The Secret Service is investigating two senior agents after a car crash at the White House complex last week, The Washington Post first reported.
The agents, including the No. 2 member of President Barack Obama’s protective detail, drove a government car into a temporary security barrier near the White House March 4 after drinking at a retirement party for Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan at a downtown D.C. bar, according to the Post.
The agents activated flashing lights on their government car and showed their badges to get through an area that had been closed off due to a suspicious package, according to the Post. They drove through security tape before hitting barricades set up for the investigation.
Uniformed Secret Service officers at the barricade wanted to detain and perform field sobriety tests on the two men but were told by a supervisor to let them go home, sources told News4.
A spokesman for the Secret Service released a statement saying in part, "If misconduct is identified, appropriate actions will be taken based on established rules and regulations."
Recently appointed Director Joseph Clancy has been briefed about the incident, Secret Service spokesman Robert Hoback said. The investigation has been turned over to the Homeland Security Department's Inspector General's office.
Hoback did not provide additional details.
A senior White House official told NBC News, "The president is aware of the allegations and supports Director Clancy's decision to turn the investigation over to the DHS Inspector General for a thorough review."
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The agency says the two agents have been reassigned to nonsupervisory, nonoperational jobs.
