Correction for my post about the book "In The

Correction for my post about the book "In The President's Service"

Secret Service Tattletales?

http://www.factcheck.org/2011/06/secret-service-tattletales/

Posted on June 10, 2011

Q: Does a recent book quote Secret Service agents saying denigrating things about Obama and other recent Democratic presidents while praising only Republicans?

A: No. The book's author, Ronald Kessler, states that a viral e-mail's descriptions of Obama and Clinton "are completely wrong." His book quotes both flattering and unflattering observations about presidents of both parties.

FULL QUESTION

I received this today, and don’t believe that any ex secret service agent would put out this stuff.

Subject:  Secret Service
In The President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect
by Ronald Kessler

This book about the Secret Service reveals an awful lot about the Presidents and Vice-Presidents . . . very interesting recap thus far:

FULL ANSWER

This partisan screed has some very red flags flying, which should warn the wary reader that it's not accurate. It's not signed, a clue that whoever wrote it does not wish to take responsibility. He or she gives no direct quotes or page-number citations from the book supposedly being summarized — only paraphrases that, it turns out, reflect the opinions of the anonymous writer but not necessarily those of Secret Service agents. Most versions of the message (unlike the one we cite here) do not even give the title of the book or the author.

The truth is the message makes grossly false and misleading claims about what is contained in the book. " In the President's Secret Service " was written by  Ronald Kessler , a former  Washington Post reporter who is now chief Washington correspondent for the conservative news site Newsmax. When we contacted Kessler, he told us:

Author Ronald Kessler: [A]bout a third of the items are wrong and not in the book. In addition, the summaries of Obama, Agnew, and Bill Clinton are completely wrong, Contrary to the email, the book actually says Obama treats the Secret Service with respect and appreciates what the agents do. It does not say he hates the military.

Furthermore, the book is not the one-sided partisan attack that the e-mail describes. As Kessler says:

Kessler: The book is totally non-partisan and skewers Democrats–JFK, LBJ, Carter, Gary Hart,– and Republicans–Nixon, Jenna Bush, Barbara Bush, Dick Cheney's daughter Mary, Agnew, Ford, and Bush's treasury secretary John Snow–alike.

We won't attempt to address every claim this message makes about every president. Some are accurate enough. The book does quote former Secret Service agents as saying Lyndon Johnson had numerous sexual affairs in the White House and elsewhere (pages 15-16). It says agents considered Jimmy Carter the "least likeable" modern president (page 70), and relates a number of unflattering anecdotes about him (pages 70-79). And it also says that unlike Carter, Ronald Reagan "treated Secret Service agents, the Air Force One crew, and the maids and butlers in the White House with respect" (page 87).

But the e-mail grossly misrepresents what the book says about Obama and some others.

Obama

Contrary to the e-mail's account, the book does  not say that President Obama "hates the military and looks down on the Secret Service." In fact, it says the opposite.

"In the President's Secret Service," page 223: Agents say both Barack Obama — code-named Renegade — and Michelle Obama — code-named Renaissance — treat them with respect, as does Biden.

"Twice Obama invited agents to dinner, including a party for a relative, both at his home," says an agent who was on his candidate detail. Michelle Obama insists that agents call her by her first name.

About the least flattering thing the book says about Obama is that he "has continued to smoke regularly," despite saying he was quitting (page 224). That was early in the administration. Kessler's book first appeared in 2009.

Agnew

Kessler's book does  not describe Spiro T. Agnew as "a nice, decent man" or say that "everyone was surprised at his downfall," as this e-mail falsely claims. Agnew was the Republican vice president who resigned in disgrace in 1973 after pleading "no contest" to criminal charges stemming from his acceptance of bribes, and who later repaid  $268,000 in kickbacks and interest to the state of Maryland as the result of a civil suit, and was disbarred from the practice of law.

Kessler's book says that Agnew — far from being "a decent man" — was "having affairs while in office" and relying on Secret Service agents to cover for him. "We felt like pimps," the book quotes one unnamed former agent as recalling (pages 35-36).

Ford

The book doesn't describe Gerald Ford as "a true gentleman," as the message claims. To be sure, agents are quoted calling Ford "a decent man." But the book says he was also so "cheap" that he tipped golf caddies only a buck and sometimes cadged money from agents to pay for small purchases, such as a newspaper (page 49).

Clinton

Bill Clinton is described as chronically late for events (page 143), and the book tells a number of unflattering tales about his wife, Hillary, who is described as having an "angry personality" and "an explosive temper" (page 169). But agents don't describe him as "not trustworthy," as the message claims. And there's no reference to the Clinton presidency being "one giant party," or anything similar. In the book, one unnamed agent says Bill Clinton "is very friendly to agents" and "does treat the guys really well" (page 170).

We can't vouch for the accuracy of everything in Kessler's book, which sometimes relies on quotes from former agents who are not named. But this anonymous e-mail is wholly one-sided and in many instances a false description of what the book contains.

– Brooks Jackson

Sources

Kessler, Ronald. " In the President's Secret Service ." Three Rivers Press. 2009 and 2010.

Kessler, Ronald. E-mail interview with FactCheck.org. 2-10 Jun 2011.