BLOG: The Secret Service and Severna Park
The front page of the Capital Gazette newspaper this past Saturday had a story about a local family guy who got caught in the scandal of the decade ....or the year...or the month....take your pick. Apparently the news media trucks were all over the Safeway parking lot Friday night and reporters were canvassing the neighborhood asking anyone who would talk to them about the family. And the guy.
Someone on Capitol Hill leaked this information out about the President's detail in Colombia S.A. being caught with prostitutes. Someone on Capitol Hill, you ask? This is the kind of thing our government doesn't like to get leaked out, but the idea that the leak came from within the government is a little suspicious. And this piece of information I got from someone who would know.
We have in our little Severna Park community many families who are here because the parent is a Secret Service agent. They choose us because we have great schools and we are far enough away from the city of Washington D.C. that we truly have a small community feel to us. The man whose neighborhood was being assaulted by the news media has a young family and a wife who leads a Bible study in her neighborhood.
The first Secret Service agent whose name was leaked by the Huffington Post was that of Joseph Bongino, whose brother is also a neighbor here in Severna Park and a former secret service agent. His brother coincidentally had just won the Maryland Republican primary for U.S. Senate when about a week later this scandal broke. Dan stands a very good chance of beating Ben Cardin who has not been a very popular Senator among his constituents. Dan was also one of the featured former Secret Service agents in a Discovery Channel series that ran on television about six months ago.
Joe Bongino has since been cleared of any wrongdoing and is now back at work. Meanwhile the whole scandal has been a distraction for Dan's campaign. I wonder then if getting at Bongino's campaign wasn't the real reason the scandal was leaked?
And at what cost The worst thing about this is that no matter what the reason was, families have been affected. Granted the actions of the men involved are the underlying reason the scandal occurred. When people make bad decisions they should be held accountable. I get that. But with the Democrat's trying to destroy one person's campaign, many lives have been destroyed in the process.
Judith Moylan-Forman
4:53 pm on Monday, April 30, 2012
Amy,
You say it was "someone" on Capitol Hill who leaked this about the Secret Service. Really, not so. Actually, on April 13th, it was another Secret Service agent who leaked it and called Ron Kessler, author of "In the President's Secret Service." Mr. Kessler has an ongoing relationship with many of the agents. Mr. Kessler also is the chief Washington correspondent for Newsmax, the conservative news outlet, so not a left-wing Capitol Hill conspiracy by any means. Mr. Kessler was interviewed on all the cable shows, including Fox's "Hannity along with the candidate, Mr. Dan Bongino.
This whole debacle is news because the Secret Service has always been held to such high standards. And reporters will go digging! Mr. Dan Bongino kind of opened the door about his own family as he stated in an April 6th interview with the Patch that he had a brother who is an active secret service agent and lives in Millersville. It didn't take much for reporters to connect the dots. I'm glad Mr. Bongino's brother has been cleared of any wrong doing, but this has nothing to do with smearing a campaign.
john jeka
8:36 am on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Amy,
It is truly ironic that you are guilty of that which you are accusing others... paltry evidence leading to wild accusations in order to smear those with whom you generically disagree.
Lindsay Moran
11:11 am on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
There is an interesting opinion in today's Washington Post by Ronald Kessler about the alarming state of the Secret Service. While I agree with Amy that the collateral damage this scandal has done to innocent family members is sad and unfortunate, the SS members who brought this attention upon themselves, their organization and their families might have done well to think about the consequences BEFORE procuring prostitutes on an official presidential detail - funded by us, the American taxpayers, no less. As a former operations officer with the CIA, I can say with certainty that the behavior exhibited by these men represents EXACTLY the characteristics we would look for when hoping to spot potential foreign agents to recruit overseas. Someone with a penchant for partying and prostitutes? And with THAT kind of proximity and unfettered access to a world leader? That's a bonanza for any foreign intelligence or hostile (read terrorist) organizations hoping to infiltrate the security services of our country. Amy - If it WERE just a conspiracy on the part of democrats, as you believe, that would be reassuring. The reality is a lot more alarming. Yes, it's sad for the families of these men; it's also scary for the rest of us. And, no matter how the information came to light, it's important (not to mention, our right) to know about it. Lindsay Moran
Amy Leahy
12:56 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Thanks Lindsay Moran for the comment. I agree that the behavior poses a threat to our national security. It is however a shame the names of those involved have been leaked to the press.
scott bailey
10:29 am on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Amy, are you kidding? Surely you could rub a few brain cells together and avoid your faulty misleading conclusions.
Some, such as Ms. Sarah Palin, would have it that the whole purpose of the leak was to embarrass the government while a Democratic president is in office. I don't think anyone was thinking of your wanna-be senatorial candidate while the big boys were playing their games....