It created a buzz in D.C. before the announcement.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced his intention to name Julia A. Pierson as the 23rd Director of the U.S. Secret Service and the first woman to head the agency.

The following is a press release that was posted on the Secret Service website:

President Barack Obama has announced his intention to name Julia A. Pierson as the 23rd Director of the United States Secret Service.

Julia Pierson is a career law enforcement executive with more than 30 years of experience with the United States Secret Service. Ms. Pierson’s extensive knowledge of agency stems from her leadership of high impact initiatives in both aspects of its core mission of protection and investigations along with her skills in strategic planning, risk management, human capital management, program management and budget development and execution. Over the past year, Ms. Pierson led the organization’s efforts to enhance professionalism throughout the workforce by representing the Secret Service on a working group of senior level executives. Since assuming the role of Chief of Staff in 2008, her responsibilities included overseeing the Secret Service’s complex information technology and business process modernization efforts.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Pierson served as the Assistant Director of the Office of Human Resources and Training (HRT). In that position, Ms. Pierson was responsible for overseeing all human resource and training programs for the Secret Service. Ms. Pierson oversaw organizational policy development and strategic management of the agency’s Workforce Planning Programs, Personnel Division, Security Clearance Division and the James J. Rowley Training Center basic and operational training programs.

Ms. Pierson also served as Deputy Assistant Director in the Office of Protective Operations, where she was responsible for daily security operations, workforce readiness and strategic planning to support the Presidential and Vice Presidential Protective Divisions, Dignitary Protective Division, as well as National Special Security Events and Presidential Campaign activities. Beyond her operational experience, Ms. Pierson served as the Deputy Assistant Director in the Office of Administration, where she oversaw the agency’s budget and all administrative operations including strategic planning, budgeting, finance, procurement, and property management activities.

Ms. Pierson served as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge in the Tampa Field Office and was responsible for directing Secret Service investigative and protective activities in western Florida. Ms. Pierson established an Electronic Crimes Task Force to investigate cyber crimes in the Tampa Bay area.

Ms. Pierson is a graduate of the University of Central Florida and has completed graduate course studies in public policy at The George Washington University. She has been a member of the federal Senior Executive Service (SES) since 2003 and was the recipient of an SES Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award in 2008. A long time proponent of law enforcement officers and their families, Ms. Pierson has been actively involved in supporting the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS). A native of Orlando, Florida, Ms. Pierson began her career in the Secret Service as a special agent assigned to the Miami and Orlando field offices. Prior to joining the Secret Service, Ms. Pierson served as a police officer in Orlando, Florida.

Jonathan Pollard/wikipedia

President Obama’s visit to Israel is stirring up a longstanding, sensitive issue involving Jonathan Pollard, who spied for Israel while working for U.S. Naval intelligence.

Seymour D. Reich, a lawyer and former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, writes this week in a letter to the editor of the New York Times that “the treatment of Jonathan Jay Pollard has smacked of vindictiveness.”

He writes that President Obama should set Pollard free on humanitarian grounds when he returns from Israel.

He notes that the “usual prison sentence for spying for friendly countries is four to five years.”

He writes:

“Mr. Pollard was initially incarcerated in a hospital for the criminally insane, though he was not insane. It was only when former Representative Lee Hamilton intervened that Mr. Pollard was moved out — to a maximum-security prison in Illinois, where he was held in solitary confinement for almost seven years. When Elie Wiesel and I visited him there, he expressed remorse for his deeds and has done so publicly since.

As you report, he has served for 28 years, and “a growing number” of former American officials “have called for clemency.”

 

Pres. Obama at press conference/white house file photo

A 28-year-old South Carolina man faces charges that he threatened the lives of several people including President Obama.

Patrick Randell McIntosh Charleston, S.C. was arraigned in Atlanta U.S. District Court.

“McIntosh is charged with making violent and disturbing threats online and via email to several people, including a threat to the life of the President of the United States,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates in a statement.

According to Yates, McIntosh posted on his Facebook page his plans to shoot patrons at a local Atlanta lounge and to kill the President of the United States.

After posting the various threats, the defendant purchased three firearms from individuals who advertised weapons for sale, she said, according to the release.

A new biography on mobster James “Whitey” Bulger reveals some interesting tidbits about the one-time fugitive accused of killing 19 people.

The Boston Globe reports that the book,   “WHITEY BULGER: AMERICA’S MOST WANTED GANGSTER AND THE MANHUNT THAT BROUGHT HIM TO JUSTICE” by Globe staff writers Kevin Cullen and Shelley Murphy says that he’s brooding in his cell while awaiting trial, but he’s told friends he’s looking forward to “the big show,” a reference to his pending trial. Reporters Kevin Cullen and Shelley Murphy report that he feels tortured by the cramped quarters and isolation.

The book also reports that Bulger was prepared to work out an arrangement where he would agreed to be executed if the feds would let his girlfriend Catherine Greig go free, according to the Globe.

“I never loved anyone like I do her and offered my life [execution] if they would free her — but no they want me to suffer — they know this is the worst punishment for me by hurting her!” Bulger wrote to a friend last year. 

Meanwhile,  Howie Carr of the Boston Herald reported that  a new biography on Bulger:  “Whitey: The Life of America’s Most Notorious Mob Boss“, suggested that Bulger’s ranting against President Obama may have had something to do with his capture.

According to the book by veteran Boston reporters Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill.,  Bulger and his girlfriend  had been living in Santa Monica, Calif., as “Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Gasko,”  and Greig had become close to Icelandic model Anna Bjornsdottir, who lived near them.

“He practically exploded … disgusted that she could admire a black man as president … Nothing was the same after. Whitey gave Anna the cold shoulder, would not even respond when she said hello to him. Anna Bjornsdottir, meanwhile, would not forget the old man’s sudden rage — or his angry, cold glare.”

The book reported that Bjornsdottir recognized Bulger after seeing a report on CNN. Days later, Bulger and his girlfriend were captured.

A confidential memo obtained by NBC News reveals that the Justice Department has found no legal reason to bar the U.S. government from killing American citizens who are involved with al-Qaida or its alliances.

The 16-page memo, reported by NBC News, paints a clearer picture of President Obama’s legal reasoning for increasing the use of drone strikes in other countries.

The memo indicates the federal government can order the killing of an American citizen even if there’s no evidence the citizen was engaged in an active attack agains the U.S, NBC News reported.

“The condition that an operational leader present an ‘imminent’ threat of violent attack against the United States does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future,” the memo states.

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Steve Neavling

Anyone watching President Obama’s second inaugural address may have seen some unsung heroes protecting the free world’s most powerful man.

Four female Secret Service agents were on hand – the most at any one time, Cosmopolitan reports.

“We’re pumped that the President practices the equality he preaches,” Cosmopolitan wrote. “Women are – despite what some people say – more than qualified to do any job a man can do, including protecting the most important politician in our country.”

The magazine goes further, saying perhaps women are better suited for the job than men because of their “superior observation and problem-solving skills.”

Steve Neavling

In his first public comments about the downfall of CIA Director David Petraeus, President Obama said he is reserving judgment on whether the FBI handled the matter properly, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Obama said Wednesday that he is waiting for more information before deciding whether the FBI should have told him earlier about the investigation involving Petraeus.

One good sign, Obama said, is that it so far doesn’t appear like classified information had been disclosed  “in any way that would have had a negative impact” on national security, the Wall Street Journal wrote.

“I have a lot of confidence generally in the FBI,” Obama said.

The FBI continues to investigate whether Petraeus’ affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, led to the leak of classified information.

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President Obama has assembled a feral partnership among law enforcement agencies to improve homeland security, Courthouse News Service reports.

The White House Homeland Security Partnership Council and Steering Committee will include the Justice Department, State Department and Homeland Security.

A total of 19 agencies will be represented, the Courthouse News Service wrote.

The idea is to “enhance our ability to address homeland security priorities, from responding to natural disasters to preventing terrorism, by utilizing diverse perspectives, skills, tools, and resources,” Obama said.

He added, “We must tap the ingenuity outside government through strategic partnerships with the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, foundations, and community-based organizations.”

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