SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The chairman of a U.S. House committee overseeing the Secret Service has received apologies over a leak to the news media that he was once rejected for a job as an agent.
Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson issued the apologies, saying the information about Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, should have remained confidential.
“Secretary Johnson has called for an investigation, and if the allegations in the report are true, those responsible should be held accountable,” Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Marsha Catron told The Salt Lake Tribune (https://bit.ly/1y6sUCV ).
Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has been highly critical of the Secret Service after a string of recent missteps.
The leak came after he announced Tuesday he was issuing subpoenas to two Secret Service agents who witnessed an episode in which two high-ranking agency officials are accused of driving into a secure area at the White House without authorization.
Chaffetz had asked Clancy to allow four agents and officers to testify at a hearing last week on the March 4 incident. Clancy declined the request and instead testified as the sole witness.
The committee is trying to get to the bottom of allegations the two senior agents had been drinking when they drove into the area.
Chaffetz said he applied for the Secret Service job after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and would not let the leak affect his investigation into the security lapses.
“I’ll be professional about it. It is disconcerting. But I have a job to do, and I will continue to do it,” he told The Tribune. “They (Clancy and Johnson) assured me they will get to the bottom of it, and I believe it when they say it is wholly unacceptable.”
Chaffetz downplayed his interest in the Secret Service job. “It was about 10 minutes of my life - and that’s it,” he said.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, https://www.sltrib.com
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