With Resignation, Joseph Clancy To Be Interim Director

On Wednesday afternoon, the recent whirlwind of controversy surrounding the Secret Service ended with Director Julia Pierson’s resignation, just one day after her testimony before a House committee. While predictable, the move came suddenly, and while President Obama continues to profess appreciation for Pierson’s service, today’s White House announcement tells you all you need to know about that.

Press Secretary Josh Earnest’s daily briefing was originally scheduled for 12:15, but about half an hour prior to that, it was rescheduled for 3 pm. In the interim, news of Secretary Pierson’s resignation broke, and the delay for the briefing crept up to nearly an hour. With such a high-profile resignation, and such a long delay from the podium, you might have expected to see President Obama take the stage to announce Pierson’s departure. You would be wrong.

http://youtu.be/gZ5rbNcBuv4

Earnest praised Pierson’s “professionalism and character,” and tried to make it all as nice as possible. The story here is supposed to be that Pierson jumped before she could be pushed, but that’s a function of the Secret Service’s unique relationship with the President of the United States, whose very safety depends on an image of unwavering confidence in the agency. Many will chalk up the timing of the resignation to the atomic grilling she took on the Hill yesterday, but that die was likely cast when President Obama learned how far the intruder had gotten into the White House, whenever it was that he learned it. That he chose not to deliver a statement today speaks  volumes about that.

In his statement on Pierson’s resignation, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson also announced the formation of an independent panel, and his appointment of Joseph Clancy as interim director. Here’s the full text of Johnson’s statement (via email)…READ MORE 

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