US Secret Service Head Admits 5 Day Lapse in Learning of Agent Misconduct

US Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy told US Congress on Tuesday that he only found out that two of his special agents drove into the White House complex on March 4 while intoxicated five days after the incident took place.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy learned about two special agents driving into the White House complex allegedly under the influence of alcohol five days after the incident, according to Clancy’s testimony to US Congress on Tuesday.

"I did not hear of this [Secret Service Special Agent] incident until Monday, this was on a Wednesday night, I found out Monday," Clancy said at the 2016 Secret Service budget request hearing.

US President Barack Obama appointed Clancy in February to head the Secret Service and reform the agency after recent incidents of misconduct.

Clancy admitted that he was “very frustrated” that he did not know about the incident until Monday, and said that he could not act until the Secret Service obtained more facts about what happened in the March 4 incident.

Clancy explained that the incident is now under investigation at Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and has since removed the two senior level agents from working at the White House to non-supervisory positions until the investigation is concluded.

“It's going to take time to change maybe some of this culture [in the Secret Service], there’s no excuse for this information not to come up the chain,” Clancy said.

Concerns over White House security began to escalate after an intruder jumped a fence in September and managed to get to the East Room of the White House before being stopped.

A review of the incident found multiple protocol failures that led to then-Secret Service Director Julia Pierson's resignation.