Politics

Report: Secret Service Agents Were ‘Likely’ Alcohol-Impaired

Published

9 years ago

May 14, 2015

In this Oct. 11, 2009 file photo, Secret Service Agent Joseph Clancy, right, walks behind President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their, children Sasha, right, and Malia, second from left, walk back to the White House after attending St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Alicia A. Caldwell, ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two senior Secret Service agents were “more likely than not” impaired by alcohol when they drove a government vehicle through a secure area at the White House earlier this year, a government watchdog concluded in a report released late Wednesday.

Homeland Security Inspector General John Roth found that Marc Connolly and George Ogilvie spent about five hours at a bar during and after a retirement party for a colleague and ran up a “significant” bar tab before driving to the White House on March 4. Their tab included eight glasses of scotch, two vodka drinks, three beers and a glass of wine.

Connolly, the deputy special agent in charge of the Presidential Protection Division, announced his retirement in advance of the report’s release. Ogilvie, the assistant special agent in charge of the agency’s Washington field office, has been placed on administrative leave, the agency said Wednesday.

Both men denied being drunk and told investigators they only had a few of the drinks over the course of the night. Ogilvie said some of the drinks on his tab, including five glasses of scotch, were given to other people at the bar, though he could not recall who received the drinks.

Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy said Wednesday he was “disappointed and disturbed at the apparent lack of judgment described in this report. Behavior of the type described in the report is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Roth’s report said Ogilvie was driving and Connolly was his passenger when Ogilvie drove his government-owned vehicle into the secured zone where on-duty Secret Service officials were investigating a suspicious package that had been left in the White House complex by a fleeing driver.

Ogilvie “had to do considerable maneuvering” as he drove slowly through the area and pushed a larger construction barrier about five feet with the bumper of his vehicle. Clancy, who was not told about the incident for several days, previously told lawmakers that the agents “nudged” the barrier as they drove into the White House complex.

Roth’s report said “this was no mere ‘bump,’ but rather extended contact to shove the barrel out of the way.”

The report said the pair also unwittingly drove within inches of the suspicious item as they made their way through the secured area.

Roth said officers at the scene didn’t smell alcohol on either Ogilvie or Connolly, but three officers thought something was “not right” about the pair. A watch commander was later told by an officer that “they may be drunk.”

No field sobriety tests were given that night and both men were allowed to drive their government vehicles home from the White House.

Roth concluded that both agents “displayed poor judgment and a lack of institutional awareness” and “more likely than not both Connolly and Ogilvie’s judgment was impaired by alcohol.”

Roth also found that “it would have been far preferable” for the watch commander on duty that night to question the men further about their sobriety or ordered a field sobriety test.

___

Follow Alicia A. Caldwell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/acaldwellap.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Black Leaders, Political Orgs, Sound Alarm About Project 2025

With the general elections just a few days away, Black organizations and leaders, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), are sounding the alarm about Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s controversial “policy bible.” The four-pillar initiative includes a detailed blueprint for the next conservative presidential administration – making way for a sweeping overhaul of the executive branch.

Published

39 mins ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

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By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

With the general elections just a few days away, Black organizations and leaders, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), are sounding the alarm about Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s controversial “policy bible.”

The four-pillar initiative includes a detailed blueprint for the next conservative presidential administration – making way for a sweeping overhaul of the executive branch.

Waters has been outspoken in her opposition of the 900-page policy.

Recently, she shared “The People’s Guide to Project 2025” with the Inglewood Area Ministers Association, an organization of predominantly Black pastors, to inform them about the proposal’s impact, emphasizing that its influence would reach beyond the traditional spheres of presidential power. The 15-term politician from Los Angeles shared her sentiments with the House Financial Services Committee in July.

“Project 2025 promotes radical ideals to materially undermine the Federal Reserve, if not effectively abolish it,” Waters said.

Written by the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 was developed with the input of a broad coalition of conservative organizations and is organized around four pillars: Policy, Personnel, Training, and the 180-Day Playbook. The proposals in the document aim to revamp every aspect of the U.S. government.

Waters is not the only person sounding the alarm about Project 2025’s agenda. Grassroot organizations in California and across the nation are preparing to combat the initiative despite who wins the election between Trump and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

The National Assembly of American Slavery Descendants (NAASD), members of advocacy groups in California, and other Black political organizations across the nation are drawing up policy documents to counter the conservative Project 2025 initiative.

On Aug. 2, NAASD hosted a nationwide ZOOM conference call to discuss policies that concern Black communities.  Nocola Hemphill, the president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Black Women’s Chamber, and grassroots organizations on the call are promoting what they call, #Reparations2025.

“I just want us to think about bringing all policies (ideas) together when we think about Project 2025,” said Hemphill, who lives in South Carolina. “I am excited about the possibility of us forming our own version of Project 2025 and having it published by the November election.”

NAASD is a nonprofit association of community activists from across the country that formed around May 2019.

Los Angeles resident Khansa “Friday” Jones Muhammad is the president of NAASD.

“The National Assembly of American Slavery Descendants (NAASD) envisions a nation where African American descendants of US slavery can fully exercise their constitutional citizenship rights and have economic agency for generations,” Muhammad told California Black Media (CBM).

While forming an agenda for #Reparation2025, NAASD has created a survey to determine how systemic racism and discrimination in the United States have affected Black American lives and single out options to repair harms through public policy. Participants in the survey would help the organization shape a national blueprint.

“During this election cycle, it is imperative that national Black organizations come together for collective success,” Muhammad shared with CBM. “While the vote for President of the United States is important, we need to also focus on other active projects such as ‘Project 2025,’ Supreme Court rulings around race and more.”

Muhammad added, “NAASD’s Black experience survey allows for individuals, Black organizations, and their allies to forge a pathway to reparations by utilizing community-building and policy.”

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Activism

NAACP California-Hawaii State Convention Highlights Black Voter Engagement, and More

A Friday panel featuring NAACP Chairman Leon W. Russell and Regina Wilson, Executive Director of California Black Media, examined Project 2025, an initiative perceived as a potential threat to civil rights, healthcare access, and environmental protection. This session emphasized Project 2025’s projected impact on Black communities, noting that policies within the initiative could diminish gains in civil and environmental rights over decades. Russell and Wilson highlighted the need for vigilant monitoring and community mobilization to address these challenges.

Published

8 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

NAACP State Conference President Rick Callender (right) engages in a discussion on voter engagement and community advocacy with NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson during the 37th NAACP California-Hawaii State Convention in Los Angeles. Photo by Rich Woods.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

The 37th NAACP California-Hawaii State Convention concluded on Sunday, Oct 27, following four days of discussions and workshops at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott. Bringing together civil rights leaders, policymakers, and advocates from California and Hawaii, the convention operated under the theme “All In.” The participants discussed critical issues impacting Black communities, including criminal justice reform, health equity, economic empowerment, education, environmental justice, and voting rights.

On Saturday, the President’s Fireside Chat brought together NAACP President Derrick Johnson and CA/HI State Conference President Rick Callender, who discussed the urgency of voter engagement and community advocacy.

Guest speakers included Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), who spoke at the Women in NAACP (WIN) Labor Luncheon about the intersection of labor rights and civil rights. California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond delivered remarks at the Leadership Dinner on education equity, focusing on policies to ensure all students have access to high-quality education.

Honors were given to longtime social justice advocate and former Assemblymember Mike Davis for his work in community activism. At the same time, actor and activist Danny Glover and the Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown received the 2024 Legacy Hall of Fame Awards, recognizing their lifelong commitments to advancing civil rights.

The convention also offered practical workshops, including “What’s On Your Ballot?,” where coalition leaders provided analyses of California propositions, explaining their potential impacts on community rights and resources. The Voter Turnout Workshop provided background and encouraged participants to promote voter turnout through community-centered outreach strategies.

Sunday’s events closed with a Prayer and Memorial Breakfast honoring the contributions of past and current civil rights leaders.

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Bay Area

Alameda County Judge Blasts Defendants Over Delay in West Oakland Fire Trial

Judge Kimberly Lowell excoriated the RadiusRecycling/SchnitzerSteel defendants in court for causing delays in prosecuting this case. Since the defendants first appeared in court on July 23, they have obtained three extensions of the arraignment date.

Published

9 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Criminal charges announced this week are related to the August 2023 scrap metal fire at Radius Recycling Inc., formerly Schnitzer Steel. Photo courtesy of Oaklandside.

Special to The Post

District Attorney Pamela Price announced that a hearing was held on October 30 in the criminal prosecution of the Radius Recycling/Schnitzer Steel involving a fire at the West Oakland facility on Aug. 9-10, 2023.

The Alameda County criminal Grand Jury indicted radius Recycling and two of its corporate managers in June 2024.

The court clarified that the defendants will not receive more extensions on their arraignment and plea.

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price agreed with the court that defendants should not get preferential treatment. Price and her team appreciated the court for clarifying that future delays by Radius will not be tolerated.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD) public data shows that during and after the fire, the smoke plume traveled across Alameda County with high levels of PM 2.5 (Particulate Matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter) detected around Laney College in Oakland, Livermore, Pleasanton, and West Oakland.

PM2.5 is particularly harmful to infants and children, the elderly, and people with asthma or heart disease.

“This fire posed a great health hazard to the people of Alameda County,” said Price. “High, short-term exposures to a toxic smoke plume have been shown to cause significant danger to human health.

“Additionally, in this case, Oakland firefighters battled the blaze under extremely dangerous conditions for 15 hours with assistance from a San Francisco Fire Department fireboat and a fireboat from the City of Alameda Fire Department,” Price observed.

The team prosecuting the case from the DA’s Consumer Justice Bureau looks forward to resolving any future motions and having the defendants arraigned in court on Dec. 9.

The media relations office of the Alameda County District Attorney’s office is the source of this report.