Hillary Clinton’s contempt for the Secret Service is legendary. In recent years, several biographers have written tell-alls about the Clinton-era White House that detailed her disrespectful behavior toward the people tasked with keeping her safe.
You would think that as she aged in the post-Clinton White House years, she would have become mellower and easier to get along with. But you would be wrong. According to FBI documents released Monday, State Department security personnel so disliked Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of State that many agents left the agency or asked to be reassigned. Hillary Clinton is credited with making the previously prestigious security job sought after by senior agents into one staffed by n00bs.
The revelations come from an interview summary of one unnamed Department of Homeland Security official that was conducted as part of the FBI’s investigation into Clinton’s handling of classified information while secretary of state.
“Prior to CLINTON’s tenure, being an agent on the Secretary of State’s protective detail was seen as an honor and privilege reserved for senior agents. However, by the end of CLINTON’s tenure, it was staffed largely with new agents because it was difficult to find senior agents willing to work for her,” the interview summary states.
The official who was interviewed worked for the Department of Homeland Security and was a previous State employee.
The official said Secret Service agents also complained that Clinton “disregarded security and diplomatic protocols, occasionally without regard for the safety of her staff and protection detail, in order to gain favorable press.” According to the official, Clinton refused to travel by armored limousine with the U.S. ambassador as is standard diplomatic and security protocol when the secretary of State visits a foreign country.
“CLINTON refused to do so, instead choosing to be accompanied in the limousine by her Chief of Staff, HUMA ABEDIN. This frequently resulted in complaints by ambassadors who were insulted and embarrassed by this breach of protocol,” the summary says. Clinton’s breaches of protocol, it adds, were “well-known throughout Diplomatic Security and were ‘abundant.’”
The report goes on to say that DS agents were “indignant” because Clinton refused to leave her BlackBerry outside of her office as required, as it is a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), while the agents had to leave their cell phones at the door.
That Hillary Clinton has habitually behaved disgracefully toward Secret Service personnel is by now beyond dispute. Former Washington Post reporter Ronald Kessler has similar anecdotes in First Family Detail, as does Edward Klein in both The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House and Unlikeable: The Problem with Hillary. Gary Byrne, a 29-year veteran of the military and federal law enforcement, published his book in June: Crisis of Character: White House Secret Service Officer Discloses his Firsthand Experience with Hillary, Bill, and How They Operate. It includes bombshell revelations about the Clintons, focusing on Hillary’s “Jekyll and Hyde” personality that left Secret Service personnel and White House staffers living “in terror of her next tirade.”
It’s probably safe to say that the Secret Service community is not looking forward to working for a Hillary Clinton White House.
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