Secret Service agents were outraged last year by the White House’s attempt to downplay bite injuries caused by then-first dog Major — even trying to get President Biden to personally pay for a damaged coat, newly released documents show.
Secret Service leaders also sought to keep attack details out of official paperwork — at one point rejecting an agent’s “excessively detailed” account to avoid upsetting the first family — after Major bit agents on eight consecutive days.
The records, released in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Judicial Watch, show that attacks occurred both earlier and later than previously known.
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.
“NO I didn’t surprise the dog doing my job by being at [redacted] as the press secretary just said! Now I’m pissed,” the agent wrote to a co-worker.
The colleague replied, “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 added.
About an hour later, President Biden’s then-chief protective agent David Cho wrote in an email: “Major bit one of the agents this morning. The agent is ok, but does have bruising and a puncture.”
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.”
“If you would like to submit a separate memo to-…
Read More: Secret Service agents outraged by White House spin over first dog bites: report