The last time Secret Service agents escorted a U.S. leader to face criminal charges, they kept their mission a secret -- even from their own bosses.
FILE - Spiro T. Agnew, who recently resigned from the vice presidency, talks a member of the media after he pleaded no contest to a federal tax evasion charge, outside the Federal Court building in Baltimore, Oct. 10, 1973. The last time Secret Service agents delivered a U.S. leader to face criminal charges, they kept their mission a secret, even from their own bosses. It was Oct.
Parr, who joined the Secret Service in 1962, wasn’t sure what to expect when he was tapped a decade later to be the deputy chief of Agnew’s detail. The vice president had a reputation for being President Nixon’s attack dog and skewering political opponents as “nattering nabobs of negativism,” “vicars of vacillation” and “pusillanimous pussyfooters.”“He was actually a very nice man,” said Parr in a series of interviews for. “All the agents really liked him.
“Suffering showed on his now-haggard face,” Parr wrote. “As summer passed into autumn, I frequently heard sighs and groans coming from the backseat of the car; sometimes the soft sound was Mrs. Agnew weeping as her husband tried to comfort her.” Parr’s job would be to escort Agnew to the Baltimore federal courthouse. Sulliman warned his deputy that “he didn’t know if we had to take him to jail after the , or not, and I should know that,” Parr said. “The judge could sentence him to prison.”Upon learning that the vice president might resign, the Secret Service would be required to rush agents to protect the House speaker, next-in-line for the presidency. Such a move would draw the attention of reporters.
Attorney General Elliott Richardson argued that leniency was justified due to the “historic magnitude” of Agnew’s resignation and felony conviction. The judge ultimately agreed with the attorney general, sentencing Agnew to three years of probation and ordering him to pay a $10,000 fine.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Unlike in Trump case, Secret Service kept this one secretThe last time Secret Service agents escorted a U.S. leader to face criminal charges, they kept their mission a secret -- even from their own bosses. It was Oct. 10, 1973, and just a few agents knew the history they were making in ensuring Vice President Spiro Agnew appeared in a federal courtroom to enter a plea and resign from office. While much has been made of Donald Trump becoming the first former president to appear in court to answer an indictment on Tuesday, the Secret Service has been in a similar place before, as when agents helped navigate Agnew's final hours as the 39th vice president.
Read more »
New 'Secret Invasion' Poster Teases Nick Fury’s Secret IdentityA new SecretInvasion poster suggests there's more to Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury than meets the eye.
Read more »
Trump’s former Secret Service agents to testify in DC grand jury Friday in documents caseMultiple U.S. Secret Service agents connected to former President Trump have been subpoenaed and several are expected to testify before a grand jury on Friday.
Read more »
Donald Trump's Secret Service agents set to testify against him—ReportFox News's Bret Baier reports that 'multiple 'Secret Service agents have been subpoenaed as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith's classified documents probe.
Read more »
Trump special counsel to subpoena Secret Service agents: ReportSpecial counsel Jack Smith has reportedly subpoenaed several Secret Service agents close to former President Donald Trump regarding his investigations of the former president.
Read more »
Special counsel subpoenas Secret Service agents in Trump documents probeSeveral Secret Services agents are expected to testify in Washington D.C. Friday as part of the federal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.
Read more »