Secret Service on Working Near Bidens' Dog: 'Have a Safe Shift!'

Report from right-wing Judicial Watch claims more biting incidents from German shepherd Commander
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 14, 2024 6:03 AM CDT
Report: Secret Service Griped Bidens' Dog Should Be Muzzled
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden's dog Commander, a German shepherd, is walked before the president and first lady arrive on Marine One at the White House in Washington on March 13, 2022.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

It's well known that President Biden's dogs have been busted biting, but a new report from a right-wing activist group suggests there may have been more bites than previously reported. TMZ was one of the first outlets to report on Secret Service records obtained from the Department of Homeland Security after Judicial Watch filed a FOIA request, with those records noting that Biden's German shepherd Commander has bitten agents who were protecting him at least three dozen times. The president himself was said to have been present on at least three of those occasions. Fox News notes the attacks reportedly took place everywhere from the White House and Camp David to the Bidens' homes in Delaware.

  • Incident No. 1: Per the DHS records, Biden was walking Commander on a leash on Sept. 12 in the White House's Kennedy Garden when the dog "ran through [Biden's] legs" and bit a USSS agent's left arm through his jacket. Both the agent and Biden yelled at Commander, and the agent was even able to pet the dog, but "when turning to close the door, Commander jumped again and bit my left arm for the second time," the agent noted. No skin was broken, and the agent was said to have submitted paperwork for reimbursement of nearly $1,000 for his suit jacket.

  • Incidents No. 2 and 3: The records also indicate Biden was present when Commander got nippy in October 2022, when the dog bit a Secret Service agent holding the door for him near the Rose Garden, and in December 2022, when Biden let Commander off his leash and the dog reportedly rushed over to bite an agent, which led to a 1/2-inch cut.
  • USSS reaction: In September of last year, a sergeant in the Secret Service's Uniformed Division wrote of a biting incident to a colleague, noting, "FYI—there was a dog bite and the Officer may need to go the hospital," adding, "Have a safe shift!"
  • USSS reaction II: In an email that same month, a compensation official from DHS' Safety, Health, and Environmental Division wrote in an email to colleagues: "Heads up and FYI. TMZ just reported a dog bite at the White House! Can we please find a way to get this dog muzzled." A colleague replies, "How does TMZ know before we do???"
  • The dogs: Commander was eventually removed from the White House in October. Another Biden German shepherd, Major, was rehomed in late 2021 for similar biting incidents. There's been no comment from the White House on the latest JW report.
(More President Biden stories.)

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