You know that damning news story that’s been making the rounds on social media, detailing how President Donald Trump’s little weekend getaways were causing the Secret Service to go broke and agents to go unpaid?
Yeah. Turns out that wasn’t true.
A recent misleading USA Today report, which was later gleefully picked up by CNN, accused the Trump family of spending bookoos of cash in security details for their weekend trips to Mar-a-lago and New Jersey – so much cash, USA Today claimed, that the Secret Service said they were no longer able to pay their agents.
The claims were based off an interview with Secret Service Director Randolph "Tex'' Alles, who told USA Today that more than 1,000 Secret Service agents had already hit their congressionally-mandated salary “caps” for the entire fiscal year (meaning they’ve been paid what they’re owed, but just aren’t getting paid any more).
But while it’s true that Trump’s 18-person family is significantly bigger than Barack Obama’s, and that he is racking up a pretty hefty vacation tab, the issue of Secret Service agents maxing out their yearly paychecks is a problem that didn’t start with the current president.
In fact, Alles later clarified that the problem of Secret Service agents hitting their salary caps before the end of the fiscal year is a chronic issue that’s been cropping up for a long time – well before Trump ever took the oath of office. CNN added, rather begrudgingly:
Later Monday morning, Alles told CNN in a statement that the problem isn't just related to the Trump administration and has been going on for many years.
"This issue is not one that can be attributed to the current administration's protection requirements but, rather, has been an ongoing issue for nearly a decade due to an overall increase in operational tempo," he said in the statement.
Alles added that while some agents may have maxed out their salary caps for the year, the Secret Service agency does, in fact, have plenty of money to continue operating as normal – meaning that no, agents aren’t running around like Bob Cratchett trying to scrounge up a Christmas turkey. Alles explained:
"The Secret Service has the funding it needs to meet all current mission requirements for the remainder of the fiscal year and compensate employees for overtime within statutory pay caps," Alles said in a statement. "The Secret Service estimates that roughly 1,100 employees will work overtime hours in excess of statutory pay caps during calendar year 2017. Our agency experienced a similar situation in calendar year 2016 that resulted in legislation that allowed Secret Service employees to exceed statutory caps on pay."
If the media wants Trump to stop labeling them “fake news,” perhaps they should stop reporting fake stories.