Feds: Secret Service Agents Probably Drunk at Crash

Marc Connolly announced he's retiring ahead of report
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 14, 2015 6:35 AM CDT
Feds: Secret Service Agents Probably Drunk at Crash
In this Sept. 20, 2014, file photo, uniformed Secret Service officers walk along the fence on the north side of the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Two Secret Service agents in an SUV that hit a police barrier during a White House bomb investigation in March were "more likely than not" impaired by alcohol, a government report finds. In the report released yesterday, Homeland Security Inspector General John Roth notes Marc Connolly and George Ogilvie had amassed a "significant" bar tab of eight glasses of scotch, two vodka drinks, three beers, and a glass of wine during and after a co-worker's retirement party at a downtown watering hole, the AP reports. The Washington Post notes there was also free booze at the event; both men deny they were intoxicated. Ogilvie, who's now on administrative leave, says at least five glasses of scotch went to others in the bar, though he couldn't name the individuals. Connolly announced his retirement before the report was made public.

The report says Ogilvie was driving his government-owned vehicle with Connolly in the passenger seat when he came within inches of a suspicious package agents were investigating. Though Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy previously said Ogilvie "nudged" a barrier, the report says he moved a large barrel some 5 feet: "This was no mere 'bump,' but rather extended contact to shove the barrel out of the way." Agents at the scene thought something was off, and at least one officer suspected the pair were drunk. However, the watch commander on duty, who reported to Connolly, didn't order field sobriety tests. Agents told investigators the commander said it would be "a career killer." Both men were allowed to drive home. Clancy says he's "disappointed and disturbed" by the report, noting the behavior described "is unacceptable and will not be tolerated." The House Oversight Committee holds a hearing on the incident today. (More Secret Service stories.)

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