Joe and Jill Biden should not have dogs. That fact has become clear with the release of Secret Service documents in response to a FOIA request.
The Biden dog, Commander, was worse than we were told when the story broke that he was removed from the White House due to his behavior. An online site, The Black Vault, submitted a FOIA request on October 5, 2023, and it received a final response on February 20, 2024.
Let me say upfront that I do not blame the dog. The blame is on his humans, the Bidens. He wasn’t properly trained, obviously, and he didn’t adjust to living in the White House. It’s a busy and stressful environment. Commander has been called overprotective. The attacks are being reported as workplace safety incidents.
The Secret Service documents show that Commander bit members of the Secret Service at least 24 times before he was finally removed from the White House. That number does not include other incidents that were previously reported that involved executive residence staff and other White House workers.
He now lives in Delaware with Biden family friends.
It turns out that there were multiple biting incidents. Some injuries were severe, including deep wounds and significant blood loss. The agents required medical treatment and stitches. The Secret Service is making a list of those affected by Commander’s attacks.
It is now revealed that the Secret Service had to change its operations when Commander was around. Some Secret Service agents received apologies from the Bidens and some received flowers. Biting incidents were reported to take place at the White House and at the Biden homes in Rehoboth Beach and Wilmington, Delaware.
As I mentioned, this speaks to the Bidens, not the dog. Another Biden dog, Major, also had biting issues at the White House. Proper care of a dog includes training the dog. These dogs were not receiving the attention they needed at the White House.
Commander was also involved in a confrontation during the Biden’s Thanksgiving vacation in Nantucket and during a trip to Camp David.
Members of the Secret Services’ uniformed detail and the president’s protective detail were involved.
At least 10 times, the member of the Secret Service required medical treatment and injuries were inflicted on arms, hands, legs and waists, according to the records first published by John Greenewald.
There was concern that the dog’s behavior would escalate.
A Secret Service technician in October 2022 said he was ‘worried about the family pets behavior escalating and that … something worse was going to happen to others’.
‘The recent dog bites have challenged us to adjust our operational tactics when Commander is present – please give lots of room,’ an assistant special agent in charge of USSS’ Presidential Protective Division wrote to team members, according to the report.
The president didn’t need an overly-protective German Shepherd capable of maiming or worse a Secret Service agent at the White House. The Secret Service is employed to protect the president. It is crazy that the professional security force had to work around a dog.
Commander came to live at the White House as a puppy in 2021. It is reported that he struggled to adapt to his surroundings from the beginning. When Major was sent away from the White House, he had bitten two people in a month. Biden’s dog, Champ, who was with him when he was vice president, died at the age of 13. There are not these kinds of stories about Champ.
There are more than 400 documents in the report.
The Bidens are said to “feel awful” over the attacks.
A source close to the Biden family told CNN that the Biden family feels “awful” and has been “heartbroken” over the spate of biting incidents.
“They’ve been heartbroken over this. They’ve apologized to those who have been bitten, taken flowers to some. They feel awful. Commander was over-protective, and even though they tried and tried to work on it, they had to let him go live with other members of their family,” the source said.
That’s not good enough. Why was Commander allowed to remain with the Bidens for so long with attack after attack happening? Why would Biden treat his security team in such a way as to endanger them with his dog’s aggressive behavior? Biden shows a disregard for those who work for him. Remember the stories of Biden skinny-dipping in front of female Secret Service agents? He’s a self-absorbed old man.
The White House and the Secret Service released statements Wednesday.
“The president and first lady care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day. Despite additional dog training, leashing, working with veterinarians, and consulting with animal behaviorists, the White House environment simply proved too much for Commander. Since the fall, he has lived with other family members,” Elizabeth Alexander, first lady Jill Biden’s communications director, said in a statement provided to CNN.
“The incidents involving Commander were treated as workplace injuries, with events documented in accordance with Secret Service and US Department of Homeland Security guidelines,” Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for USSS, told CNN in a statement Wednesday.
“While Secret Service personnel neither handle nor care for the first family’s pets, we work continuously with all applicable entities in order to minimize any adverse impacts from family pets,” he said.
No. Allowing an aggressive dog to bite Secret Service agents so many times is not “caring deeply” about the safety of those agents. One bite and Commander should have been taken elsewhere, certainly after the second bite. At least 24 bites? That is inexcusable.