Three years ago, a website claimed that, during a large gathering in 2009, a Secret Service agent shoved Joe Biden after the then-VP groped the agent’s girlfriend.
Much of America has not heard anything about this.
But, on Wednesday, September 2, watchdog law firm Judicial Watch filed a suit in U.S. District Court to obtain more information on the event, and part of their reasoning is based on the fact that, in response to a prior Judicial Watch FOIA request, the Secret Service DID confirm that -- contrary to what the pop media might claim – something happened on that day in 2009.
It’s a mystery tale that, inch by painstaking inch, the Scooby Gang of Judicial Watch is pushing into the light.
In their new suit, the law firm spells out what it did months ago to get this moving:
On May 12, 2020, Plaintiff served a FOIA request on the U.S. Secret Service (‘Secret Service’), a component of Defendant U.S. Department of Homeland Security, seeking access to ‘All records related to a reported incident in 2009 in which a United States Secret Service Agent reportedly was involved in an altercation with, or attempted to strike, then Vice President Joe Biden’ during a photo opportunity.
And JW specifically pointed out:
According to the request, the records sought ‘shall include, but not be limited to, witness statements, the Agent’s statement, victim’s statement, alleged perpetrator’s statement, incident reports, investigative reports, communications among USSS personnel regarding the incident, and disciplinary records related to the incident for the Agent in question.’ The request also referenced a news report regarding the incident. According to the news report, the Agent was suspended for a week because of the incident.
Within the new JW suit, the firm notes that the U.S. Secret Service denied the request. But the reason for the denial is what is so revealing.
Because, within the denial of provision of any documents, the U.S. Secret Service actually acknowledged that an incident did occur.
Again, from the latest Judicial Watch suit:
By letter dated July 13, 2020, the Secret Service asserted that ‘there are no responsive records or documents pertaining to your request in our files.’ The letter did not deny that the 2009 incident occurred, but instead claimed that ‘the above mentioned file(s) has been destroyed’ due to ‘retention standards' and that ‘[n]o additional information is available.'
Which means that files on a incident on that date were created. And in claiming that it could not provide any files because they’d been destroyed, the Secret Service confirmed to Judicial Watch that reports for an incident did exist.
According to Judicial Watch:
It did not deny the incident had occurred. In its lawsuit, Judicial Watch intends to test the Secret Service’s assertion that it destroyed all records about the incident.
Given the way that the Secret Service is behaving, it remains to be seen whether the details will be corroborated. But a big piece of the puzzle is in place.
In the meantime, the dogged folks at Judicial Watch will keep digging, and they have asked the court to reimburse their legal expenses incurred due to the government barriers and blocks.
Like a complex piece of origami, the mystery unfolds. So far, it’s revealing an ugly – very believable – picture.
(Cover Photo: Gage Skidmore)