MY 5 BOOKS + DVDs/BLU RAY

MY 5 BOOKS + DVDs/BLU RAY
MY 5 BOOKS + DVDs/BLU RAY

Thursday, December 13, 2012

JFK SECRET SERVICE STAND DOWN 11/22/63

Major Orion radio show with Vince Palamara: DEBUNKING THE KENNEDY DETAIL (aired 12/7/12; on You Tube)






"DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE" with Popeye Jefferson- the JFK Assassination: Secret Service Standdown






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHZhUdE8wHo&list=UUDUBDASXQ-rVXsjqblQwG7A&index=1





http://www.federaljack.com/





Vince Palamara

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Gee, if General David Petraeus could lie, do ya think Blaine could, too? People are so naive...

Gee, if General David Petraeus could lie, do ya think Blaine could, too? People are so naive...


Whenever I see all these trusting, naive (mostly-planted-by-friends-and-associates) 5-star reviews of Blaine's book "The Kennedy Detail", the degree of naivete reminds one of the mindset of America during the 1950's. You would think the word of Blaine was the received Word of God or something; makes one want to throw up. Not only because I know what he REALLY said to me, as well as what all his many colleagues said and wrote that goes against what Blaine espouses in his book, but because, as an educated man, I know cover-ups and propaganda are more common than we care to admit.

Now that CIA Director--- and modern-day Eisenhower--- General David Petraeus has been caught in a lying, morally degrading scandal and cover up, can we now cease and desist from believing Blaine at face value? Geez.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Secret Service agent kills self amid affair probe

Secret Service agent kills self amid affair probe


By ALICIA A. CALDWELL
Associated Press – 2 hrs 45 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — For nearly six years, a senior Secret Service agent kept his extramarital affair with a Mexican woman a secret from the agency responsible for protecting the president.

But in the wake of an embarrassing prostitution scandal involving 13 agents and officers, Rafael Prieto's secret was revealed by a fellow employee amid concerns that the Secret Service wasn't enforcing its rules consistently.

With an internal investigation ongoing, Prieto apparently committed suicide last week. That's according to people familiar with the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss Prieto's death or the investigation, which they say has focused on whether Prieto violated agency rules that require disclosing relationships with foreigners.

They say Prieto, a married father, admitted the years-long relationship when confronted by investigators.

Source: Secret Service agent dead of apparent suicide

By Carol Cratty, CNN

updated 11:04 PM EDT, Thu November 1, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Rafael Prieto was a 20-year veteran of the Secret Service

• He was assigned to President Obama's protective detail

• Authorities were looking into a suspected long-term relationship with a foreign national

• A law enforcement source says his death last Saturday was an apparent suicide

Washington (CNN) -- A Secret Service agent suspected of having a romantic relationship with a Mexican woman is dead of an apparent suicide, a law enforcement official told CNN Thursday.

The source said Rafael Prieto, 48, was assigned to President Obama's protective detail.

The Secret Service confirmed Thursday that Prieto's death last Saturday is currently being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, along with the medical examiner's office. No official determination of death has been made.

Prieto's access to Secret Service facilities had been suspended while authorities were looking into his apparently unreported and long-term relationship with a foreign national, the law enforcement official said.

"There is nothing to indicate that any classified or sensitive information was compromised as a result of this relationship," according to the source.

The official said Prieto was involved in an "administrative process" about his connection with the woman but that he was not under investigation by the Secret Service's Office of Professional Responsibility.

Prieto could have been in violation of Secret Service protocols if he had not informed superiors about a personal relationship with a foreign national. Such relationships came under a spotlight after agents sent to Cartagena, Colombia, in advance of President Obama's trip earlier this year spent time partying with prostitutes.

"Rafael Prieto had a distinguished 20-year career with the Secret Service that was marked by accomplishment, dedication, and friendships," said Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan. "The Secret Service is mourning the loss of a valued colleague."



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Secret Service: Newport's cost concerns are misdirected

Secret Service: Newport's cost concerns are misdirected


Spokesman says the city's police budget issues should have been raised with the service, not the candidate's campaign. Newport is still trying to collect from Obama after his CdM visit.

July 28, 2012
By Mike Reicher



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A Secret Service official said Newport Beach city administrators are asking the wrong people to pay for police protection at presidential campaign events.



It's the service that is responsible for the candidates' security, not the campaigns, spokesman Max Milien said, and any cost concerns should have been directed its way.



Newport Beach City Manager Dave Kiff billed the campaigns for President Obama and presumptive GOP candidate Mitt Romney for police security at their separate fundraisers in Newport.

Now that the Romney campaign paid its bill, the city is left in the awkward position of collecting from Obama.



"We cannot reimburse any agencies," Milien said. "We make that clear from day one."



Milien explained that an advance team works with local law enforcement to plan road closures and other measures before a candidate's visit. If the local agency cannot afford to pay for extra security or overtime, the local officials should inform the Secret Service ahead of time, he said.



In that case, Milien said the Secret Service would seek help from other law enforcement groups — county or state police, for example, who would not charge for the service.



"There is adequate time if an agency cannot assist us and is strapped for manpower," he said, adding that the Secret Service does not have the budget for that type of expense.



But Kiff says the Police Department raised the issue with the Secret Service before the President's visit.



"At that time, our staff was told that the Secret Service would not reimburse the City," Kiff wrote in an email, "and that we should check with the President's campaign or the DNC."



The Romney campaign paid its bill Monday, about a month after the city sent its invoice. The Obama bill, however, was sent in May and has not been paid.



City spokeswoman Tara Finnigan said that the city's billing system will be sending past-due notices.



About three weeks ago, the Democratic National Committee contacted the city and told officials to deal with the Secret Service.



The DNC and the Republican National Committee split their Newport Beach event proceeds with the respective campaigns.



"Any local law enforcement organization contacted by the Secret Service to assist in security should discuss matters related to costs and how to effectively manage those costs with the Secret Service," DNC spokeswoman Melanie Roussell wrote in an email to the Daily Pilot on Wednesday.



Meanwhile, Kiff would just like the issue to go away.


"I am very tired of this story, but it will have legs again," Kiff wrote in an email to the City Council after the Orange County Register inquired about the Romney campaign's payment.




The city was "honored" to have the President in town, Kiff said, but he viewed the campaign fundraisers as private events.



"Had this been a "business trip"—if the President came to Newport Beach to talk about one of his policies with our residents—the city would not have sent an invoice," he wrote in an email to the Pilot.




Friday, September 28, 2012

Joe Clancy- Comcast

Joseph Clancy
Director--Corporate Security
Comcast
Joseph Clancy joined Comcast as Director, Corporate Security in July 2011. In this position, Joe is responsible for overseeing corporate level investigations at Comcast, assisting with policy development, and the protection of Company employees, property, and financial assets. Joe is based in Philadelphia and reports to Mark Farrell the Chief Security Officer for Comcast.

Joe joined Comcast after retiring from a distinguished career in the United States Secret Service where he was most recently assigned as the Special Agent in Charge of the Presidential Protective Division. He brings a significant amount of experience to Comcast as he has also served as Director of National Special Security Events with Homeland Security, and led a squad of agents in the Secret Services’ New York field office where they conducted major investigations. Joe started his government career here in Philadelphia after attending West Point and graduating from Villanova University.

Joe is pleased to be back home in Philadelphia and to be part of the strong partnerships that have been formed between the local, state and federal law enforcement community and the Private sector security.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM SECRET SERVICE AGENT ABRAHAM BOLDEN

Fellow Citizens:




What in the world is going on with the protection of The President of These United States of America? During President Obama’s administration, we have witnessed colossal security breakdowns by those who are responsible for our president’s safety. And very little is apparently being done about it except praise and expressions of confidence in the leaders within the secret service by officials within the government.



Well…you can form your own opinions and take what I say with a grain of salt if you want to; but I tell you as an ex-secret service agent that the protection surrounding our president MUST be re-evaluated as to responsibility and authority. Congress MUST look into the activities of those charged with the safety of our president and determine whether the secret service agents of Homeland Security are either unwilling or unable to protect our president. I made a similar statement to Chief of the United States Secret Service U.E. Baughman in 1961. I discussed the fact that the then President John F. Kennedy was not receiving the kind of protection that would ward off a successful attempt on his life. For my constant complaining about the lack of adequate protection being given to President Kennedy and my failure to “shut your mouth and tend to your own dam business” I have suffered degradation for the past 49 years of my life.



Even now, I have been told that by continuing to voice my opinion on the subject of the current president’s protection, I may as well forget about receiving any kind of executive action clearing my name of the false conviction perpetrated against me by high officials within the secret service back in 1964.



The fact of the matter is that I don’t give a rat’s a*s about being “forgiven” for a crime that I did not commit. The question is: how in the Sam Hill Hell can our president be so opened to public manipulation as to permit our President of These United States of America to be lifted two feet off of the floor by anyone, anywhere, anytime??? Where were the agents when our president was so unceremoniously embraced???



This is no matter of levity and I ask all who read this message to request their senators and congressman to look into this matter before we hear the muffled drums and the clops of horse’s hooves echoing past a purple bannered White House.



http://www.news.com.au/world/obama-gets-airborne-bear-hug/story-fndir2ev-1226470727712?from=public_rss



http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/world/americas/colombian-escort-speaks-about-secret-service-scandal.html?pagewanted=all



http://rockthetruth2.blogspot.com/2012/06/sunday-globe-special-secret-service.html



http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/down-under/secret-service-top-secret-obama-australia



The big squeeze: Barack Obama gets airborne bear hug

www.news.com.au

PRESIDENT Barack Obama reputedly loves nothing more than a good old campaign trail hug -- but he may have got more than he bargained for on Sunday.



Abraham W. Bolden, Sr.

Email: a.bolden@sbcglobal.net


Visit website at: www.echofromdealeyplaza.net

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Bear hug of Obama OK in this case, Secret Service says

Bear hug of Obama OK in this case, Secret Service says

September 10, 2012, 3:17 PM
Reuters
U.S. President Barack Obama is hugged and picked up by Scott Van Duzer
(Corrects spelling of name throughout.)
It was fine for Scott Van Duzer, the owner of a pizza shop in Ft. Pierce, Fla., to give President Barack Obama a bear hug on Sunday, a spokesman for the Secret Service said Monday.
Agents, who are trained to make assessments on the behavior of the people who interact with the president, thought Van Duzer’s actions were appropriate and consistent with the event, said the spokesman, who did not want to be identified by name.
During a stop at the pizza shop while on a two-day bus tour of the crucial swing-state, Obama was lifted off the floor by Van Duzer as onlookers gasped. Obama and Van Duzer had been bantering about the size of the restaurateur’s biceps.
He is 6’3” tall and weighs 260 pounds and told reporters he can bench press 350 pounds.
Van Duzer said he was “just overcome with excitement” which led him to lift the president off the ground. Van Duzer told reporters on Sunday the agents said it was fine for him to do so as long he didn’t carry Obama away.
– Greg Robb

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Blaine uses a "misfit" as a source; Kennedy Detail agents lied or were "misquoted"? Boring's words are ironic

Blaine uses a "misfit" as a source; Kennedy Detail agents lied or were "misquoted"? Boring's words are ironic

[thanks to Donna Morel for sending the following article]


Retired agents fire at Hersh, each other




[City Edition]



Boston Globe - Boston, Mass.



Author:

Chris Black, Globe Staff



Date:

Nov 22, 1997



Start Page:

A.3



Section:

NATIONAL/FOREIGN



Text Word Count:

663





Document Text



WASHINGTON NOTEBOOK / CHRIS BLACK



One of the retired Secret Service agents used as a primary source in Seymour N. Hersh's new book, "The Dark Side of Camelot" said yesterday that the Pulitzer Prize-winning author misquoted him and exaggerated the things he told Hersh.



Joseph Paolella, a private investigator in Los Angeles, one of four retired Secret Service agents Hersh cites as sources for some of the most titillating allegations about President John F. Kennedy's sexual behavior, said, "There were so many misquotes. He used literary license in what he has done. When the book was sent to me I almost fainted. I was so embarrassed." [if these were misquotes, WHY DID THE AGENTS REPEAT WHAT THEY SAID ON A MAJOR ABC DOCUMENTARY THAT MADE IT TO HOME VIDEO? WHY DIDN'T THEY SUE HERSH? Why, indeed...]



Another agent, though not a Hersh source, also rebutted the book. Floyd Boring, the number two agent at the White House during the Kennedy administration, said the book's allegations are false. He said that Larry Newman and Paolella, the main sources, had reasons to be vengeful because both were transferred off the prestigious White House assignment after relatively short stints. Boring said Newman badmouthed the president and his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and Paolella was "a misfit . . . we had to unload him after a very short term."



"These guys are trying to get a little bit of fame as they wander off the scene. They take lot of people down with them," said Boring, now 82, who protected five presidents, from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Lyndon B. Johnson. "These people wait until everybody dies off and then they attack people."


Newman, reached at his home in Colorado, stood by his allegations. He said Boring "was never where these things took place. So what he says and what I say are two different things."



He declined to explain the reasons for his transfer.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Merletti/ Merletti

For Indianapolis Colts safety Matt Merletti, protecting U.S. presidents was just part of 'family business'
11:09 AM, Aug. 24, 2012

Matt Merletti can’t land a job with the Indianapolis Colts, the undrafted rookie safety might try a more dangerous line of defense: the U.S. Secret Service.
It’s not just a backup plan. It’s the family business.

His father, Lew, spent 25 years in the Secret Service, the last two as its 19th director. He helped protect presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and was Special Agent in Charge on Clinton’s detail in the mid 1990s.

Matt’s brother, Mike, has been accepted into the Secret Service and is waiting out a hiring freeze. Cousin Chris Funk, who grew up in the Merletti household, has been with the Secret Service for 16 years. Lew Merletti’s cousin, Rob, just left President Obama’s detail.

“It would be an interesting career if I would want to pursue that,” Matt Merletti, 24. “It’s definitely on the table for me.”

The NFL is pressure-packed, but not like this.

“There would be a lot more stress guarding the president, having to put your life on the line and step in front of a bullet,” he said.

As a kid, Merletti dressed up as a football player or an Army soldier. For now, the former Cleveland Browns ballboy is chasing his football dream. His dad, who left the Secret Service directorship in 1999 for the Browns, is the team’s senior vice president of security.

“Ask him about Osama bin Laden,” Matt said of his father.

Lew doesn’t need much prompting to talk about the terrorist mastermind behind 9/11. As someone who had studied bin Laden and other terrorists, he warned about the threat years before 9/11. When the first World Trade Center tower was struck by a plane, Lew knew who was behind it.
“When it happened, as soon as the first one went in, I said, ‘Oh my God, it’s bin Laden,’” said Lew, 64. “I had worked so hard when I was in the Secret Service to try to warn Congress, everyone, that this guy is for real. We had to stop this guy.”

Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, the Browns’ secondary coach in 2001, recalled watching the attacks on TV at the team facility with Lew.

“Right off the bat, Lew said, ‘I’ll bet Osama bin Laden is behind this,’” Pagano said. “He knew.”

Matt and his brother were aware, growing up, how scary the world could be. He was just 7 when the boys were taken to Secret Service headquarters and taught how to shoot guns.

That was in response to a terrorist who said on an intercepted radio communication that he wanted to learn everything possible about Lew, his family, his residence.

“I remember it, but I didn’t really know what I was doing,” Matt said. “We had to learn how to shoot guns. They hid guns in our house.”

That was another part of growing up in the Merletti home — knowing where the guns were hidden for protection.

Anybody who meets Matt or Mike makes the connection to Lew. They look alike. When told of Pagano’s assessment that Matt is a “chip off the old block,” both father and son laugh.

It was Lew’s commitment to his family, the recognition of the risk involved, that eventually led to his Secret Service departure. That and the loss of a close friend and colleague killed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

When Browns owner Al Lerner promised to make Lew “an offer you can’t refuse,” the father talked it over with his sons. The boys loved football. They wanted him to take the job with the Browns.

Pagano has known Matt since those ballboy days in Cleveland and coached him for a year in college at North Carolina. Merletti had an injury-marred college career but showed enough in his Pro Day workout to attract interest from the NFL.

“He’s a bright, young man, loves football, he’s got all the traits you’re looking for in a person,” Pagano said.

The Colts coach can relate to family bloodlines. Pagano’s father, Sam, was a successful high school football coach. His brother, John, is San Diego’s defensive coordinator.

“When Matt had the opportunity to go to the Colts, it was like, ‘Oh my God, this is where you belong. This is your niche, Matt. This is the perfect leader for you,’” Lew said, referring to Pagano.

Undrafted players are typically longshots to make the final roster. The first round of cuts are Monday, with the final trim to 53 on Aug. 31.

“We’re hoping for the best,” Lew said. “The one thing we’re going to do is what we’ve done our whole life: We’re going to try our very hardest.”

Matt credits his father for instilling a dedicated work ethic. Lew attributes some of that to a tip he received in the Soviet Union while protecting President Reagan on a 1988 visit to Moscow. An Olympic trainer advised a pull-up training regimen beginning on a child’s sixth birthday to strengthen not just the mind but body.

“The last count I had on Matt’s pull-ups was in excess of 43,000, as of his sophomore year in college,” the elder Merletti said.

While Secret Service legacies are typically successful because the next generation knows what to expect, Matt and Lew aren’t thinking too far ahead. It’s all about football, at least for now.

Lew eagerly awaited his son’s NFL preseason debut on Aug. 12 at Lucas Oil Stadium when his phone buzzed at 1:14 p.m., about 15 minutes before kickoff.

Just before leaving the locker room, Matt sent the text message: “Thanks for everything you’ve done for me. I wouldn’t be here without you. I love you.”
The father beamed.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Lew said, “I sat in the stands with tears in my eyes.”

Monday, June 25, 2012

LEM JOHNS

A life of Secret Service

By RICK WATSON
Inverness resident and former Secret Service agent Lem Johns holds a photo of himself standing behind President Lyndon Johnson and Jacqueline Kennedy as Johnson took the oath of office following President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Photo by Rick Watson.
On November 22, 1963, four shots rang out at Daley Plaza in Dallas, the shots that were heard around the world.
Former Secret Service agent Lem Johns of Inverness remembers all too well where he was on that fateful day – less than 150 feet behind John F. Kennedy’s Lincoln Limosine.
“I was in the right rear seat of the car following the vice president’s limo, and I heard a shot that came from the right,” he said. Johns was riding in the third car in the motorcade with his door cracked, and the instant he heard the shot, he bolted from the vehicle and raced toward Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson’s limo.
Johns’ primary responsibility was protecting Johnson, and he needed to be in the car with him.
Film taken at the time of the assassination showed that Johns and his boss Rufus Youngblood both reacted instantly to protect the vice president when the first shot was fired.
But even with the lightning reflexes of the Secret Service, it was too late for Kennedy, the target of the bullet.
In a historic photograph taken later that evening, Lem Johns stands just behind Jacqueline Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson on Air Force One as he took the oath of office to become the thirty-sixth president of the United States.
After the assassination, Johns continued his role as Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAIC) but his duty station moved to the White House. He already had experience in the White House protecting President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the late 1950s.
“Being in the White House with Eisenhower gave me a chance to learn how things were done there,” said Johns.
The Secret Service had been understaffed for years, but after the Kennedy assassination, the organization ramped up its protection of high-level government officials as well as candidates for the presidency.
As the role of the Secret Service expanded, Johns became ASAIC for not only the presidential detail but for all the Secret Service. His role as ASAIC put him in a position to implement a number of initiatives that helped the Service to be more effective.
For example, he made presidential drivers and mechanics part of the Service. The drivers helped with advance team preparation whenever the president traveled. Johns also upgraded the weapons used by agents and acquired a bulletproof limousine, even though the president was hesitant to approve the expenditure.
During Johns’ time at the White House, President Johnson ushered a law through Congress that gave the Secret Service more power to coordinate with the military and other security organizations. Once enacted, the law was useful when the Service needed additional resources.
Another example of Johns’ creative problem solving came during the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami. The Secret Service needed 500 rooms to house the agents necessary to provide security for the convention. He soon learned there were so many candidates, delegates and media personnel at the event that there were no rooms available for the Secret Service.
Johns phoned the Joint Chiefs of Staff and requisitioned a naval ship to serve as lodging for agents. The ship was in dry dock in Norfolk, Va., undergoing renovation, but it was the only ship large enough to fit the bill.
“I asked them to double the work crews and complete the renovations on the voyage to Miami,” he remembered. And his strategy worked.
Hoover-based filmmaker John Jenkins took interest in Johns’ remarkable experience with the Secret Service and recently produced a documentary about his life that aired on Alabama Public Television.
Still, his life was not all the glamour worthy of films. Civil unrest of the 1960s made the job of the Secret Service even more stressful. There were a lot of divorces because of the demands on the agents, according to Johns.
“I always said, being an agent requires a team of two: the agent and his wife,” he said.
Johns and his wife, Nita, have been married 65 years, and his service must have made an impression on his family. His son, Jeff, became a Secret Service agent for Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, and his grandson Michael has served as a Secret Service agent for the George W. Bush and Obama administrations.
Perhaps they were inspired by how Johns never regretted the stress and risks in his work.
“At any given moment, an agent is a foot away from history, but I’ve always considered it a great honor to serve.”

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

CLINT HILL RE: VINCE PALAMARA

I am honored that, for the second time on C-SPAN (2 for 2), CEO Brian Lamb and Clint Hill (last time, with Gerald Blaine included) talked about me. 47:03 Clint talks about the JFK autopsy, burning his notes in 2005, nine OTHER agents who drank on a presidential trip (he was one of nine who drank the night before JFK was killed), and Vince Palamara

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

SAIC Eddie Marinzel

PITTSBURGH — For Pittsburgh native Eddie Marinzel, Sept. 11, 2001, started with a morning jog on a golf course in Sarasota, Fla., with the president of the United States.Marinzel was the deputy special agent in charge of the Presidential Protective Division for the Secret Service on the day of the attacks. He said as he was escorting President George W. Bush into a nearby elementary school, he knew the rest of the day would be anything but normal. "As we were walking in, Karl Rove actually mentioned to the president that a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers," Marinzel said. Marinzel said 15 minutes later President Bush's chief of staff reported more bad news. "When I saw the look on the president's face I knew there was a problem, a bad problem. Andy Card then came over and whispered the same thing into my year and that was that we were under an attack," Marinzel said. "Right then and there things completely changed. We needed to figure out what we were going to do with the president." Marinzel said after a few brief words to the audience at the school, President Bush was back in his motorcade en route to Air Force One when they got word that the Pentagon had also been attacked. At that point, Marinzel said the crew had to make a quick decision on where the president would be the most safe. He said the group decided on Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana because of the exceptional communications department located there. But Marinzel said that was not where the president wanted to go. "He was adamant that he wanted to back to D.C. We could not take him to an unsecured area. The greatest thing for the terrorist would be to kill the president of the United States," said Marinzel. The president recorded a message that was aired after he left the base in Louisiana and traveled to an Air Force base in Nebraska, where Marinzel said President Bush made it clear that it was time to return to the capital. "I was seated behind the president. He turned to me and said, 'Eddie, let's go. We are going back to Washington.' At that point I knew it wasn't the time to argue or try to change his mind. I knew it was over," said Marinzel. On 9/11 Marinzel said President Bush remained calm in front of his staff and he saw little change afterward. "He was always very principled and hardworking. None of that changes. I do feel that he was determined that this would never happen on American soil again. Use all the assets the U.S. had to offer to make sure that we would never be attacked in the homeland again and he made that kind of hallmark on his job," Marinzel said. Marinzel said the events of 9/11 didn't change the way the Secret Service operated either; it just made them work even harder. "One lasting thing from 9/11: Our hearts still go out to the victims and the families affected and every time we think of that, you have more resolve that you are going to do your job to the best of your ability," said Marinzel.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Excellent Dan Emmett article+

Episdode 51, with guest Dan Emmett, retired Special Agent of the U.S. Secret Service By Josh King, on March 31st, 2012 http://www.polioptics.com/2012/03/episdode-51-with-guest-dan-emmett-retired-special-agent-of-the-u-s-secret-service/

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Great Dan Emmett interview

Q&A with Dan Emmett, former Secret Service agent, author of 'Within Arm's Length' By Josh Fatzick - 03/26/12 07:33 PM ET Dan Emmett knew from the time he was 8 years old that he wanted to be a Secret Service agent; he made that determination right after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Emmett, a former Marine Corps captain, spent 21 years protecting three different presidents as a Secret Service special agent. Six of those years he worked in the elite Presidential Protective Division, always within arm’s length — which is also the title of his new book. Emmett spoke with The Hill about his desire to provide an accurate account of the life of a Secret Service agent and to clear up some misunderstandings about their work. Q: What made you decide to write this book? Most of the books that are out there right now about the Secret Service don’t really deal with the organization in a fair way, in my opinion. I thought people might enjoy a book written by an agent describing what it’s like to have a 21-year career as an agent, without any sensitive information, without any embarrassing information about people we’ve protected. That seems to be what most people have written about of late. So I thought I’d try and provide an honest, up-front account of being an agent. Q: You write in your book that President Kennedy’s assassination inspired you to join the Secret Service. Did that make you want to protect the president, specifically? Specifically, right, because when I decided at the age of 8 that I wanted to be a Secret Service agent, I didn’t know they did anything but protect the president. Of course, they do a lot of other things, and I did quite a few things when I was an agent, but the six years I spent on the presidential detail were the most rewarding of all the time I spent in the Secret Service. Q: Did you ever have any close calls or scary moments when protecting the president? I would have to say that any time you leave the White House with the president of the United States, it’s apprehensive. You know, when you say “scary,” it was never in that way. We were never afraid — we were never scared — but we were apprehensive at times. Certain situations when you know you’re going to go up, you are a lot more alert. Other times you’re not quite so much so. But any time you leave the White House, it’s a tense experience. Q: Did you ever get the chance to relax while you were on the job, or were you always on alert? Some trips you went on, there was some downtime where you could actually go out and see parts of the country you were in, if it was a foreign trip. But for the most part, you were working. As I point out in the book, when you’re a new agent, you look forward to going to all these exotic places. And when you get there, you find out that you are working so much and you’re so tired, it doesn’t matter where you are. It’s just another place. Q: You guys have to do some odd things with the presidents. Did you ever have to help George Bush clear brush at his Texas ranch, or walk any of the presidents’ dogs? No, let me put a kibosh on that right away. Secret Service agents do not walk dogs. Ever. Under any set of circumstances. That is a myth that has been attributed to the service in the past. The people who walk the White House pets are actually full-time paid custodial personnel of the White House. An agent will die for the president, but he will not walk his dog. Q: You served on the presidential detail under both George Bushes and Bill Clinton. Did you ever have a favorite, or was it just part of your job? Secret Service agents look at presidents on two levels. One is a political level, like everyone else does. We all have our political beliefs. Then we also look at them on a personal level. Are they difficult to deal with? And the three presidents I worked with on the presidential detail, all of them were very good to deal with — very easy. I can’t really say I liked one any more than the other. Q: What is the biggest misconception you think people have about the work of Secret Service agents? People think it’s a glamorous job. It’s a very difficult job. You’re working shift work. For two weeks you’re working eight [four-hour shifts]. The next two weeks you’re working midnight shifts. Two weeks later you’re working four [twelve-hour shifts]. Then you go into a two-week training cycle. Then it starts all over again, and that goes on forever — the entire time you’re on the presidential detail. So, for every moment you spend with the president, with the media, flying on Air Force One, for every hour you do that, there are 100 hours you spend standing somewhere being uncomfortable. Q: What do you think is the toughest thing you had to deal with personally while you were in the Secret Service? The hardest part of being on the detail was probably just the hours. Constant travel, constant time away from home, your body clock never really gets used to any one time zone. Sleep is almost impossible because you travel so much. You’re constantly in a state of sleep deprivation and jet lag and malnourishment, almost, at times. But … you learn that you can’t really be at the peak of your game all the time, or you burn out. You have to understand when it’s time to ramp it up and when it’s permissible to back down a little bit. But you learn that with experience; it comes with time. Q: During campaign season, presidents have to go a lot of places and get close to a lot of different people. Is that a particularly stressful time for you all to deal with? Campaign year is a very difficult time because there are so many stops along the way. And of course, back when I was on the presidential detail, the president would frequently go into crowds that had not been through security checks. They had not been through magnetometers, they had not been through X-rays, and so on. So it was real protection. You didn’t know who was in the crowd. It’s a lot different today, though. We’re talking about the mid-’90s. Today there are a lot more 
precautions in place, and presidents are not nearly as reachable to the public, I think, as they once were. http://thehill.com/capital-living/cover-stories/218275-qaa-with-dan-emmett-former-secret-service-agent-author-of-within-arms-length

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

KINDLE edition of Dan Emmett's spectacular new book NOW available!

KINDLE edition of Dan Emmett's spectacular new book NOW available!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007L5PSRC/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img


The BEST book ever written on the Secret Service! Outstanding! Buy this asap!, March 21, 2012
By Vince Palamara "SECRET SERVICE/JFK/STEELERS/M... (South Park/Bethel Park, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Within Arm's Length (Kindle Edition)
Former Secret Service agent Dan Emmett, author of "Within Arm's Length", is to be commended on putting together a refreshing take on a well-worn subject as of late: the United States Secret Service. While many of the books written by former agents are ghost-written, dry, dull, and are often dated, Emmett's is exciting, never boring, compelling, and employed no co-author or ghost-writer; this work is solely his own. After the recent debacle of best-selling author Ronald Kessler's dubious tome "In The President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect", a book that seemingly betrayed the trust of the agents, past and present, that the author took into his confidence, littering the literary landscape with dubious tawdry tales of presidential sex, alleged agency incompetence, or worse, Emmett's book will be embraced by scholars, the public and, perhaps most important of all, his colleagues.

Someone needed to take up the mantle and do away with all the controversy, poor writing, myopic outlook, and compromising information out there on the Secret Service and write a book the agency would be proud of AND that would also appeal to the lay public, as well. Dan Emmett took up the quest and succeeded admirably. In short, "Within Arm's Length" is the antidote to Kessler, McCarthy, and all the silly and overwrought books and television specials that violate the agency's code of being Worthy of Trust and Confidence. If there was a literary Medal of Valor the Secret Service could award Emmett for his book, they should hold the ceremony tomorrow. Emmett's book truly reads like he had this epiphany: "I have had enough with Kessler, the hero worship, the gossip, the untruths, and all the crap---here is the TRUE story of an agent without the junk... and no compromising information, dammit!" Mission accomplished.

In short, Dan Emmett provides the reader with the nuts and bolts without giving away the game, so to speak.

"Within Arm's Length" grabs the reader from the very first sentence and doesn't ever let up.

"Within Arm's Length" is, without question, the best book ever written about the Secret Service: current, well-written, classy, very informative, but, most importantly, does not indulge in hero worship of presidents or reveal "inside secrets" or other compromising details. In short, "WITHIN ARM'S LENGTH" makes you feel like you are THERE! Emmett is a great guy with an impressive background who truly represents the valor of the Secret Service. Emmett has given a blueprint for all agents---past, present, and future---to follow and admire. Worthy of Trust & Confidence indeed! Dan Emmett is an example of a great American.

Vince Palamara, literary Secret Service expert
NOTE: Dan Emmett is a true patriot and first-class gentleman. His book is fantastic. That said, the various recent news articles that the book are allegedly based on have taken things way out of context, leaving the false impression that Dan has attacked the Clintons, which is patently false. Please READ the book before taking things out of context...and kudos to Mr Emmett for the BEST book ever on the Secret Service (1865-2012)

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

New from "The Guardian" UK

also:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/19/mitt-romney-illinois-us-elections-live?newsfeed=true

4.55pm: Former Secret Service agent Dan Emmett has a new book out, "Within Arm's Length," about what it's like to be a president's first and last line of defense. The most harrowing moments of his career, Emmett tells ABC News' Jake Tapper, were when President Clinton would go jogging around Capitol Hill.
President Clinton was the first president to run on a regular basis, and he was the first one to run in the open public areas... It was not uncommon, three days, four days of the week to come out of the White House during morning rush hour and take President Clinton for a run up Pennsylvania Avenue, or over at the Reflecting Pool or perhaps over at the Mall. ...
We were definitely an attack waiting to happen.

Dan Emmett's great book climbing once again + great new review

Dan Emmett's great book climbing once again + great new review

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#32 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Memoirs



5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, March 20, 2012
By
TimothyHill - See all my reviews
This review is from: Within Arm's Length: The Extraordinary Life and Career of a Special Agent in the United States Secret Service (Paperback)
i wasnt going to read this book for all the reasons i didnt other secret service books, they were cheap tawdry attempts to make money by betraying supposed scandals, but the comments by people who knew him and said this book was different changed my mind and im glad they did, excellent!!!!

Monday, March 19, 2012

GREAT new review of Dan Emmett's new book

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars This guy is a great writer and this a great story!, March 18, 2012
By Rough Customer (on your six) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Within Arm's Length: The Extraordinary Life and Career of a Special Agent in the United States Secret Service (Hardcover)
This book is really wonderful if you any curiosity at all about the work of the Secret Service and what they do, how they do it, what kind of man/woman it takes to make a Secret Service agent. I know it is an overused cliche, but this book is really hard to put down once you start it. This author writes no boring parts, there is no chapters of "self promotion" or boring backgrounds that many books on Navy SEALs, and Army snipers have. Also delightfully, this book indicates no political agenda, no hammering one political party, rather the author is repectful to men/women of both parties, and I found that to be very refreshing. I was shocked at how little the new SS agent made as starting salary back in the early 80s and how much this man wanted to get into the work and for the right reasons. Great book, really enjoyed it and glad he shared his experiences.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Great response to the rare so-so review of Emmett's great book (THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE REVIEWS ARE TERRIFIC)

Avoid "totally, totally" idiotic reviews, January 20, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Within Arm's Length: The Extraordinary Life and Career of a Special Agent in the United States Secret Service (Paperback)
There seems to be one solid truism in life: death, taxes...and at least a few moronic reviews of products online. I'll bet even The Bible would receive one and two star reviews from some folks, if given the chance! I have read Dan Emmett's excellent book four times and I come away very impressed every time with how it is written, put together, and the content (like, "totally", dude). And, using the venacular of the time, "it is what it is": gee, if he spent a large part of his time with CAT and PPD in the Service protecting President Clinton, it should naturally follow that the majority of the agency commentary would be related to Clinton (elected in 1992; served as President January 1993-January 2001). Criticism of Emmett's book for focusing "too much" on the Clinton days would be tantamount to scolding former agent Gerald Blaine for "obsessing" about the JFK years in "The Kennedy Detail"!

It's one thing to castigate Clinton for seemingly being reckless with his decision-making in public, with regard to his security...but don't "kill the messenger" (author Dan Emmett) for delivering the bad news. Memoirs are always at the perogative of the AUTHOR: if he/ she chooses to cover---or NOT cover---a certain topic, either in depth or not at all, that is (using that word again) their perogative. Now, it is one thing if an author purposely avoids or suspiciously downplays an important event; that is fair game for criticism. However, with regard to both the JFK assassination AND 9/11, there have been many forests killed for the millions of pages of prose---good, bad, and ugly---about those events. Emmett's book is NOT about those events---it is the story of his LIFE. Those events, albeit very important, in and of themselves, are almost ancillary to the big picture.

As someone who has read many agency books, memoirs, etc., it is refreshing to read a book that is concise and not long-winded. Quite often, many, if not hundreds, of pages could be excised from many overwrought volumes in the publishing world. And, contrary to the bad reporting of the media, Emmett's book is free of gossip, state secrets, confidential agency security details, or any kind of bashing of the Clintons in any way, shape, or form.

I highly recommend this book---MOST people agree; totally.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Ex-agent says girls go wild for Secret Service studs

Ex-agent says girls go wild for Secret Service studs

Popular in Most Read

Former President Bill Clinton wasn’t the only one in the White House hit on by amorous groupies.

A former U.S. Secret Service agent reveals that "attractive" women were so “intoxicated” by the “celebrity-like status” of the presidential security force that it was “paradise” for single agents--and so tempting to married agents that divorce is common.

“For the single agent it was paradise; for many married agents, it was a constant struggle between good and evil, which was sometimes won and other times lost,” writes former Clinton-era agent Dan Emmett in the appendix of his book “Within Arm’s Reach.”

Apparently the battle was lost a lot, as he writes, “Constant separations due to traveling with the president can contribute to failed marriages at a higher rate than most professions. For [presidential protection] agents, there is a never ending string of temptations sometimes literally thrust into one’s face by women who are impressed by such things as men who protect the president,” writes the swaggering former agent.

Female agents, he says, “can also attract this type of attention, and I have seen our more attractive agents practically stalked by men seeking strong buy feminine women who protect the president and carry guns.”

Emmett has rubbed the service the wrong way with the book. They don’t like agents to write about their life in the security bubble, but there are no rules barring tell-alls.

Much of Emmett’s book dishes on his life as an agent and his years with Clinton, but the appendix addresses the myths of the agency and their sex appeal, he pens, isn't a myth. “Many women are attracted to Secret Service agents,” he writes. “It can be almost frightening at times when seated in a bar, and a woman recognizes an agent she has just seen on television with the president. On more than one occasion, my shift mates and I had phone numbers and hotel room keys shoved into our hands or thrown to us while working a rope line with the president.”

Finally, Emmett tells that the attractive women hitting on agents were from all ages. “This attention lavished on [presidential protection] agents came usually from both young and not-so-young, attractive women intoxicated with the excitement of being so close to the president and those protected him. It was wild beyond belief at times, and we enjoyed an almost celebrity-like status from the moment we walked down the steps of Air Force One...”

Saturday, March 10, 2012

EXCELLENT article about Dan Emmett's excellent "Within Arm's Length"

EXCELLENT article about Dan Emmett's excellent "Within Arm's Length"
Former Secret Service Agent Dishes On Clinton White House In Book

By Claire Gordon , Posted Mar 9th 2012 @ 6:43PM

A former Secret Service agent is stirring controversy with his new memoir that leaks details about former President Bill Clinton. News outlets, from the Washington Examiner to Fox News and The Washington Post, are abuzz over the following remarks Dan Emmett made in his self-published memoir:

• He describes Clinton's staff, which was much younger than that of predecessor George H.W. Bush, as immature and defiant. They treated their White House gigs as "a grand cool adventure," he writes, and agents like himself as the "hired help."

• On a 1993 trip, Clinton insisted on walking the "Bridge of No Return" that separates North and South Korea, endangering his own life and the fragile peace between the two nations for "a pointless photo op."

• He also implies that Hillary Clinton is aloof. At one point, he notes in his book that one time Bill and Chelsea said "thank you" after exiting the presidential limousine, while Hilary was "silent."

The Secret Service understandably isn't thrilled with the book.

"We do stress to all our employees the importance of not sharing anecdotes about the personal, private moments of the protectees," Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan told the Washington Examiner. "It causes concern because we don't want to erode the trust we have with our protectees."

Emmett, who has protected three presidents over 21 years, says that's a "standard comment that they give to the media any time," and may be issued again soon, when John F. Kennedy's Secret Service agent and Emmett's personal hero, Clint Hill, releases his own memoir next month. In fact, Emmett says that he deliberately held back salacious detail.

"I sent President Clinton the book," he said. "I hope he's not offended by it."

Emmett admits that he bashed Clinton's staff. "It's characteristic of a lot of Democratic presidents to bring in a lot of young people and give them a chance, their friends, or their friends' kids," Emmett says. "They're not on time. They don't make meetings. They can be defiant."

But he also says that Clinton's staff matured over time, as they learned the workings of the White House and the value of the Secret Service. He also emphasizes that those comments weren't at all about Clinton himself. "These were his young staffers," he said. "A lot of the time the president doesn't even know who they are."

When it comes to that photo of Clinton on the border of North Korea, Emmett says that he didn't intend his remark as a criticism of Clinton. "His golly gee whiz staff probably thought it would be a good photo op."

More significant is what this so-called "tell all" doesn't tell. Emmett excluded hundreds of juicy anecdotes, because Secret Service agents "afford the president two courtesies," he says, "we'll sacrifice our lives for him, and we don't talk about that stuff."

Emmett, who ran with the president in the mornings and guarded his bedroom door at night, probably could have dished a lot about the man who supposedly recruited state troopers to arrange sexual liaisons. "If you want those kinds of anecdotes," he says, "read Kessler's book," referring to Ronald Kessler's controversial expose about the Secret Service.

"If the Clintons read my book, they'll probably think, 'Why is anyone even making a big deal about this?' I didn't talk about Monica, or Whitewater, or Paula Jones."

Emmett, who was raised on "academics, God, and patriotism," may not have agreed with Clinton's politics. But that would never affect his commitment to guarding him, if need be with his life. It wasn't really about the man at all, he says, but about preserving the office he occupied.

"If the president gets killed, it's damaging to the country," Emmett says. "It has ramifications throughout the world."

Emmett also didn't disclose a lot of inside details because he worried it would endanger national security. There's been a lot of media scrutiny into the Secret Service in recent years, including two TV series, "Secrets of the Secret Service" and "Secret Service Secrets."

"They showed motorcade tactics and the schematics of the president's limousine, and what kinds of weapons the armor could withstand," he said. "It's just totally insane in my mind."

While these details may not be a problem, he says, "if you collect enough pieces, and put them together, you have a plan," he said. "And these assassins, these terrorists, they plan."

He wasn't going to take any chances with his own book, which he's sure al Qaeda has already read.

Emmett never wanted to leak a secret or make a partisan jab, because he would never want to entangle himself in what he calls "the mess of Washington." He may have worked for the government for his entire career, but "I never thought I was working for the government," he says. "I was working for America."

Thursday, March 8, 2012

MORE major coverage: FOX, National Enquirer, Tickle The Wire re: Emmett's great book (WARNING: the media grossly took Dan's statements out of context)

MORE major coverage: FOX, National Enquirer, Tickle The Wire re: Emmett's great book (WARNING: the media grossly took Dan's statements out of context)

Dan Emmett is a true patriot and first-class gentleman. His book is fantastic. That said, this article that the book is allegedly based on has taken things way out of context, leaving the false impression that Dan has attacked the Clintons, which is patently false. Please READ the book before taking things out of context...and kudos to Mr Emmett for the BEST book ever on the Secret Service (1865-2012)
- Vince Palamara, Pittsburgh, PA, 8/3/2012 7:36
Click to rate Rating 68



March 08, 2012

Secret Service Agent Spills Beans On 'Rude' Clintons



In a breach of tradition, a former U.S. Secret Service agent has self-published a book that savages the Clinton White House staff as arrogant and rude, suggests former first lady Hillary Clinton was aloof and charges that Bill Clinton endangered himself and agents for a “totally pointless photo op” on the South Korea-North Korea border.

In several anecdotes, former agent Dan Emmett revealed that Clinton’s young staff had “fundamental traits of rudeness and arrogance” that teetered on the verge of being dangerous at times. “Most of these youngsters were from wealthy families, and many viewed Secret Services agents as the hired help,” he writes in “Within Arms’s Length,” an autobiography that provides new details of the inner Secret Service.

In one case he told of an unnamed Clinton staffer who challenged a KGB agent during a 1993 presidential visit to Russia “as if he were dealing with a Wackenhut security officer in Toledo.”



Read more: http://nation.foxnews.com/hillary-clinton/2012/03/08/secret-service-agent-spills-beans-rude-clintons#ixzz1oXx4TKLg

EX-SECRET SERVICE AGENT: CLINTON WHITE HOUSE TELL ALL
-A
+APublished on: March 8, 2012
by NATIONAL ENQUIRER staff
Photography by: Time & Life Pictures via Getty Images
In a shocking breach of national security a former SECRET SERVICE agent spills his guts in a book about the CLINTON presidency.

A former U.S. Secret Service agent Dan Emmett has self-published a book “Whithin Arm’s Length” reputedly savaging the Clinton White House staff as arrogant and rude. He also claims former first lady Hillary Clinton was aloof and Emmett charges that President Bill Clinton endangered not only himself but agents for a “totally pointless photo op” on the South Korea-North Korea border.

Writing in the book, the rogue agent revealed that Clinton’s young staff had “fundamental traits of rudeness and arrogance” that teetered on being dangerous.

“Most of these youngsters were from wealthy families, and many viewed Secret Services agents as the hired help,” he writes.

In the book, he writes that an unnamed Clinton staffer challenged a KGB agent during a 1993 presidential visit to Russia “as if he were dealing with a Wackenhut security officer in Toledo.”

Emmett also describes Hillary Clinton as aloof -- who didn’t say “thank you” to agents while the president and former first daughter Chelsea typically did.

“She was not as out-going or cordial,” he told The Washington Examiner.

Emmett, who also worked the White House Secret Service detail during both the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administration claims he’s not dishing any state secrets, although the Secret Service are urged not to write about the people they protect.

Emmett says he claimed he told the agency about the book. The Secret Service said they didn’t get a copy of the memoir.

“We do stress to all our employees the importance of not sharing anecdotes about the personal, private moments of the protectees,” Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said. “It causes concern because we don’t want to erode the trust that we have with our protectees.”

Ex-Secret Service Agent Trashes Hillary Clinton in Book; Calls Her Aloof
By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
A tell-all book by an ex-Secret Service agent who worked the President Clinton detail is bound to ruffle some feathers inside the Beltway.

The Examiner newspaper reports that ex-Secret Service agent Dan Emmett has written a self-published book “Within Arms’s Length” that “savages the Clinton White House staff as arrogant and rude, suggests former first lady Hillary Clinton was aloof and charges that Bill Clinton endangered himself and agents for a ‘totally pointless photo op’ on the South Korea-North Korea border.”

Emmett also wrote that Clinton’s young staff was rude and arrogant, the Examiner wrote

“Most of these youngsters were from wealthy families, and many viewed Secret Services agents as the hired help,” Emmett writes in “Within Arms’s Length,” an autobiography that provides new details of the inner Secret Service.

Ed Donovan, a spokesman for the Secret Service told the Examiner:

“We do stress to all our employees the importance of not sharing anecdotes about the personal, private moments of the protectees.It causes concern because we don’t want to erode the trust that we have with our protectees.”

Major Mail Online UK article re: Dan Emmett's great book [the article took things way out of context]

Major Mail Online UK article re: Dan Emmett's great book [the article took things way out of context]

vmp-Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#45 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Memoirs


Dan: Yes but at a cost. Badly out of context interview caused the spike





MAIL ONLINE UK

U.K. Thursday, Mar 08 2012 12PM
'They treated us like the hired help': Clinton bodyguard criticises 'aloof' Hillary and 'arrogant' staff
Dan Emmett savages White House personnel in controversial new book
Hillary Clinton never said 'thank you' unlike her husband and daughter
Young staff displayed 'fundamental traits of rudeness and arrogance'
Accuses Bill Clinton of endangering lives on North-South Korea border
Mr Clinton also dealt 'nightmare scenario' by insisting on running in public

By Simon Tomlinson

Last updated at 10:43 AM on 8th March 2012

Comments (2) Share

A former U.S. Secret Service agent has launched a stinging attack on the Clinton administration staff he used to protect - branding them arrogant and claiming that ex-First Lady Hillary Clinton was aloof.
Breaking from tradition, Dan Emmett has laid bare a series of anecdotes about the inner workings of the White House in a controversial book.
He tells how Mrs Clinton, now Secretary of State, never said 'thank you' to agents, unlike her husband, Bill, and their daughter, Chelsea.
Aloof: Hillary Clinton (pictured in 2008) would never say 'thank you' to the Secret Service agents who protected her during her husband's presidency, according to a former member of the protection unit
Ungrateful: Her demeanor was colder than that of Mr Clinton and their daughter Chelsea (centre)
This trait, he added, was found in even greater measure among the young White House personnel, whom he said displayed 'fundamental traits of rudeness and arrogance' which, at times, bordered on dangerous.
'Most of these youngsters were from wealthy families and many viewed Secret Service agents as the hired help,' he wrote in the autobiography Within Arm's Length.
More...What will Michelle say? Obama gets a VERY warm Southern welcome in North Carolina
'We hid this during the election': Obama ally confesses he covered up 'race' video Andrew Breitbart threatened to release before his death

One unnamed Clinton employee treated a Russian KGB agent on one presidential visit 'as if he were dealing with a Wackenhut security officer in Toledo.'
He also accuses Mr Clinton of putting his own life and those of his agents at risk by insisting on a 'totally pointless photo op' on the North Korea-South Korea border.
Dan Emmett's controversial book Within Arm's Length in which he criticises the Clinton administration
During the trip in 1993, he said the former President went too far along the bridge separating the two nations, according to the Washington Examiner.
'No-one seemed to know if President Clinton grasped how potentially dangerous this stop on the bridge was,' he writes.
'The Secret Service obviously believed this move unwise'
He added: 'Nevertheless, he was POTUS and he wanted to stand on the bridge, so stand on the bridge he would do.'
In another account, Emmett said Mr Clinton 'dealt us this nightmare' by insisting on jogging in public.
Agents tried to change his mind and even went as far as building a quarter-mile track inside the White House confines.
But Mr Clinton was unpersuaded and asked the presidential protective division to come up some routes outside the grounds, it was reported on Chicago Tribune News.
'The worst thing for the Secret Service is to take a sitting president into public when no one has been swept and anyone could be out there,' he said.
Emmett, who also served under George H.W. Bush and now works as a teacher, has been criticised by the service for publishing his tell-all.
Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan told the Washington Examiner: 'It causes concern because we don’t want to erode the trust that we have with our protectees.'
Double jeopardy: President Clinton (left) greets troops at the 'Bridge of No Return' on the North-South Korea border in 1993 where, Dan Emmett claims, he put lives in danger by walking too far along the bridge for a 'pointless photo op', while his insistence on jogging in public proved a 'nightmare' situation for his agents

Comments (2)Here's what other readers have said. View all

God bless our secret service personnel...they do a job which is sometimes beyond human.... As far as Hillary and her ilk.....THEY have no idea how lucky they are that these people do this for the sake of the American VOTER.
- Sandra, Seminole, Florida, 08/3/2012 12:07
Click to rate Rating (0) Report abuse
Not surprising at all. It's a shame when people treat their employees like this.
- Roger C., Gary, IN, 08/3/2012 11:55
Click to rate Rating (0) Report abuse
#ixzz1oWla8OkT

Dan Emmett is a true patriot and first-class gentleman. His book is fantastic. That said, this article that the book is allegedly based on has taken things way out of context, leaving the false impression that Dan has attacked the Clintons, which is patently false. Please READ the book before taking things out of context...and kudos to Mr Emmett for the BEST book ever on the Secret Service (1865-2012)

Vince Palamara

variation on same article

Secret Service agent: Clinton’s staff rude, Hillary aloof
17 hours 19 min ago
Comments

U.S. Secret Service agents accompany Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., as she campaigns at the intersection of South Beaver and West Market streets in York, Pa., Saturday, April 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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Wed, 2012-03-07 14:17
In a breach of tradition, a former U.S. Secret Service agent has self-published a book that savages the Clinton White House staff as arrogant and rude, suggests former first lady Hillary Clinton was aloof and charges that Bill Clinton endangered himself and agents for a “totally pointless photo op” on the South Korea-North Korea border.

In several anecdotes, former agent Dan Emmett revealed that Clinton’s young staff had “fundamental traits of rudeness and arrogance” that teetered on the verge of being dangerous at times. “Most of these youngsters were from wealthy families, and many viewed Secret Services agents as the hired help,” he writes in “Within Arms’s Length,” an autobiography that provides new details of the inner Secret Service.

In one case he told of an unnamed Clinton staffer who challenged a KGB agent during a 1993 presidential visit to Russia “as if he were dealing with a Wackenhut security officer in Toledo.”

In another, he wrote of a female staffer who wouldn’t listen to Emmett’s security advice. “She stared at me with a look as if her father had just told her she couldn’t go to the mall with her friends and get a tattoo or body piercing,” he wrote. “My patient attempts to reason were met with childlike emotion born of a past where no one in authority--probably beginning with her parents--had ever said no to her about anything.”

On the first lady, he describes her as aloof, someone who didn’t say “thank you” to agents while the president and former first daughter Chelsea typically did. He told Secrets, “she was not as out-going or cordial.”

He also wrote of how Clinton walked too far down the bridge separating the Koreas during another 1993 trip. “No one seemed to know if President Clinton grasped how potentially dangerous this stop on the bridge was,” he writes. “The Secret Service obviously believed this move unwise,” he penned, adding, “nevertheless, he was POTUS and he wanted to stand on the bridge, so stand on the bridge he would do.”

Emmett, who worked the White House detail during the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administration and is now a teacher at Auburn University, told us that he wasn’t dishing any secrets, though agents are urged not to write about the people they protect. He informed the agency about his book, which said it didn’t get an advance copy.

Still, the service is not happy with the anecdotes in the book. “We do stress to all our employees the importance of not sharing anecdotes about the personal, private moments of the protectees,” said Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan. “It causes concern because we don’t want to erode the trust that we have with our protectees.”

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Move over, Joe Funk...

EXCLUSIVE: Mitt Romney to Receive Secret Service Protection

2/1/12

TAMPA - Mitt Romney's presidential campaign has been informed that it will start receiving Secret Service protection on Thursday, two campaign sources and a senior Republican tell ABC News.

Secret Service protection is being given to the campaign not because of a specific threat but because of the increase in crowd sizes as the primary season has progressed over the past few weeks, according to the sources, who refused to be identified because they don't have authority to comment on such matters publicly.

The Secret Service is charged with protecting presidential candidates in addition to the president himself, and providing protection to a candidate before he secures a nomination has become fairly common. Such decisions are made by the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with congressional leadership.

The Romney campaign, which has long traveled with private security of its own, did not request Service protection, and was approached about the additional security steps in the weeks following the New Hampshire primary, the sources told ABC News.

Officials with the campaign and the Secret Service declined to comment on the decision.

Romney will become the only current Republican candidate with Secret Service protection. Herman Cain became the first candidate to receive Service protection, in November, but he ended his candidacy in December.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

THE best book EVER written on the Secret Service is available NOW: "Within Arm's Length: The Extraordinary Life and Career of a Special Agent in the United States Secret Service" by Dan Emmett

THE best book EVER written on the Secret Service is available NOW: "Within Arm's Length: The Extraordinary Life and Career of a Special Agent in the United States Secret Service" by Dan Emmett


Available at Amazon.Com:
http://www.amazon.com/Within-Arms-Length-Extraordinary-Special/dp/1462070728/ref=cm_rdp_product

Also Available at iUniverse:
softcover-

http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000455072/Within-Arms-Length.aspx

as an E-book-

http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000455074/Within-Arms-Length.aspx

in hardcover-
http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/Default.aspx?bookId=SKU-000455073

Available in late February from Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, Kendall, Nook and others.



Dan Emmett was just eight years old when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The events surrounding the president’s death shaped the course of young Emmett’s life as he set a goal of becoming a US Secret Service agent—one of a special group of people willing to trade their lives for that of the president, if necessary.

Within Arm’s Length narrates the story of Emmett’s journey in this coveted job—from the application process to his retirement as assistant to the special agent in charge on the elite Presidential Protective Division (PPD). Here he discusses some of his more high-profile assignments in his twenty-one years of service, including the PPD and the Counter Assault Team where he provided arm’s length protection worldwide for Presidents George Herbert Walker Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, and George W. Bush.

This memoir describes the professional challenges faced by Secret Service agents as well as the physical and emotional toll that can be inflicted on both agents and their families. Within Arm’s Length also shares firsthand details about the duties and challenges of conducting presidential advances, dealing with the media, driving the president in a bullet-proof limousine, running alongside him through the streets of Washington, and flying with him on Air Force One.

With fascinating anecdotes, Emmett weaves keen insight into the unique culture and history of the Secret Service



The best book on the Secret Service ever written! A must have! Outstanding!

Former Secret Service agent Dan Emmett, author of "Within Arm's Length", is to be commended on putting together a refreshing take on a well-worn subject as of late: the United States Secret Service. While many of the books written by former agents are ghost-written, dry, dull, and are often dated, Emmett's is exciting, never boring, compelling, and employed no co-author or ghost-writer; this work is solely his own. After the recent debacle of best-selling author Ronald Kessler's dubious tome "In The President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect", a book that seemingly betrayed the trust of the agents, past and present, that the author took into his confidence, littering the literary landscape with dubious tawdry tales of presidential sex, alleged agency incompetence, or worse, Emmett's book will be embraced by scholars, the public and, perhaps most important of all, his colleagues.

Someone needed to take up the mantle and do away with all the controversy, poor writing, myopic outlook, and compromising information out there on the Secret Service and write a book the agency would be proud of AND that would also appeal to the lay public, as well. Dan Emmett took up the quest and succeeded admirably. In short, "Within Arm's Length" is the antidote to Kessler, McCarthy, and all the silly and overwrought books and television specials that violate the agency's code of being Worthy of Trust and Confidence. If there was a literary Medal of Valor the Secret Service could award Emmett for his book, they should hold the ceremony tomorrow. Emmett's book truly reads like he had this epiphany: "I have had enough with Kessler, the hero worship, the gossip, the untruths, and all the crap---here is the TRUE story of an agent without the junk... and no compromising information, dammit!" Mission accomplished.

In short, Dan Emmett provides the reader with the nuts and bolts without giving away the game, so to speak.

"Within Arm's Length" grabs the reader from the very first sentence and doesn't ever let up.

"Within Arm's Length" is, without question, the best book ever written about the Secret Service: current, well-written, classy, very informative, but, most importantly, does not indulge in hero worship of presidents or reveal "inside secrets" or other compromising details. In short, "WITHIN ARM'S LENGTH" makes you feel like you are THERE! Emmett is a great guy with an impressive background who truly represents the valor of the Secret Service. Emmett has given a blueprint for all agents---past, present, and future---to follow and admire. Worthy of Trust & Confidence indeed! Dan Emmett is an example of a great American.

Vince Palamara, literary Secret Service expert

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Joe Funk, SAIC of Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney 2011-2012

Joseph J. Funk

Joe J. Funk, President of US Safety & Security, LLC is responsible overseeing all daily operations including all domestic investigations, physical security and executive protection.

Mr. Funk is a twenty-one year veteran of the United States Secret Service, completing his career as the Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge of the Washington DC Field Office. Mr. Funk’s career with the U. S. Secret Service was equally divided between criminal investigations and executive protection.

During his career Mr. Funk spent over eight years assigned to the protection details of Presidents George H. Bush and William J. Clinton. He was assigned to the protection of numerous foreign Heads of State including, Pope John Paul II, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Great Britain. Mr. Funk spent three & half years assigned to the elite Secret Service Counter Assault Team attaining the rank of Team Leader. He has extensive experience and knowledge in providing executive protection and conducting complex security assessments and surveys. Mr. Funk has received extensive training and experience in counter terrorism tactics. Among his accomplishments was the security director for the 50th N.A.T.O. Conference and two Presidential Inaugurations. His latest clients include Senator Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney.

Mr. Funk also gained valuable experience, training and knowledge in conducting complex multi-jurisdictional criminal investigations. At the time of his retirement Mr. Funk was the supervisor for the Washington Field Office Metro Area Fraud Task Force. This unit specialized in investigating the most complex and intricate criminal cases in the greater Washington DC area. For his efforts Mr. Funk has received numerous awards from the U.S. Secret Service, local financial institutions, the U.S. Attorneys office’s in Maryland, Washington and Virginia as well as numerous civic organizations.

Upon his retirement from the Secret Service Mr. Funk joined the General Accounting Office in March 2004. He was a Senior Special Agent assigned to the Office of Special Investigations. His investigations were conducted primarily for the Select Committee for Homeland Security and the Select Committee for Intelligence.

Mr. Funk began his law enforcement career as a County Detective with the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, in Paterson NJ. He was assigned to the Narcotics/Organized Crime Unit. His work focused primarily on organized crime figures, narcotic traffickers, violent crimes, homicides and insurance fraud.

Mr. Funk has authored numerous papers for the U.S. Secret Service on the topics of criminal investigations and security procedures. Mr. Funk was responsible for developing new security policies and procedures for the Washington Field Office in the wake of 9/11. He has been featured on many local television stations instructing the public on protecting themselves from financial fraud. He has also testified before Congressional committee on Homeland security matters.

Mr. Funk holds a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice from the William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ. He has also done postgraduate Master’s level work in the area of Urban Planning at William Paterson University and has successful completed the Johns Hopkins School of Upper Management Program.

Mr. Funk possesses a Top Secret security clearance.

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Joseph J. Funk
President
U.S. Safety & Security Joseph J. Funk, President
David C. Bresett, Director Intelligence Services
Daniel Hoban, Director Technical Security Division
Joseph M. Stehr, Director Investigations
Donald J. Glasser, Director – Protective Operations

Mr. Funk President & COO of US Safety & Security has over 30 years of experience in law enforcement, physical security and executive protection.

Mr. Funk is a twenty-one veteran of the United States Secret Service, completing his career as the Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge of the Washington DC Field Office. During his career Mr. Funk was assigned to the protection details of former Presidents George H. Bush and William J. Clinton. He was also assigned to the protection of numerous foreign Heads of State including, Pope John Paul II, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Interim President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Joe was assigned to the elite Secret Service Counter Assault Team for 3 ½ years rising to the rank of Team Leader. He has extensive experience and knowledge in providing executive protection and conducting complex security assessments and surveys. Mr. Funk has received extensive training and experience in counter terrorism tactics. Recently Mr. Funk was the security director for Presidential Candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney.

Upon retirement from the U.S. Secret Service he was a Senior Special Agent assigned to the Office of Special Investigations (GAO). His investigations were conducted for the Select Committee for Homeland Security and the Select Committee for Intelligence.

Mr. Funk began his law enforcement career as a County Detective with the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, in Paterson NJ. He was assigned to the Narcotics/Organized Crime Unit. His work focused primarily on organized crime figures, narcotic traffickers, violent crimes, homicides and insurance fraud.

Mr. Funk has authored numerous papers and appeared numerous times on local and national television speaking on topics ranging from of criminal investigations to national security and enhancing corporate and personal security procedures. He is a frequent lecturer on Workplace Violence.

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Paterson native Joe Funk keeps overzealous golf fans at bay as head of LPGA security
Published: Saturday, May 16, 2009, 9:30 PM Updated: Saturday, May 16, 2009, 10:18 PM


See that guy?"

Joe Funk rolls a cigar between his lips and takes a puff after posing the question. He exhales, leans back in the driver's seat of his golf cart and points the cigar in the direction of a youngish man walking away from the driving range with a sour look on his face. Funk draws and exhales again.

The man in the striped shirt with the plastic bags full of unsigned items is at the more harmless end of the spectrum: A pushy fan that was ruining the experience for everyone else. But a fan who nevertheless crossed the line between spectator and aggressor.

Joe Funk is that line.

"He's an eBay guy," the Paterson-born Funk says frankly. "We see them every week, bringing bag-fuls of stuff to get autographed and then put up on eBay the minute they get home. This guy? He got pushy with Lorena (Ochoa) and she doesn't deal with the eBay guys. So he was asked to leave. As you can see, he's not too happy."

Even though the LPGA has gained in popularity in recent years, it is still struggling to find its foothold in the sporting universe. Which is why at times like this, when the tour makes a stop at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, it's imperative the players go out of their way to interact with fans. But some fans take it too far.

Like the stalkers who wait in hotel parking lots.

Like the fans who want to get a little too close.

As the LPGA's head of security, Funk admits that these instances are few and far between, but they are out there. And in case these events do occur, at more than a dozen LPGA events worldwide, you'll see his imposing frame trailing behind some of the game's best players -- to keep them from ever having to encounter those distractions.

"We're always trying to let the fans enjoy the players and for the players to interact with the fans, especially in these tough times," Funk said. "But this is an office for the players. If someone came into an office and started harassing or stalking a person, you wouldn't tolerate it. Neither do we."

A former member of the Secret Service for 21 years, Funk and his company -- U.S. Safety & Security, based out of his new hometown of Severna Park, Md. -- are in charge of providing security to the LPGA and its players. Right now, Funk's primary detail is providing security to the world's No. 1 female golfer, Lorena Ochoa.

With the charm and outgoing personality to match her spectacular game, Ochoa is mobbed by fans at every tour stop. Funk gives her the free rein to dictate if and how long she wants to sign autographs and stop for pictures. But he knows, once her or her caddie, David Brooker give the high-sign, it's time to step in.

"Joe does an excellent job with allowing me to be with the fans, but also keep me safe," Ochoa said. "He really knows what he's doing and that helps me worry about other things."

But it's not just with Ochoa. Funk keeps the lines of communication open with most of the tour, so that if a player has a problem from a rowdy fan behind the ropes -- or a more serious problem -- they can come to him.

"I definitely think it's imperative," said Christina Kim, 25, a two-time tour winner. "There are some players that have ridiculous crowds out there and it can't be contained all the time."

MAKING THINGS WORRY-FREE

Kim and Ochoa are just two of a number of players who say Funk's presence around the tour means they don't have to worry about what goes on outside the ropes. After protecting Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, as well as President Obama during his campaign, Funk says that his new job is a little less stressful.

Not that you'll ever find him kicking back and taking it easy.

"There are a lot of slow, boring days out here," he said with his trademark Jersey laugh. "But in some ways, that means that we're doing our jobs. If we were always running around tackling crazed fans to the ground, it meant that we failed in putting together a plan to keep the players and the other spectators safe."

Most often, if there's an incident at an LPGA event, other spectators don't even know it has occurred. That's because Funk and the wide network of contracted security personnel he uses snuff out problems before it can even escalate.

Part of the reason the LPGA's status in sports has risen is because of the presence of its young stars like Natalie Gulbis, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome. Their youth -- and attractiveness -- have opened doors for categories of fans that may not have even been interested in women's golf. But it's also increased the number of communications from individuals who take it too far.

"About two years ago, one of the young players on tour had an encounter with a gentleman in a parking lot of a hotel," Funk said. "He told her he enjoyed watching her play and she thanked him. But in his mind, that was a romantic link that they now had shared. And this guy then ends up stalking her for nearly a year.

"It then began to affect her play, because the man would come to events and brush alongside of her and try and touch her gently. When she would bend down to read a putt, he would get on the other side of the green and bend to be eye-to-eye with her. That's the kind of attention that isn't welcome."

There has only been a smattering of incidents like that throughout Funk's tenure with the tour. Just this week, there was a lookout posted about a possible stalker for Michelle Wie on Monday, and on Tuesday Gulbis' caddie, Greg Sheridan, warned Funk about two men that have harassed her here the last two years.

Generally, though, his weeks consist of giving warnings to fans that might have had one too many drinks and become unruly. Then there are the times when a player pulls him aside and says, "I want them out."

"When that happens, there is no gray area," he said. "If a player wants them gone, they're gone. We'll refund their money, tell them that they are not wanted here and if they show up again, they will be arrested."

Most weeks, there is none of that. Just Funk following Ochoa (or another high-profile player) around for 72 holes, with his earpiece humming with reports from around the course. On those days, being the line -- as Funk admits that he is -- is an easy job, because the players and spectators coexist peacefully.

"A good week for me?" Funk wondered aloud as he leaned forward in the golf cart, the light reflecting off of his sunglasses. "It's when on Sunday evening someone will say, 'Oh, Joe was here? I didn't even notice.'"
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Limosine One
I don't know if presidential limo is called Limo One, but it seems logical. However, the new one seems to look like something from the Road Warrior. According to one source, "the limo can withstand a 'direct hit from an asteroid.' " More or less.

One really interesting part of the piece is an quote from "Joe Funk, a retired Secret Service agent who was President Bill Clinton's driver during part of his career."

"I think he will be surprised about how when he's in the limo, it's a cocoon," Funk said. "The everyday noises will be gone, and he will be totally isolated in this protective envelope."

"At the same time, I think he will be surprised at the communication capabilities, how the phones, the satellites, the Internet -- everything is at his fingertips," he said. "So at one end, you are totally removed from society. The other side of the coin is that he can have any communications worldwide at a moment's touch."

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http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/283429-6

Secret Service and the PresidencyJan 17, 2009C-SPAN | Washington Journal

Joseph Funk talked about the role of the U.S. Secret Service, and he responded to telephone calls and electronic mail. Mr. Funk spent twenty-one years with the U.S. Secret Service and was part of President Obama's protection detail during the primary.
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Joseph J. Funk is a 21 year veteran of the U.S. Secret Service and the former Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge of the Washington D.C. Field Office. During his career, Mr. Funk spent over eight years assigned to the protection details of President George H. Bush, President William J. Clinton and numerous foreign heads of states. Mr. Funk has received extensive training and experience in counter terrorism tactics and suppression. Currently, Mr. Funk is the President and CEO of U.S. Safety & Security, LLC, a company in the forefront of providing corporate security, executive protection, security surveys and vulnerability assessments. Mr. Funk holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the William Paterson University, Wayne, N.J. He has also done postgraduate level work in the area of Urban Planning at William Paterson University and the Johns Hopkins School of Upper Management Program. For his efforts, Mr. Funk has received numerous awards from the U.S. Secret Service, local financial institutions, the U.S. Attorneys office’s in Maryland, Washington D.C., and Virginia, as well as numerous civic organizations. Mr. Funk is a frequent contributor to Fox News, CNN and CSPAN.