I wrote that story in the Post! I wrote in my book that the Trump years were very, very difficult for the Secret Service in two ways. Were the Trump years particularly extraordinary for the Secret Service? The bathroom outside the Kushner house made big news, but what else have you heard? But this has forced them to literally swear under oath what they saw and what they heard the president say and do. I think the congressional committee hearings this week laid bare two important things about the Secret Service: One, they hate to be in the middle of a story and embroiled in a controversial matter involving the people they protect-they just want to protect the boss and stay in the shadows. Sometimes it’s very intimate, involving the lives of the president and his family.

6 panel rank in that history?Ĭarol Leonnig: The Secret Service is a silent witness to all kinds of American history, some of it tragic, some of it very controversial. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.Īymann Ismail: You wrote the book on the Secret Service’s history. To find out just how extraordinary this all was and what to make of the denials, I called her on Thursday. A Washington Post national investigative reporter who has been breaking Secret Service news for years, Leonnig is the author of Zero Fail, a new book that digs into the landmark incidents of the agency’s history. Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.ĭenials have since crept out that this ever happened.

Carol leonnig book on secret service