The Secret Service needs to get its story straight.
Asked Monday about the new waist-high barriers outside the White House, a uniformed Secret Service officer outside 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. told The Daily Caller that the temporary fencing was placed there for an unspecified construction project.
“The extra fence was there as a safety precaution because of construction,” the officer told TheDC near the White House’s northern fence.
It’s not because of previous security concerns, like the White House intruder?
“No, it is a safety precaution,” the officer replied.
Strange. That’s not what her agency’s spokesman said.
A temporary barrier blocks pedestrians from standing near the White House’s fence (Photo by Melissa Brown / TheDC)
“This temporary closure is in effect while the Secret Service conducts a comprehensive review of the fence jumping incident which occurred on Friday September 19th,” Agent Ed Donovan, an agency spokesman, said last week in a statement.
A Secret Service spokesman says the barrier was erected as a response to a White House intruder. (Photo by Melissa Brown / TheDC)
Donovan didn’t mention a specific time the fence would be coming down. (RELATED: Petition Urges Obama To Let Border-Jumper Stay In The White House)