Seven Candidates Qualify for Secret Service Protection But D

Seven Candidates Qualify for Secret Service Protection But Don't Have It
By Josiah Ryan
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
January 15, 2008

(CNSNews.com) - Seven presidential candidates "meet or exceed" the "criteria for consideration" for Secret Service protection but do not have it, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a letter sent last week to a special congressional committee that advises in such matters.

The letter also states, "Since the Advisory Committee's last meeting, the [John] Edwards '08 Campaign has not renewed its request for Secret Service protection and no other presidential campaign or candidate has requested Secret Service protection."

But neither the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), nor the Edwards campaign, nor the advisory committee members would confirm that the Edwards campaign did, in fact, request Secret Service protection.

Democratic presidential contenders Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) have Secret Service protection, and the seven candidates who "currently meet or exceed" the "criteria for consideration" of protection but don't have it, according to Chertoff, are: John Edwards, Rudolph Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson. (The "criteria for consideration" for Secret Service protection are not publicly available.)

The authenticity of Chertoff's Jan. 9 letter, obtained exclusively by Cybercast News Service from a confidential source, was confirmed by Jeff Ostermayer, a DHS spokesman.

The implied request for Secret Service Protection from the Edwards '08 campaign has not been independently confirmed, despite repeated inquiries to his campaign and numerous telephone calls and in-person requests at the offices of the advisory committee's congressional members.

They include House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

According to Chertoff's letter, the Secret Service has provided protection for 454 Clinton trips and 404 Obama trips between May 1, 2007 and Jan. 1, 2008.

The date of Chertoff's letter, Jan. 9, 2008, coincides with the date on a letter addressed to him from the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), which urges more protection for presidential candidates.

"I reiterate my request for increased protective and security service to all the remaining candidates that are competing in the primaries and caucuses this winter and spring," wrote Thompson.

The law governing Secret Service protection for presidential candidates is U.S.C. 18, Part II, Sec. 3056, which reads, in part, "(a) Under the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the United States Secret Service is authorized to protect the following persons: ... (7) Major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates and, within 120 days of the general Presidential election, the spouses of such candidates. As used in this paragraph, the term 'major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates' means those individuals identified as such by the Secretary of Homeland Security after consultation with an advisory committee consisting of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, and one additional member selected by the other members of the committee."

McConnell's communications director, Don Stewart, told Cybercast News Service that security concerns do not allow staff members to comment on who is and is not given protection.

"It is our policy not to comment on the information provided to the advisory committee or, for obvious reasons, on issues that may affect the security of the Secret Service or those they protect," he said.

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp ... 0115b.html

Maybe they are foregoing protection because of who the secret service answers to. Maybe they are more afraid of the protection than the threat to their safety. Illegal wire taps, illegal information gathering, illegal etc. etc..