Several Secret Service agents have voiced frustration and anger at White House press secretary Jen Psaki and other officials for purposely downplaying the extent to which they suffered bites and attacks from President Joe Biden’s dog Major.
According to 36 pages of communications from the Secret Service obtained by government watchdog group Judicial Watch, Major, a German Shepard, bit or snapped at agents several times over the past year, leaving puncture wounds, torn clothing, and bruising.
The New York Post that newly released documents show that Secret Service agents were intensely angry at the White House for glossing over the attacks on them, adding that on one occasion, Major tore a suitcoat worth around $500. The agent reportedly attempted to get President Joe Biden to pay for the coat, but eventually dropped his request after being criticized by agency supervisors.
The Post added:
They also show internal discord at the Secret Service, which has been embroiled since last week in that involves at least four agents.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged just one biting incident at a briefing on March 9, 2021, saying that one day earlier, “the first family’s younger dog, Major, was surprised by an unfamiliar person and reacted in a way that resulted in a minor injury to the individual.”
The March 8 bite actually was the final attack in an eight-day streak and the injured agent — whose injuries were categorized as “severe” by a colleague — fumed about Psaki’s spin.
“NO I didn’t surprise the dog doing my job by being at [redacted] as the press secretary just said! Now I’m pissed,” the agent wrote to a co-worker.
The co-worker replied: “SMH. .. hope you didn’t get hurt to [sic] bad.”
Another message written by an unknown agent said a colleague referred to photos of a bite area and said that “injury cannot be described in any other term than ‘severe.’”
One agent was attacked while stationed on the second-floor residential area of the White House in the vicinity of first lady Jill Biden.
“Without warning or provocation, Major barked loudly at [the agent] … and charged” is how a newly released, though heavily redacted, the incident report describes what took place.
“Having no time to seek cover from the attack, [the agent] turned away from the dog as he bit into [redacted] right leg,” the account added.
President Biden’s then-chief protective agent David Cho wrote in an email about an hour later: “Major bit one of the agents this morning. The agent is ok, but does have bruising and a puncture.”
The same agent was bitten by the dog again, but it is not clear when. They were “the only known PPD [Presidential Protective Division] agent to h[a]ve suffered two attacks from Major in less than 10 days,” said a June 2021 email.
The documents also noted that at one point, there was an eight-day stretch where Major bit or snapped at Secret Service agents.
“Photos of injuries were redacted in the records, but one photo that was released shows an agent’s wool overcoat that was ripped on March 6 as the president and first lady returned indoors from the White House Tennis Pavilion,” The Post reported.