Story highlights
Source: An alarm box had been turned down near the White House front door
Source: A canine unit was not released to chase the jumper
The first female director of the Secret Service resigned after the incident
Iraq war veteran Omar Gonzalez pleaded not guilty to federal charges
A man who jumped the White House fence allegedly knocked over a female officer at the mansion’s double doors before he dashed into the ornate East Room.
An inquiry continues into how Omar Gonzalez, 42, made it into the White House. Investigators are looking through an elaborate closed-circuit video system showing the entire incident, a Secret Service source told CNN.
Authorities said the Iraq war veteran had a knife in his pocket when he ran into the White House, where he was later subdued after a wild chase.
The officer he met at the doorway got up, chased him and tackled him just outside the East Room, a source said.
However, the fact that it was a female officer had nothing to do with the breach, according to the source.
“Gender was not a factor, she got one door secured but was pushed over while trying to get the second door shut,” the source said.
Neither President Barack Obama nor the first family were at home at the time of the incident on September 19.
Gonzalez pleaded not guilty to federal charges Wednesday that included entering a restricted building while carrying a dangerous weapon.
A federal judge ordered additional mental testing to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.
White House alarm was down
An alarm box had been turned down near the front door after complaints by the White House usher’s office that it was too loud. A canine unit was not released to chase Gonzalez because there were “too many friendlies around,” the source said.
Security failure in the nation’s highest office sparked calls for new leadership in the Secret Service.
First female director resigns
Julia Pierson, the first female director of the Secret Service, resigned Wednesday after a subsequent congressional inquiry uncovered other security lapses.
Pierson took over as director of the Secret Service in March 2013, tapped by Obama to change the culture of an agency marred by a Colombian prostitution scandal at the time.
More scandals
Several male agents in an advance contingent before a presidential trip to Cartagena, Colombia, had taken prostitutes back to their hotel rooms, according to investigators. A morning-after dispute between one agent and a woman over payment led to exposure of what happened and the ensuing investigations. Nine agents eventually left or lost their jobs
Calls for Pierson to resign grew after another bombshell revelation during her testimony Tuesday on Capitol Hill that an armed security contractor was allowed to get into an elevator with the President during a recent trip to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
Pierson became the Secret Service’s chief of staff in 2008. Before that, she served on the protective details of Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
New leadership
After her resignation, Homeland Security Director Jeh Johnson announced that his department would take over an internal inquiry of the Secret Service and appoint a new panel to review security at the White House.
Joseph Clancy, a former special agent in charge of the Presidential Protective Division of the Secret Service, will serve as interim director, Johnson said.
CNN’s Pamela Brown, Elizabeth Hartfield, Eric Bradner and Z. Byron Wolf contributed to this report
