everyone that may have been an eyewitness.  
    Q Okay. Did you get corroboration from anyone that it went down the way Doyle told you it went down?
    A Yes.
    Q Who corroborated that?
    A The White House photographer.
    Q Who is that?
    A I believe his name is David Bore.
    Q What did he say?
    A Basically he -- that stated that an individual came into his field of view, made a beeline, quick approach to Vice President Cheney, reached over a small child and gave a forceful pat to Vice President Cheney's right shoulder, said something to the effect of Iraq -- had something to do with Iraq, and moved on.
    Q Okay. Do you believe that any agent exercising common sense and using their training and experience with the Secret Service, had they seen what you just demonstrated, should have arrested him right there on the spot?
    A Yes.
    Q Have you sought any corrective actions against these agents who were eyewitnesses to what happened who did not make an arrest right there on the spot?
    A I brought my concerns to the attention of my immediate supervisor.
    Q Who is your immediate supervisor?
    A Kevin Worthington.
    Q And where is he located?
    A He is a criminal supervisor in the Denver field office, criminal investigatory supervisor.
    Q And how did you make these concerns aware to him? A I expressed to ASAIC Worthington that I felt that Inspection Division should get involved
    here and that everyone involved should be offered a polygraph, to include myself.
    Q And what was the upshot?
    A Don't go there, Gus.
    Q Don't go there, Gus?
    A Don't go there Gus.
    Q What does that mean?
    A It means let it lie, drop it.

    by NYFM on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 07:58:00 AM PDT

•  My fav line in the article

  Mr. Reichle, who has since been transferred to Guam...

  by KateCrashes on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 07:12:49 AM PDT

•  Dude got sent to Guam

  The whistle-blower agent got the choice demotion to Guam for his troubles.

  by Dirk McQuigley on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 07:22:30 AM PDT

•  Testilying....

  ....it's not just for the NYPD anymore.....

  by greenskeeper on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 07:22:39 AM PDT

•  Might not fit your narrative

  but this sort of bull hs typified my contacts with the Secret Service going back much farther than this Administration. With a few exceptions.

  During the Ford and Carter administrations, when the FBI was forced off political surveillance, the SS picked up the slack, as seen in my FOIA'd files.

  Had a few instances during the Clinton years when they attempted to bully local police into arresting me for holding signs near Presidential and VP appearances.

  by ben masel on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 07:43:13 AM PDT