The Secret Service Can't Catch a Break (or an Intruder)

The news about the Secret Service just keeps getting worse.

The Washington Post reported Monday that the knife-wielding Iraq War veteran who jumped a fence and ran into the White House through an unlocked door actually made it much further into the building than it originally admitted. Rather than being tackled in the White House entryway, Omar Gonzalez ran through "much of the first floor," past a staircase leading to the Obama family living quarters and into the stately East Room before agents wrestled him to the ground.

The fresh details turn what was initially an embarrassing lapse by the Secret Service into a much scarier episode.  

And they come just one day after The Post reported that it took the supposedly elite security detail several days to notice that a gunman had fired seven bullets into the the president's home. That attack occurred minutes before Obama's elder daughter, Malia, was to arrive home, and the delayed response by the Secret Service reportedly infuriated First Lady Michelle Obama.

The most recent incidents have prompted the Secret Service to undertake a review of its security procedures, resulting in the addition of multiple layers of unsightly fencing in front of the White House.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is stepping away from the congressional campaign trail to hold a hearing on the latest breaches. Secret Service director Julia Pierson will testify before the committee, and it's safe to say she'll receive a bipartisan tongue-lashing.

(Image via Steve Heap/Shutterstock.com)