2024-02-21 20:09:27
A report indicates that President Joe Biden’s dog, Commander, has bitten Secret Service agents as many as 24 times at the White House and other locations.
The reported incidents were documented by CNN after it obtained internal USSS documents that showed the dog bit agents more times than were initially thought.
“The new documents, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, reveal the extent to which the situation had become a serious workplace issue for the hundreds of staff supporting White House operations, and how agency personnel changed their habits to avoid being injured by the German shepherd,” noted CNN.
An anonymous assistant special agent in charge of the USSS Presidential Protective Division wrote to their team in a June 2023 email that agents “must be creative to ensure our own personal safety.”
“The recent dog bites have challenged us to adjust our operational tactics when Commander is present – please give lots of room,” the email said.
Months after the email, the White House finally removed Commander from the premises following several more biting incidents:
In October 2022, an unnamed Secret Service technician described an incident and said they were “worried about the family pets behavior escalating and that … something worse was going to happen to others.”
The documented incidents included members of the Secret Service’s uniformed division, members of the president’s protective detail and other USSS officials. They took place inside and outside of the White House residence, but also at Biden family homes in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, at Camp David, and in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where the first family spends the Thanksgiving holiday.
A source close to Bidens said the family feels “awful” and “heartbroken” over the biting incidents, adding that they apologized profusely.
“They’ve been heartbroken over this. They’ve apologized to those who have been bitten, taken flowers to some. They feel awful. Commander was over-protective, and even though they tried and tried to work on it, they had to let him go live with other members of their family,” the source said.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden take their dog Commander for a walk in Rehoboth Beach, DE, Dec. 28, 2021. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
Commander joined the family as a puppy in December 2021; the biting incidents began in October 2022 and continued for nearly a full year. Elizabeth Alexander, first lady Jill Biden’s communications director, said in a statement provided to CNN that Commander has been kept away from all White House staff and Secret Service agents since other family members took him into custody.
“The president and first lady care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day. Despite additional dog training, leashing, working with veterinarians, and consulting with animal behaviorists, the White House environment simply proved too much for Commander,” she said.
“Since the fall, he has lived with other family members,” she added.
In an email dated July 29, 2023, Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for USSS, called on his media team to begin “crafting potential public responses” about one particular severe incident that took place at the president’s residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The heavily redacted email said that an agent from the Presidential Protective Division’s counter-surveillance unit came into the backyard only to find out that Commander was “loose and off-leash.”
“In the background SA [redacted] heard the voice of what believes to be FLOTUS Dr. Jill Biden [redacted] yelling [redacted quote]. Commander ran toward the direction of post [redacted] booth and bit SA [redacted in the left forearm. Causing a severe deep open wound. As result of the attack SA [redacted] started to loose [sic] a significant amount of blood from [redacted] arm,” the report said.
The agent received six stitches to the forearm and was treated on-site by the White House medical unit.
In another October 2022 incident, an agent was bitten in the forearm while holding the door open in an area between the West Wing and the residence.
“Commander and POTUS were entering the Palm Room through the West Colonnade. Commander came in first circled back and grabbed my arm left arm,” the email said. “He then stood up and back down. He is literally my height standing. POTUS entered shortly after since he was trailing behind him. POTUS entered the Palm Room and said [redacted].”
Biden family dog Commander plays with a tennis ball on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, January 21, 2022. (HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
In another incident in November 2022, the dog injured a uniform division officer’s right arm and right quad. The injuries required medical treatment at a hospital. In another incident in December 2022, Commander bit an agent with the first family present.
“While first family was coming back from tennis pavilion, [redacted] having her hands full and no one else around I did try to open the closed door… for her; at that moment first family dog passed everyone toward the deep room door. Having doors not being fully open yet he bit me in my left forearm,” the officer said.
That particular bite did not leave any marks.
In 2021, reports surfaced that the president’s then-dog Major (also a German Shepherd) had been involved in two serious biting incidents. One year later, several Secret Service agents claimed that the White House lied about the incidents to minimize the impact.
Released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by Judicial Watch, the documents revealed that the Secret Service attempted to downplay events and even reprimanded one of the agents for detailing the attack, fearing it would upset the Biden family. In March 2021, White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed that one dog attack occurred after Major was “surprised by an unfamiliar person.”
“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,” Psaki acknowledged at the time.
According to the unsealed documents, the bite occurred after the dog bit agents over eight consecutive days, and the injuries were “severe” rather than minor.
“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 reportedly wrote to a co-worker. The co-worker replied, “SMH. .. hope you didn’t get hurt to [sic] bad.”
Another message from a Secret Service employee referenced the bite, explaining that the “injury cannot be described in any other term than ‘severe.’”
The heavily redacted incident report said that the bite occurred at 7:00 a.m. in the White House residential area on the second floor near first lady Jill Biden’s office.
This Nov. 16, 2018, photo shows Joe Biden and his newly-adopted German shepherd Major, in Wilmington, DE. (Stephanie Carter/Delaware Humane Association via AP)
Without warning or provocation, Major barked loudly at [the agent] … and charged,” the report said. “Having no time to seek cover from the attack, [the agent] turned away from the dog as he bit into [redacted] right leg.”
David Cho, President Biden’s then-chief protective agent, wrote in an email later that day: “Major bit one of the agents this morning. The agent is ok, but does have bruising and a puncture.”
The agent was reportedly bitten by Major a second time. Photos of the injuries were redacted in the report except for one that showed the agent’s torn wool overcoat.
Major was later sent to live with friends in Delaware, and the president adopted Commander.
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