Milwaukee County Sheriff Challenges Obama: 'Forego Your Secret Service Protection'

(CNSNews.com) - "I am done asking people in my community to outsource their personal safety to the government," Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke told Fox News's Sean Hannity Thursday night.

The sheriff accuses Democrats of "exploiting misery and tragedy" to pursue a political, anti-gun agenda.

"But here's my challenge to the president of the United States, you think this is so easy. Forego your Secret Service protection, for you, for the first lady, and your children, and see what it is like to have to fend yourself.

"And then we'll sit down and have a conversation so you know what we here at ground level have to deal with on a daily base in terms of self-defense."

Clarke said the way to reduce "gun violence" and crime is to identify the bad guys, arrest them, adjudicate them, "and once they've convicted, you lock them up for the longest period allowed by law."

Clarke noted that President Obama is doing the opposite -- letting convicted felons "out the back door."

"He recently visited a federal prison and pardoned 46 federal prisoners, long time federal convicts. And he plans on doing more," Clarke said.

"So while the police and the community and the people are trying to get these individuals out of their community, he is pouring them back in. This was a chance for the president, Sean, to bring the country together, and once again the divider in chief goes out and further separates us."

Clarke said the Constitution does not prevent terrible things, such as this week's horrific murders near Roanoke, from happening.

"Well, look, Sean, as you know, terrible things happen in this world from time to time. We have to be a little more humble about our ability to prevent every horrific situation from happening.

"There are certain things we can do to reduce and prevent these sorts of things. Not messing with this document (the Constitution), no. But we can do things like better mental health screening, better background checks.

"The FBI allowed a guy to purchase a handgun that went down, we understand it, and committed a horrific act recently (in Charleston). So if we're trying to make this absolute, that none of these things will ever happen again, we're working on the wrong thing, because unfortunately the world we live in, with the evil that exists, it's going to happen."

Via: CNS News

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EXCLUSIVE: 'Don't you know who I am?' How Hillary's 'arrogant' aide Huma Abedin - now in the crosshairs of Servergate - tried to force her way past Secret Service agents without ID and expected them to carry her luggage

Ronald Kessler,  a former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal investigative reporter, is the New York Times bestselling author of The Secrets of the FBI and The First Family Detail: Secret Service Agents Reveal the Hidden Lives of the Presidents, now in paperback.

When it comes to arrogance, Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton's longtime top aide, and her presidential candidate boss are two peas in a pod, according to Secret Service agents.

For that reason, it's not surprising that the FBI investigation of Hillary's use of classified emails reportedly got a jump start after uncovering highly classified emails sent by Abedin and another Clinton aide.

Yesterday, it was revealed that State Department BlackBerry devices issued to the  former Secretary of State's aides Cheryl Mills and Abedin, 39, have likely been destroyed or sold off, the department said in a court filing.

Scroll down for video 

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At your service: Hillary and Huma Abedin leave posh department store Bergdorf Goodman in New York city surrounded by Secret Service agents. 'There's not an agent in the service who wants to be in Hillary's detail,' a current agent, not in this photo, says. 'If agents get the nod to go to her detail, that's considered a form of punishment

Based on the research and interviews for my book The Secrets of the FBI, I can say that the FBI would not have opened such a high profile investigation unless it already believed Hillary had violated criminal laws governing handling and dissemination of classified material. 

Nor, as some media reports have claimed, is the investigation a 'security investigation' into handling of the emails. The FBI does nothing unless it is pursuing violations of criminal laws and targeting individuals. 

And the pertinent laws make no distinction between classified material that is marked as such or not. If material is classified and is handled improperly, that is a violation of criminal laws.

While Hillary Clinton claims she will be the champion of the little people if elected, the truth is that behind the scenes she is so nasty and abusive toward her own Secret Service detail and treats them with such contempt that being assigned to Hillary's detail is considered a form of punishment within the Security Service. 

According to Secret Service agents interviewed for my book The First Family Detail, Abedin can be just as rude and nasty as Hillary. A former agent recalls helping Abedin when she got lost driving Chelsea to the February 2008 Democrat presidential debate in Los Angeles.

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Closer than close: It's not surprising, says Kessler, that the FBI investigation of Hillary's use of classified emails reportedly got a jump start after uncovering highly classified emails sent by Abedin 

'She was belligerent and angry about being late for the event,' the former agent says. 'No appreciation for any of it, not a thank-you or anything. That was common for her people to be rude.'

At another event in Los Angeles, a female agent challenged Abedin because she was not wearing a pin that identifies cleared aides to Secret Service agents. The agent had no idea who she was.

'You don't have the proper identification to go beyond this point,' the agent told her.

'Huma basically tried to throw her weight around,' a former agent says. 'She tried to just force her way through and said belligerently, 'Do you know who I am?''

That got her nowhere. Eventually, Abedin - who is married to disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner - cooperated with the agent and suggested a contact who could verify her identity

Via: Daily Mail

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[VIDEO] Baltimore calls in federal agents to help homicide cops deal with spike in violence

Baltimore's police and civic leaders launched a two-month partnership Monday that will see ten federal agents embed with the city's homicide detectives in the latest bid to curb a surge in violent crime that has not been seen in decades.

Under the program, two special agents from each of the federal government's five crime-fighting agencies (the FBI, DEA, Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service and the ATF) will help investigate cases for the next 60 days. The city's acting police commissioner, Kevin Davis, told reporters that the agents met with officers Monday to discuss cases where officers have identified suspects, but need additional evidence to file charges.

The homicide rate in Baltimore began to skyrocket in May, when the city saw 42 homicides in a single month. There was a brief dip in June, with 29 killings, however the number shot up to 45 in July, breaking a record set in 1972. The uptick comes after rioting in the spring over the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who was critically injured while in police custody.

In total, the city has recorded 192 homicides so far this year, according to The Baltimore Sun. By contrast, 208 murders were committed in all of 2014. The three-month total of 116 homicides for May, June, and July is the highest since at least 1970.

Adding to the urgency of Baltimore's violence is the relatively low "clearance rate" of closed homicide cases. Last week, Davis said the city police department's "clearance rate" was at 36.6 percent, down from the department's mid-40s average.

For several years "American cities have not seen an uptick in homicides we're seeing in 2015," Davis said Monday. "Now we're back at the table, and our cities are looking at Baltimore. They want to know what Baltimore's going to do about it."

Davis had said Sunday that more people are arming themselves on the streets, and that the department has seized 20 percent more guns than it had by this time last year. Davis also said the influx of prescription pills — 32 pharmacies were looted during the April 27 riot and nearly 300,000 doses of prescription medication stolen — has contributed to Baltimore's spiking violence.

Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby attributed to the spiking violence to violent repeat offenders, whom she called "a small number of individuals responsible for the majority of the crimes." Mosby warned those inclined to reach for a weapon that "we are going to go after you with everything that we have. Collaboratively, we will get the job done and convict you."

ATF spokesman Special Agent David Cheplak told the Sun that his agents were assisting Baltimore police with controlled drug buys and surveillance. Officials from the DEA and FBI told the paper that their agents would provide a supporting role for officers.

"We've got to take a different look at things," DEA spokesman Todd Edwards said, "whether it's fresh eyes or just looking at it in a different way."

At Monday's press conference announcing the program, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. made a plea to the residents of his home city.

"The only people making good now are the morticians," Cummings said. "And I say our city is better than that. It's not just the murders and the shootings. I'm begging you, put your guns down."

Referencing the riots after Gray's death, Cummings said, "I hear over and over and over again, 'Black Lives Matter'. And they do matter. But black lives also have to matter to black people."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Via: Fox News

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[VIDEO] Ed Henry: Secret Service Not ‘Supposed To Be Protecting’ Hillary ‘From Reporters’

Fox News’ Ed Henry responded on “America’s Newsroom” Tuesday to Hillary Clinton’s campaign’s controlling press operation after he was shut down trying to ask Clinton a question.

Henry complained about the Secret Service’s attempt to protect Clinton, adding that the Clinton press team is not being fair with the traveling media.

“We have this news conference. There’s long buildup to it. I’m standing three feet from Secretary Clinton and, one of her aides had sort of pulled me to the front, suggesting I was likely to get a question,” Henry explained to Martha MacCallum. “So I was waiting my turn. I wasn’t going to start shouting in her face. I’m three feet from her. She goes through her list and they have a careful list of who they’re going to call on, and then she just turns and walks away.”

“I was moving closer trying to get to her. A Secret Service person sort of told me to move back, so I was pretty annoyed by that because I didn’t think the Secret Service was supposed to be protecting candidates from reporters. Fine to protect them for security reasons. This was not a security thing,” Henry continued.

The Fox News chief White House correspondent went on to explain that Clinton’s press team wouldn’t allow him to ask a question after he interrupted the former secretary of state a few weeks prior at an event in Iowa.

“I was trying to get her press secretary Nick Merrill’s attention. Bottom line is, I say, ‘What gives here?’ And he said ‘You already got a question in a few weeks ago when you shouted at her in Iowa,'” Henry said. “I didn’t get a question. I said ‘Secretary Clinton will you come back here or not?’ And she eventually did come back to take questions. That was not exactly a question. That was a request, to come back and actually talk to the media.”

“Then he said, ‘Well, we wanted to give other reporters a chance today who haven’t gotten questions,’ except they also called yesterday on Andrea Mitchell from NBC who had recently gotten called on,” Henry said. “That’s great, she’s a great reporter. And then, finally I noted to them that they not only called on NBC but they called on an MSNBC reporter.”

“So, two NBC questions and not a single Fox question. I’m sure there’s going to be people out there who will think I was just angry and I was whining. No,” Henry said. “We’re covering this campaign as fairly as anybody, and we’re going to be there every step of the way. And if the Clinton campaign doesn’t want to call on us, I’m just going to keep on pressing until they do.”

Via: The Daily Caller

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White House, Senate rooms briefly evacuated over bomb threats

In a bizarre string of security scares, rooms at the White House and on Capitol Hill were briefly evacuated Tuesday afternoon after a pair of bomb threats. 

A threat made shortly before 2 p.m. ET specifically concerned the White House Briefing Room, officials said, leading the Secret Service to clear reporters out of the room in the middle of the daily briefing. 

Security officers subsequently let reporters back in, after giving the all-clear at the scene. 

The incident came after several floors of a Senate office building were briefly evacuated earlier in the day over another bomb threat, though investigators did not find anything hazardous. A senior security source at the Capitol told Fox News they believe the same person who called in that threat also phoned in the threat to the White House. That possible connection is currently being investigated by the Secret Service and FBI. 

Although parts of the White House have been evacuated before, including after a fence-jumper made it inside the White House last year, this was the first time that an evacuation occurred during a televised press briefing. 

Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said they moved people out as a precaution. 

Still, while reporters were evacuated, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said, "At the time of the Briefing Room evacuation, the president remained in the Oval Office and was not evacuated by the Secret Service. The First Lady, Malia and Sasha were in the residence and were not evacuated.

Via: Fox News

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‘What Difference Does It Make?’… Hillary Travels to Texas for Elitist Fundraiser – Protest Breaks Out

Hillary Clinton traveled to Texas for a big donor fundraiser on Wednesday night.
A protest broke out…

Best Sign: “I did not have textual relations with that server”

What difference does it make?

Protesters lined the street in Texas to welcome embattled former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the Lone Star State.
The Daily Mail reported:

They came in Bentleys, BMWs, Maseratis and Porsches. A handful drove Mercedes-Benzes and Lexuses. At least two luxury Tesla eco-cars made the trip.

Valet attendants parked the cars of the deep-pocketed Democrats for $10 per hour and raced around the neighborhood two hours later as a line of millionaires formed.

The guest of honor, Hillary Clinton, arrived in a black Cadillac for her $2,700-per-plate presidential fundraiser.

As the former secretary of state’s Secret Service escort pulled into the driveway of a $11.4 million home near Dallas on Wednesday night, a group of Republican activists were waiting.

When a nondescript Texan, a 20-something man in a silver pickup truck, drove by and yelled ‘F*** Hillary!,’ a small cheer went up.

Via: Gateway Pundit

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After Secret Service Seized $115,000, North Carolina Man Continues Fight for ‘Justice’

On the morning of Sept. 25, 2014, Tom Bednar was sitting in the bedroom of the Raleigh, N.C., home he shared with his wife, Marla, and two sons when Marla entered the room crying.

She had just looked at the bank account for their three-decade old business, Marla Enterprises, to find it empty. Now, Capital Bank was requesting close to $18,000 to cover the outstanding checks the couple had written.

After transferring money to straighten out their finances with the bank, the Bednars learned just what had happened with the $115,018.01 they had in their bank account: The United States Secret Service seized the money.

“We got no warning,” Tom Bednar said in an interview with The Daily Signal. “Nothing.”

After months of litigation against the United States government, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen West moved to dismiss the case earlier this month, meaning the Bednars will get their money back.

However, the government refused to cover the Bednar’s $25,000 in legal fees, which the couple is entitled to under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act. Though the fight to get their $115,000 back is now over, the family is continuing to push to have their expenses covered.

Via: The Daily Signal

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Former Secret Service Agent Says Obama’s True ‘Religion is Government’

Dan Bongino is a 12-year Secret Service veteran who recently announced that after protecting President Barack Obama for four years he would be leaving his job to run for Congress in Maryland as a Republican. Bongino appeared on Steve Malzberg’s NewsMax show Friday to both discuss his campaign and promote his new book, Life Inside the Bubble.

Asked to explain the difference between Obama and President George W. Bush, who he spent most of his Secret Service career protecting, Bongino said Obama “does what’s best for his ideology.” Alluding to those who don’t believe the president is Christian, he said, “his religion is government, and when your religion is government you do anything to further that.”

Bongino accused Obama of making major leadership decisions based on “faith” rather than “evidence.” Using the troubled rollout of the Affordable Care Act as an example, he said “just like someone trying to tell you, if you’re a Christian, Jesus Christ didn’t exist… it’s his faith in government that despite the evidence, he sticks to it no matter what.”

“I believe he’s a Christian, because he says a Christian,” Malzberg responded. He wanted to know from Bongino whether Obama joined a church for “political expediency” or because he’s actually a “religious man.”

Bongino admitted that he did not get the chance to meet with Obama on a “personal” level and would not know what he does on his own time, but, he reiterated, “my impression of him is his religion really is government.”

Watch video below, via NewsMax:

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Via: Mediaite.com

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MILLER: No worries! Obama golfs 150th round as superstorm devastates Philippines, Iran deal enrages

"IT'S ALL ABOUT ME AND NO ONE ELSE" Barack Obama

President Obama’s approval ratings may be stuck in a sand trap, but that has not deterred him from sticking to his weekly round of golf. After teeing off on Saturday at the private course in Florida where the film “Caddy Shack” was filmed, Mr. Obama hit the milestone number of 150 golf rounds in less than five years in the White House. 

The Secret Service loaded Mr. Obama’s golf clubs bag emblazoned with the presidential seal into the motorcade Saturday morning to head to the private Grande Oaks Golf Club. Sporting a blue polo shirt with tan slacks and a cap, he spent five hours on the private course with former NBA star Alonzo Mourning, friend Cyrus Walker and former U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

Mr. Obama wasn’t much of a duffer before he ran for president. His regularity on the green started on April 26, 2009. He played 27 times that first year in office, seven of which were during his vacations on Martha’s Vineyard and Hawaii. 

During his second year as president, Mr. Obama played a little more — 30 rounds. He included a woman for only the second time when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius joined on Oct. 10, 2010.

Perhaps time on the links gave them time to discuss all the people they knew would lose their insurance when Obamacare was implemented.Ms. Sebelius also joined the president on the golf course on May 18 this year. 

Via: Washington Times

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[VIDEO] Obama Secret Service Agent: “It’s Worse Than People Know… and I’m Not Trying to Scare You Either”

You may have your suspicions about what’s going on behind closed doors at the White House.

But according to one of President Obama’s former body guards it’s much worse than we can even imagine.

Dan Bongino has protected numerous Presidents over his career, including President Obama. He has been within ear-shot of many a discussion in the Oval Office, but up until this administration has stayed out of the lime light. Apparently, however, the activities of this administration are so abhorrent that he could no longer keep quiet.

Bongino is so upset with what he witnessed that he is now running for Congress because he feels it’s the only way to take America back from the sycophants who have made every effort to enrich themselves with money and power at the expense of the American people.

How bad is it?

We’re in a lot of trouble.

The President sees government – and I think it’s because of his lack of experience and maybe community organizing in the past – as this shiny new toy.

For all the disagreements I had with Clinton, Carter and Bush there were always limits… there was that line you just didn’t cross… We cross it seemingly every day. We’re lost in the scandals…

The Jamie Dimon shakedown at Chase… the HHS scandal.. Kathleen Sebelius shaking down the health care industry for money… the IRS… it’s to the point where these scandals in and of themselves would be huge back-breaking scandals [but] are just lost in the scandal fog of this administration…

It’s worse than people know… and I’m not trying to scare you either.

This is coming from someone who has stood next to Presidents for his entire career.

The implications are absolutely terrifying, especially considering how bad the publicly known scandals already are. Can you imagine what’s happening outside the view of Americans?

This is not about Republican or Democrat, it’s about liberty, pure and simple, and this administration has done more to damage our individual rights than any that has come before it.

Bongino expresses this succinctly when discussing the NSA scandal and the administration’s use of the information acquired by government snoops all over the country.

Via: InfoWars

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U.S. Immigration Officers Give Frightening Warning

Chris Crane, president of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Council, which represents immigration enforcement officers, recently called on Congress to resist immigration reforms that harm his officers’ ability to do their jobs:

ICE officers are being ordered by [Administration] political appointees to ignore the law. Violent criminal aliens are released every day from jails back into American communities. ICE Officers face disciplinary action for engaging in routine law enforcement actions. We are barred from enforcing large sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act, even when public safety is at risk. Officer morale is devastated.

If this were the U.S. Capitol Police, the Secret Service, or the military, Congress would be outraged, the President would react firmly and swiftly, and pundits and groups from across the country would be demanding this problem be fixed. Sadly, though, nothing is being done to fix this broken and dangerous state of affairs.

In fact, the situation is even scarier. As the ICE letter points out, President Obama continues to order ICE officers to ignore ever-growing sections of immigration law and undertake actions that create a risk to public safety. The Senate has passed a gargantuan immigration bill that includes mass amnesty, tons of handouts to special interests, and enough waivers and exemptions to make Obamacare officials jealous.

Notably, the Senate bill does little to actually support the hard-working men and women of ICE and other immigration enforcement agencies. Even worse, amnesty would make the work of ICE even more difficult by encouraging more illegal immigration and adding new classes of provisional immigrants who have special rules that apply to them.

Via: The Foundry

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White House resumes tours

View of the Oval Office from the White House Rose Garden

LESLEY CLARK

The White House announced today it will resume a "limited schedule" of East Wing and executive residence tours, beginning on November 5th. The tours had been largelycancelled in March -- as one of the most high-profile consequences of across the board budget cuts that took effect earlier this year.

In a statement, the White House said it also will be opening its gardens and grounds to visitors on October 26th and 27th.

A spokesman for the Secret Service told the Huffington Post that it was "confident" that through the new budget law Obama signed Wednesday night that it can "operate at reduced funding levels while still meeting our operational requirements."

The tours -- hugely popular with school groups -- were suspended when the so-called sequester kicked in. The across-the-board cuts were the result of a bipartisan deal struck in 2011 to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and Congress agreed that if a 12-member committee failed to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next decade, the cuts would come from government spending.

"Due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration, we regret to inform you that White House Tours will be canceled effective Saturday, March 9, 2013 until further notice," read an email from the White House Visitors Office. "Unfortunately, we will not be able to reschedule affected tours. We very much regret having to take this action, particularly during the popular spring touring season."

Via: McClatchey

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Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/10/18/205830/white-house-resumes-tours.html#storylink=cpy

Christmas spirit dies at White House as ornament-hawking gift shop goes broke

In another sign of the tough times in Washington these days, the White House Gift Shop, long run by a nonprofit group that helps uniformed Secret Service officers and their families, has gone broke.

The Secret Service Uniformed Division Benefit Fund, which traces its roots to the 1940s and for years did business as the official White House Gift Shop, lists more than $600,000 in liabilities in a pending bankruptcy petition in Washington.

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PHOTOS: President Obama's favorite footstool: The famous Resolute desk

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The fund — which operated independently of the White House and Secret Service, and was not a part of the government — disclosed tens of thousands of dollars in assets consisting mostly of Christmas decorations, as well as such trinkets as magnets, puzzles and paperweights, many valued at just a few dollars each.

The price of more than 140 Democratic and Republican mouse pads is listed as “???” in court records, while 10 unsold copies of the book “Adams’ Alligator” go for $8.48.

The bankruptcy petition, filed in June in a case that remains active, doesn’t explain why the fund went bankrupt in the first place, but court records reveal a recent history of tax troubles and litigation.

Enlarge Photo

President Barack Obama shows military officials the White House Christmas Tree in ...more >

A trustee appointed in the case, Wendell Webster, said in a phone interview Thursday that he is trying to market and sell what assets remain, including a Cal Ripken Jr. commemorative plaque that the fund priced at $500 in bankruptcy papers.

The fund, billing itself as the official White House Gift Shop, operated a retail outlet in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building before moving into National Press Club, which the fund has since vacated.

Via: Washington Times

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Secret Service Must Produce Some White House Records

U.S. Secret Service records of visitors to the White House, except those pertaining to people visiting the president’s office, must be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, a federal appeals court ruled.

Congress didn’t want to impinge on executive branch authority by requiring disclosure of people who meet with the president in his office, Circuit Judge Merrick Garland wrote for a three-judge panel in Washington.

“In order to avoid substantial separation of powers questions, we conclude that Congress did not intend to authorize FOIA requesters to obtain indirectly from the Secret Service information that it had expressly barred requesters from obtaining directly from the president,” Garland wrote.

Records of visitors to most of the White House complex are agency records subject to FOIA, the court ruled. The court could have used disclosure exemptions in FOIA to protect the confidentiality of the most sensitive presidential meetings, instead of putting them completely out of reach of the open records law, said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, the Washington-based legal activist group that filed the suit leading to today’s ruling.

‘Held Accountable’

“A president who doesn’t want this information available is a president that doesn’t want to be held accountable,” Fitton said in a phone interview. “We’re considering an appeal.”

Brian Leary, a spokesman for the Secret Service, didn’t immediately respond to phone and e-mail requests for comment on the ruling.

Via: Bloomberg

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Secret Service gun inadvertently left in Romney plane lavatory

(CBS News) A gun belonging to a member of Mitt Romney's U.S. Secret Service detail was found unattended in the bathroom of the candidate's charter plane Wednesday afternoon. The Republican nominee was traveling from Tampa, Fla., site of his party's convention, to Indianapolis, Ind., for a speech.

The weapon, presumably left behind in the bathroom by accident, was discovered by a CBS News/National Journal reporter, who alerted a flight attendant about the gun. A member of the Secret Service on board the plane was informed and retrieved the gun.

Romney has traveled with Secret Service protection since early February and has an armed detail assigned to him at all times. His wife, Ann, was just assigned her own detail - albeit a smaller one - last Friday.

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan told CBS News/National Journal in a statement: "We are aware of the incident. We take the care and custody of our equipment, especially firearms, very seriously. We will deal with this matter internally and in an appropriate manner."

Via: CBS News

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