In another breakdown of Secret Service protocol, a security contractor who was carrying a gun and had a criminal record was allowed to ride in an elevator with President Obama during his visit to the CDC in Atlanta Sept. 16. Reportedly, the man—who was with a private firm providing security at the CDC—refused to stop recording Obama with his cell phone camera, which prompted a few agents to stay behind to question him and check his background. As it turned out, the man had three convictions of assault and battery. And, to the agents’ surprise, when a supervisor from his firm showed up, the man turned in the gun he had been carrying.
No one with a weapon or a criminal history is supposed to be allowed in close proximity to the president, which has members of congress wondering how the man came so close to the president without undergoing a background check. The incident came to light after the Secret Service director, Julia Pierson, spoke before a House subcommittee Tuesday about two security breaches at the White House, one of which happened on Sept. 19, three days after the incident in Atlanta. Pierson told the committee that the Sept. 19 incident was the only breach of security that she had briefed the president on so far in 2014 …