CNN
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Commander Biden, President Joe Biden‘s family dog has bitten U.S. Secret Service personnel in at least 24 incidents at the White House and elsewhere, according to new internal USSS documents obtained by CNN.
This number does not include additional incidents previously reported by CNN involving executive residence staff and other White House employees. But the new documents, obtained thanks A Freedom of Information Act request, reveal how the situation has become a serious workplace problem for the hundreds of employees supporting White House operations, and how agency staff have changed their habits to avoid being hurt by the German Shepherd.
“Recent dog bites have challenged us to adjust our operational tactics when the commander is present – please allow plenty of space,” wrote an anonymous assistant special agent in charge of the Presidential Protection Division. ‘USSS to his team in a June 2023 email, warning that agents “must be creative to ensure our own personal safety.”
This warning came months before the dog was kicked out of the White House, with several biting incidents occurring in the meantime.
CNN reviewed more than 400 pages of documents, many of which were heavily redacted to protect the anonymity of USSS personnel and operational details.
In October 2022, an anonymous Secret Service technician described one incident and said they were “worried that the pets’ behavior was escalating and that…something worse was going to happen to the others.”
The documented incidents involved members of the Secret Service’s Uniformed Division, members of the President’s Protection Team, and other USSS officials. They took place inside and outside the White House residence, but also at the Biden family homes in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, at Camp David and in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where the first family spends Thanksgiving holiday.
A source close to the Biden family told CNN that the Biden family feels “horrible” and is “heartbroken” by the series of biting incidents.
“They were heartbroken over this. They apologized to those who were bitten and gave flowers to some. They feel very bad. The commander was overprotective, and even though they tried and tried to work on it, they had to let him go to live with other members of their family,” the source explained.
The family has repeatedly tried to bring the situation under control, which began in October 2022 with incidents that lasted for a full year. Commander Biden joined the family as a puppy in December 2021.
“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 difficult for Commander. Since the fall, he has been living with other family members,” Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for first lady Jill Biden, said in a statement provided to CNN.
“The incidents involving Commander were treated as workplace accidents, with the events documented in accordance with Secret Service and U.S. Department of Homeland Security guidelines,” USSS spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told CNN on Wednesday.
“While Secret Service personnel do not handle or care for First Family animals, we continually work with all relevant entities to minimize any negative impacts from pets,” he said.
The documents, independently obtained by CNN, were first published by John Greenewald.
Guglielmi called on his media team to begin “developing potential public responses” to questions about the incidents starting in July 2023.
An email description of an incident that occurred on July 29, 2023 – one of the most serious details in the documents – reveals the seriousness of the problem.
An unnamed special agent with the Presidential Protective Division’s Counter-Surveillance Unit was providing security in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, according to the report. As the officer walked toward a security post located in a backyard, the officer heard the commander begin to bark, according to the report, but did not realize the commander was “loose and off leash.”
“In the background, SA (redacted) heard the voice of what she thinks is Dr. Jill Biden (redacted) from FLOTUS shouting (quote redacted). The commander ran towards the station cabin (redacted) and bit SA (redacted) on the left forearm. Causing a serious, deep, open wound. As a result of the attack, SA (redacted) began to lose (sic) a significant amount of blood from his (redacted) arm,” the report states.
The officer was treated on scene by the White House Medical Unit and received six stitches in his left forearm, according to the report, as well as antibiotics for the wound.
On October 2, 2022, an officer was bitten on the forearm while holding the door open in the area between the West Wing and the residence hall – a documented incident involving President Joe Biden.
“The Commander and POTUS entered the Palm Room through the west colonnade. The commander arrived first, turned around and grabbed my left arm. He then got up and came back down. He’s literally my size. POTUS entered shortly after as he was lagging behind him. POTUS walked into the Palm Room and said (redacted),” the agent said in a description of the event, saying he was “in shock that this incident happened.”
This officer raised workplace safety concerns, saying they were subsequently “concerned about him leaving the residence or going off-leash for the safety of others and the mine.”
There was a near miss on October 26, 2022 on the White House grounds. The dog “lunged for a bite but missed before the First Lady regained control of the leash.”
In November 2022, a dog injury to the right arm and right quad of a uniformed division officer required treatment at a hospital.
An officer described a biting incident that occurred on December 23, 2022, at the White House in the presence of the first family.
“As the first family returned from the tennis pavilion, (redacted) with their hands full and no one else around, I tried to open the closed door… for her; At that moment, the first dog in the family walked past everyone towards the door of the deep room. As the doors were not yet fully opened, he bit me on the left forearm,” the police officer said, noting that the bite “did not leave any marks.”
There was a similar incident on June 11, 2023, where a special agent “attempted to help open the door to the Oval Dining Room for the First Lady, at which point the family pet jumped on SA (redacted) and bit the left chest. area, resulting in a torn shirt and two small lacerations.
There was a biting incident on January 28, 2023 with a Navy personnel member at Laurel Cabin at Camp David. A few weeks later, a member of the presidential protection division sent a request for information to “anyone who had an incident with the commander.”
And an anonymous USSS employee filed a Notice of Traumatic Injury and Request for Continued Wage/Compensation with the U.S. Department of Labor for an incident that occurred on April 12, 2023.
The commander “jumped on me and bit me on the left arm. I suffered two (2) puncture marks and the skin was broken with blood present,” the notice states.
In May 2023, a special agent wrote that White House staff had been informed that “the animal should not go out alone.”
CNN previously reported that the situation concealed broader tensions between the Biden family and the US Secret Service.
Sources have suggested that the relationship between the first family and the US Secret Service was first strained when the family’s eldest dog, Major, injured an unnamed Secret Service agent in 2021 before ultimately being fired from more permanently in Delaware. Jen Psaki, then White House press secretary, only declared at the time that Major had injured an unnamed person.
The documents described this incident in more detail. The agent wrote that Major came around the corner of the White House Diplomatic Reception Room and “attacked” him “without provocation.” Staff said in an email regarding their coat refund that the incident “occurred through no fault of my own and I was unable to avoid this unusual circumstance due to the nature and circumstances requirements of my position.
The incident sparked a breach of trust, a source familiar with the matter said, which continued as the president’s top protectors worked to avoid a second dog.
The Bidens have long been dog owners, and like any other family member, the subject of their dog’s behavior was a “sensitive topic” for staff to raise, a source close to the family told CNN last year. dynamic.
The Commander was still featured prominently in White House Christmas decorations in December, months after he left 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The dog’s likenesses were among the festive displays in the East Colonnade and the Red Room, and the family’s official holiday card was signed by the president, the first lady, the cat (Willow), and the commander.
This story has been updated with additional details.
