The United States Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security with the purpose of conducting investigations into currency and financial-payment crime, and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and visiting heads of state or government. The Secret Service was, until 2003, part of the Department of the Treasury, due to their initial mandate of combatting counterfeiting of U.S. currency. The agency has protected U.S. presidents and presidential candidates since 1901.
Robert Upshur Woodward is an American investigative journalist. He started working for The Washington Post as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the honorific title of associate editor though the Post no longer employs him.
Deep Throat is the pseudonym given to the secret informant who provided information in 1972 to Bob Woodward, who shared it with Carl Bernstein. Woodward and Bernstein were reporters for The Washington Post, and Deep Throat provided key details about the involvement of U.S. president Richard Nixon's administration in what came to be known as the Watergate scandal. In 2005, 31 years after Nixon's resignation and 11 years after Nixon's death, a family attorney stated that former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Associate Director Mark Felt was Deep Throat. By then, Felt was suffering from dementia and had previously denied being Deep Throat, but Woodward and Bernstein then confirmed the attorney's claim.
Ronald Borek Kessler is an American journalist and author of 21 non-fiction books about the White House, U.S. Secret Service, FBI, and CIA.
William Mark Felt Sr. was an American law enforcement officer who worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1942 to 1973 and was known for his role in the Watergate scandal. Felt was an FBI special agent who eventually rose to the position of Deputy Director, the Bureau's second-highest-ranking post. Felt worked in several FBI field offices prior to his promotion to the Bureau's headquarters. In 1980, he was convicted of having violated the civil rights of people thought to be associated with members of the Weather Underground, by ordering FBI agents to break into their homes and search the premises as part of an attempt to prevent bombings. He was ordered to pay a fine, but was pardoned by President Ronald Reagan during his appeal.
James Bamford is an American author, journalist and documentary producer noted for his writing about United States intelligence agencies, especially the National Security Agency (NSA). The New York Times has called him "the nation's premier journalist on the subject of the National Security Agency" and The New Yorker named him "the NSA's chief chronicler."
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States.
Lucianne Goldberg, also known as Lucianne Cummings, was an American literary agent and author. She was named as one of the "key players" in the 1998 impeachment of President Clinton, as it was she who controversially advised Monica Lewinsky's confidante Linda Tripp to tape Lewinsky's phone calls about their affair. The 20-hour recording became crucial to the Starr investigation. She was the mother of Jonah Goldberg, a conservative political commentator, and Joshua Goldberg, a Republican nominee for the New York City Council.
Lewis Carlo Merletti was the 19th Director of the United States Secret Service. He succeeded Eljay B. Bowron, and was sworn in on June 6, 1997, by the Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin. A 25-year veteran of the United States Secret Service, Merletti has also served as Assistant Director in the Office of Training, and as the Special Agent in Charge of the Presidential Protection Division.
The United States Secret Service uses code names for U.S. presidents, first ladies, and other prominent persons and locations. The use of such names was originally for security purposes and dates to a time when sensitive electronic communications were not routinely encrypted; today, the names simply serve for purposes of brevity, clarity, and tradition. The Secret Service does not choose these names, however. The White House Communications Agency maintains a list that candidates choose from, often choosing ones that resonate with them personally.
Jerry S. Parr was a United States Secret Service special agent who is best known for defending President Ronald Reagan during the attempt on the president's life on March 30, 1981, in Washington, D.C. Parr pushed Reagan into the presidential limousine and made the critical decision to divert the presidential motorcade to George Washington University Hospital instead of returning to the White House. He was honored for his actions that day with U.S. Congress commendations, and is widely credited with helping to save the president's life.
Peter Joseph Souza is an American photojournalist, the former chief official White House photographer for Presidents of the United States Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama and the former director of the White House Photography Office. He was a photographer with The Chicago Tribune, stationed at the Washington, D.C., bureau from 1998 to 2007; during this period, he also followed the rise of then-Senator Obama to the presidency.
Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, was involved in multiple security incidents, including several assassination threats and plots, starting from when he became a presidential candidate in 2007. Secret Service protection for Obama began after he received a death threat in 2007, while serving as the junior United States senator from Illinois and running for president. This marked the earliest time a candidate received such protection before being nominated. Security was increased early for Obama due to fears of possible assassination attempts by white supremacist or other racist groups or individuals against the first African American major party presidential nominee.
The United States Secret Service Uniformed Division is the Federal police force of the U.S. Secret Service, similar to the U.S. Capitol Police or DHS Federal Protective Service. It is in charge of protecting the physical White House grounds and foreign diplomatic missions in the District of Columbia area.
The Counter Assault Team (CAT) is a specialized tactical unit of the U.S. Secret Service that provides tactical support to the Presidential Protective Division to protect the President of the United States. This is in contrast to the Presidential Protective Division whose mission is to shield the president from an attack and to evacuate them to a place of safety. The CAT can also provide tactical support to other designated protectees, at venues and National Special Security Events.
Warren "Bill" Gulley was an American military non-commissioned officer (NCO) who, in retirement, served (1968–1977) as the first civilian chief of the White House Military Office. In that position he amassed substantial political influence and established a sometimes feared reputation.
Christopher Beauregard Emery is an American author and former government official. He was a White House Usher during the Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Clinton administrations. Emery later served as the chief information officer of the United States Department of Justice National Security Division and the Architect of the Capitol. He was chief enterprise architect of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Emery is the author of the memoir White House Usher: Stories from the Inside (2017).
Peter Paul Strzok II is a former United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent. He was the Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division and led the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Previously, he had been the chief of the division's Counterespionage Section and led the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email server.
Bertram S. Brown was an American psychiatrist who was the head of the National Institute of Mental Health from 1970 to 1977, Assistant Surgeon General from 1978 to 1980, rear admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and president and chief executive of Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia from 1983 until his retirement in 1987. He pioneered research in psychiatry, especially in mental disabilities.
