Secret Service agents were furious when the White House attempted to spin an assault by then-first dog Major last year, according to recently unearthed papers.
The documents obtained by Judicial Watch reveal that the Secret Service tried to control the narrative and downplay the events and even went so far as to reprimand the agent for describing the assault, worried it would anger the Biden family.
In March 2021, White House media secretary Jen Psaki said that one dog attack happened after Major was “surprised by an unknown individual.”
“The younger dog of the first family, Major, was surprised by an unfamiliar individual and responded in a manner that caused a minor injury to them,” Psaki acknowledged at the time.
According to the court documents, after the dog bit agents for eight days in a row, the injuries were described as “severe,” rather than “minor.”
“NO, I did not surprise the dog doing my duty by being at [redacted] as stated by the press secretary! Now I’m furious.” The agent responded, “SMH. . . . hope you didn’t get hurt too badly.”
A message from a Secret Service agent stated, “The injury cannot be said to be anything other than ‘extensive’.”
The bite happened in the residential area, close to the first lady Jill Biden’s office, according to the heavily censored incident report.
The report stated, “Without warning or cause, Major barked and then charged.” [The agent] turned away from the dog as it sunk its teeth into his right leg because there was no time to seek cover from the assault.
“Major bit one of the Secret Service agents. This agent is OK, but he has a puncture and bruising,” wrote President Biden’s then-chief protective official David Cho in a message that afternoon.
The agent was attacked a second time by Major, but no information has been released. The investigation’s photographs were censored except for one, which showed the agent’s shredded wool overcoat.
After a few weeks, the agent sought compensation and delivered his own account, for which he was disciplined because the Secret Service feared offending the Bidens.
