from the someone-is-going-to-have-a-very-bad-day dept.
The Secret Service thought we all needed a reminder that databases of personal information will be exploited for political gain. The chair of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, was leading the investigation into one of the recent cases of Secret Service misconduct. Agents within the service accessed records concerning Chaffetz' application to the Secret Service (which was not acted upon) and then disseminated that information within the agency and talked to the press about it.
The full Inspector General's report (pdf) is available.
Will Chaffetz learn from his experience and strengthen privacy laws for regular citizens?
Related Stories
Forty-one Secret Service employees are being disciplined for improperly accessing data about a Congressman who was investigating the multitude of scandals involving the Secret Service:
Forty-one employees of the Secret Service have been disciplined for improperly accessing data about Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the secretary of Homeland Security said Thursday. Secretary Jeh Johnson says the employee responsible for leaking that private information to the press has already resigned from the Secret Service.
[...] Johnson now says Chaffetz's files were accessed approximately 60 times, and that most of those occasions violated privacy laws. After investigating 57 Secret Service employees, 41 people will be disciplined — with punishments ranging from a letter of reprimand (for one employee) to suspensions without pay for up to 45 days.
Also at Reuters.
Previously: US Secret Service Violated Privacy Policy to Embarrass Congressman
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Saturday October 03 2015, @04:06PM
It's been a year since the Director of the United States Secret Service resigned. [bbc.com] The BBC article has a list of lapses in case you've forgotten.
The report has a nice terminal screenshot. It also mentions that "two Secret Service supervisors breached a crime scene and may have been under the influence of alcohol." Alcoholism is apparently rampant within the Secret Service [bloomberg.com].
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 5, Funny) by RamiK on Saturday October 03 2015, @04:11PM
In the Secret Service's defense, if you'd known the politicians to the extent they do, you'd know it takes severe inebriation to jump in front of a bullet for them.
compiling...
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Monday October 05 2015, @01:02PM
How many secret service members have been shot on duty since McCarthy? I don't see many "taking a bullet" on the list for the President [odmp.org] - lots of traffic accidents.
Of the ones that were shot,
Jacob Chestnut, John Gibson - Both Capitol police
George Ramsburg - Airport PD, preventing a hijacking
R.S. St. Clair - U.S Marshall, which from the Bio indicated he was doing something unconstitutional (arresting someone for making remarks)
J.D. Tippit - Dallas PD cop
So in reality the secret service is the safest place to be that's anywhere near law enforcement.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday October 03 2015, @04:56PM
They don't need no steenking Checks & Balances!
This sort of thing is another government institution losing the illusion of competence and accountability. The only ones I can think of that I still have a decent opinion of are NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF), though perhaps there are Soylentils with personal experience with those agencies who know differently.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 04 2015, @06:55PM
Any idea why my, earlier, submission wasn't published?
/submit.pl?op=viewsub&subid=980 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 04 2015, @07:15PM
The link should have gone to /submit.pl?op=viewsub&subid=9802 [soylentnews.org].
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 05 2015, @06:38PM
Because your submission seems to be valid synthesis journalism. (i.e. you took multiple stories and summarized them yourself.) You didn't make it a one or two sentence comment and then quoted one of those articles wholesale.
(Score: 2) by gottabeme on Tuesday October 06 2015, @08:46AM
While your summary was more informative, the headline was less so. "Inspector general reports on..." vs. "Secret Service embarrasses congressman". The latter gets to the point and is more like what a newspaper would write. Were I the editor, I would have taken your summary with this headline.