Recently unearthed documents show that secret service agents were outraged last year when the White House attempted to spin a story about an attack by then-first dog Major.
Released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by Judicial Watch, the documents reveal that the Secret Service attempted to downplay events and even reprimanded one of the agents for detailing the attack, fearing it would upset the Biden family.
In March 2021, White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed that one dog attack occurred after Major was “surprised by an unfamiliar person.”
“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,” Psaki acknowledged at the time.
According to the unsealed documents, the bite occurred after the dog bit agents over eight consecutive days and the injuries were “severe” rather than minor.
“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 reportedly wrote to a co-worker. The co-worker replied, “SMH. .. hope you didn’t get hurt to [sic] bad.”
Another message from a Secret Service employee referenced the bite, explaining that the “injury cannot be described in any other term than ‘severe’.”
The heavily redacted incident report said that the bite occurred at 7:00 a.m. in the White House residential area on the second floor near first lady Jill Biden’s office.
“Without warning or provocation, Major barked loudly at [the agent] … and charged,” the report said. “Having no time to seek cover from the attack, [the agent] turned away from the dog as he bit into [redacted] right leg.”
David Cho, President Biden’s then-chief protective agent, wrote in an email later that day: “Major bit one of the agents this morning. The agent is ok, but does have bruising and a puncture.”
The agent was reportedly bitten by Major a second time, but no specifics have been made available. Photos of the injuries were redacted in the report except for one that showed the agent’s torn wool overcoat.
Two months later, the agent sought reimbursement and gave his first-hand account, for which he was reprimanded for fear of offending the Bidens.
“As Major came around the corner, he attacked me unprovoked, tearing the wool overcoat I was wearing that evening,” the agent wrote. “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.”
A Secret Service agent chastised the report for embellished details. “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,” said the unidentified agent.
“If you would like to submit a separate memo to- memorializing the events of 3/6 in great detail, you certainly may.
But your added language on the [form] provides more specificity than what [the legal office] requested. I have been told that if you update the [request] with the approved verbiage, your request will be processed,” the agent continued.
In another email, the agent called the account “excessively detailed and inappropriate” and states that “I was asked to have him submit with the language that has already been approved by [the legal office]. Not sure if he will or not. I don’t think it’s about the money anymore.”
Later, the agent withdrew the reimbursement request, arguing that the Biden family should pay out-of-pocket instead of the U.S. taxpayer.
“After some deep thought and reflection, I don’t believe the USSS should be responsible for the damage to my coat as the cause was not under their control. To be compensated in this manner would essentially have the cost borne by the taxpayer and this would be unjust,” the agent wrote.
“The responsibility should lie with the party responsible for the wrongdoing (i.e. tort), and that, of course, would be the dog owner/s,” he added.
The report did not specify if the Biden family reimbursed the agent as neither Jen Psaki nor the Secret Service responded to inquiries from the New York Post.
“These documents show Major was a dangerous dog and the Biden White House lied about it, placing Secret Service and other White House personnel at needless risk,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
“And it seems the Secret Service management seemed more concerned about managing press relations than taking care of its agents. In fact, the agency is still withholding information about this mess!”
The dog Major’s whereabouts remain unknown. Last year, the Biden family acquired a German shepherd puppy after the death of dog Champ.
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