The Secret Service agents were reportedly furious after White House official gatekeeper Jen Psaki downplayed the former first dog Major’s bites before he was rehomed with family friends in December.
Secret Service agents made 36 pages of communications report stating that Major, a German Shepard, bit or snapped at agents numerous times throughout last year, several of which left puncture wounds, torn clothing, and bruising.
According to the New York Post report:
Newly released documents show that Secret Service agents were intensely angry at the White House for glossing over the attacks on them, adding that on one occasion, Major tore a suitcoat worth around $500. The agent reportedly attempted to get President Joe Biden to pay for the coat.
Secret Service supervisors were also involved in downplaying the incidents by seeking to leave out of official paperwork details surrounding the attacks, even rejecting at one point an agent’s “excessively detailed” account in order to avoid upsetting the first family after the dog bit agents on eight consecutive days.
They also show internal discord at the Secret Service, which has been embroiled since last week in a bizarre infiltration scandal that involves at least four agents.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged just one biting incident at a briefing on March 9, 2021, saying that one day earlier, “the first family’s younger dog, Major, was surprised by an unfamiliar person and reacted in a way that resulted in a minor injury to the individual.”
The March 8 bite actually was the final attack in an eight-day streak and the injured agent — whose injuries were categorized as “severe” by a colleague — fumed about Psaki’s spin.
One email read from a Secret Service official who was a member of the Presidential Protective Division:
“Yes I got bit by Major on [redacted] and NO I didn’t surprise the dog doing my job by being at [redacted] as the press secretary just said! Now I’m pissed. Thanks for checking in.”
One co-worker responded:
“SMH. .. hope you didn’t get hurt to [sic] bad.”
Another message written by an unknown Secret Service employee refers to photos of the bite area and said the “injury cannot be described in any other term than ‘severe.’”
The incident occurred at about 7 a.m. March 8 as the agent was in the second-floor White House residential area with first lady Jill Biden.
“Without warning or provocation, Major barked loudly at [the agent] … and charged” is how a newly released, heavily redacted incident report describes what happened.
“Having no time to seek cover from the attack, [the agent] turned away from the dog as he bit into [redacted] right leg,” the account also added.
In an email, Biden’s former chief protective agent David Cho also said about an hour later: “Major bit one of the agents this morning. The agent is ok, but does have bruising and a puncture.”
The outlet added more details of Major’s bites:
The agent was bitten by Major a second time, but it is unclear when. They were “the only known PPD [Presidential Protective Division] agent to h[a]ve suffered two attacks from Major in less than 10 days,” according to a June email.
Photos of injuries were redacted in the records, but one photo that was released shows an agent’s wool overcoat that was ripped on March 6 as the president and first lady returned indoors from the White House Tennis Pavilion.
“As Major came around the corner, he attacked me unprovoked, tearing the wool overcoat I was wearing that evening,” the agent wrote in a first-hand account two months later as he sought reimbursement. “This attack occurred through no fault of my own and I could not avoid this unusual circumstance due to the nature and requirements of my position.”
An unidentified Secret Service employee reprimanded the agent, writing, “Please submit with the language that has been approved by [the legal office]. Unless you dispute anything in the verbiage that was presented to you, there shouldn’t be a need to embellish with additional details that aren’t required for approval.”
Sources: Conservative Brief, New York Post
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