Operation Moonlight: U.S. Secret Service used as goon squad against civilian - National Law Enforcement | Examiner.com
Members
of the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division who provide security
services throughout the White House grounds were assigned in 2011 take
action in a dispute between the assistant of the agency's director and her neighbor...
A
news story published Saturday
on the Internet claims that members of the U.S. Secret Service
Uniformed Division who provide security services throughout the White
House grounds were assigned in 2011 take action in a dispute between
the assistant of the agency's director and her neighbor.
The Uniformed Division officers, some of whom are involved in SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) units, were informed that Director of Secret Service Mark Sullivan wanted his assistant protected from her neighbor who she claimed was harassing her.
According to news sources,
the officers were taken off their regular assignment as part of the
White House surveillance team that patrols the streets outside of the
White House compound and were ordered to provide protection for a
government employee whose pay-grade and position do not merit Secret
Service protection.
Mark Sullivan
resigned from the Secret Service last year following a growing scandal
surrounding President Barack Obama's protection team and their
involvement with prostitutes in Colombia in 2012.
The
protection for Sullivan's minion even had a code name -- "Operation
Moonlight" -- and the protection had two agents visit Sullivan's
assistant's home twice a day, according to news reports.
"The
entire operation sounds to me like bullying by a powerful government
organization. How many of us can use the Secret Service as our own
personal goon squad to scare a neighbor. If the neighbor was indeed
suspected of harassing her as described in the penal code then she
should have called the local police," said Paul Huffman, a former
patrol supervisor for a county sheriff.
News reports revealed that two of the officers who were part of Operation Moonlight believed at the time that they were involved in a questionable operation at best, an illegal assignment at worst and they kept their own unofficial records of the operation in order to protect themselves from liability.
Some
of the members of the "special protection detail" actually went as far
as informing the Homeland Security Department's inspector general
about protecting Sullivan's underling, since the Secret Service is part
of DHS as well as the Treasury Department.
"This
is another example of the federal government abusing its law
enforcement authority. The U.S. Secret Service has a jurisdictional
function which doesn't include being involved in personal
disagreements," said former NYPD Officer Iris Aquino.
As of yet, the DHS inspector general has not disclosed the status of any investigation regarding Operation Moonlight.
Your assertion that "the Secret Service is part of DHS as well as the Treasury Department" is incorrect. In March 2003, the agency was moved out of the Treasury Department and into DHS. It is not under 2 Cabinet departments.
ReplyDeleteWhichever Department is a MOOT POINT! The fact remains IT IS BEING ABUSED! This is yet another example of a POORLY RUN Administration!
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