Newly-released documents paint a more complicated picture about whether two high-ranking Secret Service agents at the center of the agency's latest scandal were drunk.
According to the documents, which are a part of a review being conducted by the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General, the supervisors on duty told Secret Service investigators they didn’t think either agent was "intoxicated."
The agents in question are Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge (ATSAIC) George Ogilvie and Deputy Special Agent in Charge (DSAIC) Marc Connolly.
The incident first came to light on March 9 — five days after it happened — when an anonymous email was circulated throughout the Secret Service that stated the agents “were both extremely intoxicated.”
The email also said that officers at the scene planned to arrest the agents but the watch commander “said not to."
The internal documents show officers had differing views. One supervisor on duty the night of March 4, Uniform Division Inspector Williams recalled that, "he was told that DSAIC Connolly smelled of alcohol." But according to another supervisor, Deputy Chief Dyson, “it did not appear as though DSAIC Connolly was impaired."
A third supervisor, Captain Michael Braun, said "he did not believe that DSAIC Connolly or ATSAIC Ogilvie was intoxicated." Braun did however note that Connolly’s eyes were "glassy." Ogilvie was the driver and both men were coming from a retirement party for a colleague.
Secret Service Officials conducted the interview with Chief Dyson who was on duty that night and then turned the information over to the DHS-OIG.
The interview occurred five days after the incident and does not answer the question of why the agents weren’t given a breathalyzer test as was reportedly requested by some of the other officers on duty at the time.
The documents note that "the incident has not received any know [n] media coverage at this time." But by the next day The Washington Post broke the story and a media firestorm ensued.
This is the latest setback for the agency and the first embarrassing incident to happen under newly-appointed Director Joseph Clancy.
Clancy, who was appointed in February to rebuild the agency in the wake of a series of security breaches, has faced three rounds of tough questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill about this scandal.
Late Thursday, Clancy announced that Secret Service staffers are no longer allowed to drive official government cars within 10 hours of drinking alcohol.
Clancy has placed Ogilvie and Connolly into different positions pending the outcome of the Inspector General investigation.
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