WASHINGTON (AP) – The Secret Service director appeared contrite and apologized again for breaking the public’s trust. He told lawmakers on Tuesday that his agents are being disciplined for their efforts to discredit a congressman.
Director Joseph P. Clancy told the House and Senate Homeland Security committees that the misconduct identified by the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general was “inexcusable and unacceptable.”
Inspector General John Roth found that 40 agents, including multiple supervisors, looked into the background or Rep. Jason Chaffetz (CHAY’-fits), who runs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
An agent in Washington first looked up Chaffetz’s unsuccessful job application from 2003 just minutes after the Utah Republican convened a hearing in March investigating an alleged drunken driving incident near the White House involving two senior agents.