Behind Closed Doors: United States Secret Service

tonight we go behind closed doors with the people who make the headlines and take you on an exclusive journey to places you've read about but never seen from inside the presidential limousine on the South Lawn of the White House good evening America I'm Joan Lunden and welcome as we once again go behind closed doors every day is our Super Bowl there's no well we can afford to lose today and we'll catch back up tomorrow there is no tomorrow there is no world series of Secret Service events we don't need to win four games we need to win every game keep him that way every move is really thought out rehearsed and his choreograph down to the second by the United States Secret Service now for the first time behind closed doors with the men and women who keep our president state if everything goes right they blend seamlessly into the woodwork but when things go wrong they are everywhere we are really there to ensure the American Way of life to make sure that the continuity of government is maintained and that our president does not have to be in fear of making any decision nor are we in fear that we'll lose him their job is one of the most important in our country because no matter who is the President or the vice president that person stands for America so in effect they are safeguarding our entire country not just an individual or a family the United States Secret Service has been mandated to maintain a very low profile existence while executing a very high profile job from the White House to their nondescript downtown Washington headquarters the Secret Service isn't always what you'd expect and that's exactly the way they like it there is a mystique and frankly there are things that we cannot divulge to for public consumption there are methods and techniques that we employ and both are protective and investigative responsibilities that they're better left not not said and if that adds to the mystique as part of it the Secret Service is not a part of the FBI the CIA or the military in fact it is a division of the Treasury Department founded in 1865 the main purpose was to suppress rampant counterfeiting today investigating financial crimes is still a top priority of the over 400 billion u.s. dollars in circulation the agency sees is over two hundred and thirty million dollars in phony bills each year the most counterfeited the $20 bill five samples from every bust are kept in the counterfeit specimen vault where they are analyzing catalog the rest of the hall is taken to a secure trash processing plant on this day they burn 50 million dollars but it's the agency's protection of the president vice president and foreign heads of state for which it is best known Luis Moretti has been a Secret Service agent for 23 years he worked presidential detail for Reagan and Bush and headed protection for President Clinton before being named director of the agency we sat down in his office and talked candidly about how the Secret Service does what it does where do you think the president is the safest everywhere he goes because of what we did most people would think that he's the safest at the White House but everywhere he goes we reconstruct the security is at the White House one of the ways they keep the president secure is by tracking his every movement behind the directors desk is a closed-circuit locator board that constantly updates him on the president's whereabouts as well as his families POTUS is an acronym for President of the United States FLOTUS stands for the First Lady of the United States people watch at home at the inauguration the president get out of his car and walked down the street with millions of people and you wonder my gosh is he safe we planned for the inauguration for months and months and we know every foot of that parade we know where the safest parts are we know where we need all the security we know where to put our counter-sniper teams where our magnetometer teams should be then we put in our counter assault teams we have agents on surveillance we have intelligence teams so that ralt is checked out very thoroughly we have a commitment uphold I mean that commitment is to the American people to 255 million American people that is the heart and soul of the Secret Service this is the train that carried the president and mrs. Clinton on their 1996 whistle-stop campaign tour across the Midwest car by car agents dissected the Train inch by inch depending on the size and the perceived risk of the event advanced teams arrive anywhere from three days to several months before the president everything from escape routes to potential bombs and sniper positions are checked and rechecked no detail is too small or insignificant I became an agent in 1974 and it was President Ford was in office at that time and he was about to go to the Army Navy game and when the agents from the president's detail they were doing the advance went to the official the football official that was going to do the coin toss in proximity to President Ford and asked for the coin in order for it to be x-rayed I knew that this is a very very detailed assignment if the president wants to drive off property obviously that would present a problem would he be able to do that to drive out of the White House himself we would have to have some conversations with the president and advise him against that some very serious conversation some serious conversation you would not want him to do it it's not our job to tell him what he can do and cannot do but we certainly advise him to as to what would be best and most secure and I'm correct in assuming that the president cannot refuse protection the president cannot refuse protection so when we see movies and we see the president and his wife sneaked out of some little underground passageway that's all Hollywood there's no sneaking out it's never happened what happens when the president calls it says I want to go up for pizza that would be considered an off-the-record movement and if you understand if we have someone that wants to do the president harm they have to know where he's going to be so if it's something that's off the record there's a there's a certain offset I mean we were going to an area or place that we weren't able to prepare in full but at the same time an assassin doesn't have the opportunity to know that we're going there what makes you nervous not nothing makes me nervous oh come on if you try hard enough maybe you could make me nervous in my job nothing makes me nervous when promoted to his current position director Moretti was succeeded by 49 year old Brian Stafford a special agent in charge of presidential protection this is the first time a man in his position has spoken on the job about the job they ever just walk in and say this is really cool I do that every day so now what is a typical day like on the job for you my daily activities are pretty much determined by the president's schedule if he's traveling outside the White House complex I spend most of my time accompanied in coordinating the physical security plans that we put in place around him it's a cumbersome process for our people because they have to find practical solutions somewhere in between total access to the president and total isolation to the president when you're so close to him every day does he become immune is it like a friend there is a personal side to it of course just because we're here all the time but we're not here for that purpose so we're here to keep the president the first family safe there are so many myths about you know what's out here let's just go down the list rocket launchers III won't comment on that one uh landmines I mean if somebody cleanse over fence here there are landmines out here well you didn't have to tiptoe in here did you yes no I don't okay no lamp I don't figure but I do see some people up on tops of buildings are there sharpshooters there are we have counter snipers they're members of our uniform division they're a very elite group and we take them everywhere we go I see those little microphones and you also looks like you're talking up your sleeve who you talking to where you wired into it's just an internal coded communication system that we use among the agents and we take it with us worldwide not only do they take their communication system wherever they go they also take the entire presidential motorcade in Secret Service lingo this is called flying the secure package the c5 flies at least 24 hours before the president so when he lands the limo is ready and waiting this is the presidential limousine it is a 1993 custom-built Cadillac it takes two years to build just one of these it is powered by a 454 cubic inch modified truck engine there are only two original parts still left on this car that's the hood and the trunk everything else is classified and the duct and the doors are very very secure and heavy behind this closed door is home base for the entire presidential fleet the building has no sign nor street address and its exact location is classified here over 40 limousines and follow-up cars are garaged modified and maintained because a president may spend up to three months a year traveling as many as ten different limousines and motorcades can be in route to and from various cities around the world everyone who works here from the mechanics and welders to the Detailers and schedulers must have Secret Service credentials let me ask you a few questions about the presidential limousine how much is away I'm sorry but I won't be able to answer that question for you let's classify how thick of the doors I won't be able to do that either how fast can it go I can't reveal that either how much does one of these things cost I'm sorry I can't discuss that either what are the tires made of rubber does the president have to at least for a seat belt that is completely up to him where is he said he usually sits in the back seat in the back seat yeah what can you tell us though about the president's limo as far as its safety sometimes we like to think of as a tank of four rubber wheels when the presidential motorcade returns to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue the security umbrella is even bigger behind this closed door is a place right out of Star Wars we can't tell you how many people work here or even where it's located but what we can tell you is that this is the nerve center for white house security and it's never been seen before The Secret Service calls it Joc the joint operation center and here agents and officers monitor every move made inside the 18 acre White House complex 24 hours a day we have two million people visit the White House each year and we process 40,000 visitors into the White House complex each month so every day we do have something going on here that requires Secret Service's attention from here we monitor perimeter alarms interior alarms environmental hazard alarms what are those we have responsibility for ensuring that the ears of the president breeze of the foodies the watery drinks are all safe so does that mean that even in the private quarters there are cameras no we like to respect the first family's privacy with the security system that we have set up here we can ensure that they are safe yet still given the private time that they they need as a family you spend all of your public hours with Secret Service agents what was that like the first day that you woke up and realized life isn't going to be the same again you know Joan it was such a shock because like every American I have watched on television the Secret Service agents around our presidents our vice presidents and their families but until it really happens there's no way to prepare for it you know if you're used to getting in and out of a car by yourself the simplest sort of action that you no longer can do because they have procedures that you have to learn to follow so we really had to work out how to accommodate to each other one of the agents told me that it was a little difficult for them to because we were younger than our previous presidents of the last several years have been and we stayed up later as my husband does and so there were a lot of you know just personal kinds of accommodations but I have to say it's been a great experience for me the Secret Service's responsibility for the protection of the first family extends beyond clear and present dangers the potential for harm is everywhere the agency keeps thousands of files on people thought to be a threat built a multimillion-dollar crime lab we're threatening letters to the president are received examined and analyzed using lasers forensic scientists search for microscopic physical evidence that could reveal the identity of a potential assailant they also have the largest ink library in the world with over seven thousand different ink formulas which are used to help determine when and where a letter was written you'll never find me and if a letter has been burned or has had words and sentences scratched out under this instrument they have state-of-the-art equipment that can see what the human eye can't you'll never find me except you did how do you know when to take a threat seriously we take every threat seriously we will interview everyone involved in every threat whether it's a threat made somewhere as a as a minor comment I guess what I should say is there is no such thing as a minor comment we will be knocking on your door the Secret Service will talk to you if in any way you threaten any of our protectees would we continue I go behind closed doors to show you how the Secret Service trains every day to prevent the unthinkable Secret Service agents are trained unlike any other law enforcement agency in the world when the unthinkable occurs the agents are trained to cover and evacuate to learn to react instinctively to every conceivable situation they are put through a series of real-life training scenarios called a opiez attack on a principle on the grounds of the training facility the Secret Service has constructed to mock towns set up exclusively for a Opie's the replicated city streets can accommodate any possible scenario for the first time the Secret Service has allowed a journalist to participate in an AOP they let us videotape two different exercises the first one involved a very familiar situation it is called working the rope line something the president does all the time in this scenario I would be the one shaking hands with the crowd nice to meet you we go over a hundred different scenarios we put our agents through training where nothing happens at all that's part of the training we want them to realize that you get into a lot of situations you may be geared up and may be ready for a confrontation but nothing happens what these agents don't know is that somewhere in the crowd is a with a gun at the first sign of a weapon agents are trained to sound off as loud as they can immediately covered by a wall of human bodies thrown into the limousine and evacuated simultaneously three other things were happening one of the agents simulated taking a bullet to other agents immediately started emergency medical care three more agents who disarmed and subdued the gunman I saw nothing sorry that's okay that was real the Yale piece can be very graphic we'd like them to experience that inside the confines of a controlled environment here before they would actually see something like that on the streets hopefully they never see that out in the street but we want to be prepared for the worst your eyes are going everywhere you have to just trust yourself trust your instincts and then just relax your gut feeling comes into this a lot when you see everybody's clapping you see a guy back there that's not clapping and not excited you know that should that should send off a little lightbulb that something's wrong over there you might need to check it out I noticed someone in the back had directed his attention down to his dropped his head and I saw his honor that's what you were saying that you saw you didn't there was something unusual that took place and once his arm dropped as the gun came out we turn to spin and at that time we started moving for him and Mike at that time turned to Dickie backs but you got the bad girl right we got it okay we are gonna respond and go into action to cover and evacuate and in the process if somebody gets hurt that's part of the job would you take a bullet we're gonna do what we need to do and that that's one of the consequences is that a yes that's a yes the second AOP was based on a series of actual world events to simulate the attack special effects were used it started with a truck bomb then part two of the attack a terrorist bomber and a rocket attack my detail immediately started a face at manoeuvres and disrupted in planes from so on your motorcade the counter-assault team was deployed we can't tell you how but it was fast during the exercise the noise was deafening these explosions give us the fuel blast the heat we want to train the way it will be if an event actually goes down graduation day we were in attendance as 25 students took the Secret Service oath of office in front of friends family and when they protect country's interests and I wish you all Godspeed is there one day that you can think of though where you were just so proud yes there was a recent day that was on election eve of 1996 when President Clinton had won the election and he was addressing about 50,000 people a little rock in front of millions of people all over the world and on TV and he began his speech by thanking his family thanking his senior staff and then he said I thank especially my Secret Service detail that has been so challenged by a president determined not to be isolated from the American people he thanked us for what we do every day and it really meant a lot to us can you remember back to when it was that you first what I'd like to do my first recollection of real interest in becoming a Secret Service agent was on November 22nd of 1963 I was in high school when President Kennedy was assassinated I still carry that with me to this day and I'm sure many millions of Americans they I'll never forget that and we are going to train and train and practice to make sure nothing like that happens again United States Secret Service behind closed

Channel: JoanLunden

Views: 563,487

Rating: 4.7729788 out of 5

Keywords: Joan Lunden, Behind Closed Doors, United States Secret Service (Government Agency), Washington D.C. (City/Town/Village)

Id: Vfgd5N_MFFs

Length: 22min 29sec (1349 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 22 2015