Biden repeatedly watched his dog attack Secret Service as staff wished each other ‘safe shift’: docs
WASHINGTON — President Biden repeatedly watched his German shepherd Commander attack Secret Service members, who wished each other a “safe shift” as the number of incidents mounted — with one exasperated workplace safety professional urging the use of a muzzle, agency records show.
The number of dog attacks involving Commander, who the White House said in February was given away after more than two years of terrorizing professionals assigned to protect Biden, and former first dog Major, who was rehomed in 2021 after also attacking personnel; could top three dozen, the newly surfaced records suggest.
The 81-year-old president reportedly accused a Secret Service member of lying about being attacked by Major during his first year in office, but was present for at least three separate attacks involving Commander, files released to Judicial Watch under Freedom of Information Act litigation show.
A previously unreported incident on Sept. 12, 2023, featured a pair of bites in which Commander tore holes in a Secret Service member’s suit as Biden took him for a walk in the Kennedy Garden along the South Lawn of the White House.
The president “took Commander (on a leash) to the Kennedy Garden this evening for a walk,” the special agent assigned to the Presidential Protective Division wrote in a report.
“While [Biden] and Commander were in the Kennedy Garden I was standing half way from the Book-Sellers [lobby] and the Family Theater,” the agent wrote, referring to the area where the main White House connects to the East Wing.
“[Biden] opened the Book-Seller door and said [redacted]. As I started to walk toward him to see if he needed help, Commander ran through his legs and bit my left arm through the front of my jacket. I pulled my arm away and yelled no,” the victim wrote.
“[President Biden] also yelled [redacted] to Commander. [Biden] then [redacted]. I obliged and Commander let me pet him.”
“When turning to close the door,” the special agent went on, “Commander jumped again and bit my left arm for the second time. [Biden] again yelled at Commander and attached the leash to him. My suit coat has 3 holes, 1 being all the way through. No skin was broken.”
Photos included in the report show damage to the agent’s suit and dress shirt, for which they sought reimbursement.
The latest batch of internal agency records shows mounting frustration over the handling of the animals.
On Sept. 25, 2023, following yet another attack involving Commander, a sergeant in the Secret Service’s uniformed division wrote a colleague: “FYI- there was a dog bite and the Officer may need to go to the hospital … Have a safe shift!” It’s unclear if Biden was present for that incident.
Two days later, an official in the agency’s Safety, Health & Environmental Division wrote: “Can we please find a way to get this dog muzzled.”
Biden’s personal presence during attacks was known in two prior instances.
On Oct. 2, 2022, Biden was there when Commander attacked an agent who was holding the door for the president as he approached the entryway near the Rose Garden that connects the West Wing to the rest of the White House.
“I was bit/grabbed on the left forearm,” the agent wrote in records made public in February.
“Commander came in first circled back and grabbed my left arm. He then stood up and back down. He is literally my height standing. [President Biden] entered shortly after since he was trailin [sic] behind him. [Biden] entered the Palm Room and said, ‘[redacted quote]’.”
Biden also was present on Dec. 11, 2022, when the president “requested to take Commander (on the leash) to the Kennedy Garden,” records show.
“Once at the KG, [Biden] took Commander off the leash to run free. I was present to observe [redacted] departing from the Kennedy Garden to move behind [redacted] toward the south ground drive via the internal garden gate when [the attack] occurred,” the victim wrote, describing a 1.5cm (half-inch) cut and bruising on his arm and a 1cm (0.4-inch) cut from a second bite on his hand and thumb.
Documents do not place President Biden on scene for the most severe attacks, including a Nov. 3, 2022, incident that sent a uniformed Secret Service officer to a DC hospital for treatment after Commander clamped down on their arm and thigh at the base of a stairwell at the White House.
At least one other Secret Service member was seen at a hospital, according to previously reported documents, when on July 29, 2023, Commander tore into a female agent’s arm at the president’s Rehoboth Beach, Del., vacation home, causing a “severe deep open wound” with loss of “a significant amount of blood,” requiring at least six stitches.
In yet another bloody attack, on June 15, 2023, Commander took an agent “to the ground” outside the East Wing, leaving a “deep bite” on their arm, requiring an unspecified number of stitches.
In that case, “East Wing Tours were stopped for approximately 20 minutes due to blood from the incident being on the floors in the area of the [lobby connecting the East Wing to the White House].”
Commander’s biting spree was first reported by The Post last July, but was initially downplayed by the White House.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest documents, nor did a spokesman for the Secret Service.
