Secret Service Has ‘Elevator Manifest’ for Every Presidential Trip

4 minute read

When the President travels nothing is taken for granted, not even the co-occupants of the presidential elevator, raising new questions about how an armed man with a criminal history managed to get within arm’s length of President Barack Obama last month.

A week before every presidential trip—often longer for foreign travel—”advance” teams from the U.S. Secret Service, the White House, and other government agencies trace every step the president will take, as well as alternates for every contingency. Plans are drawn up for who will sit where on Air Force One and which vehicle in the President’s mile-long motorcade aides will occupy, according to multiple individuals familiar with presidential travel, including law enforcement personnel.

Officials said the manifests are largely logistical in nature, devised to clear up which aides will travel with the president and “the shift,” the personal detail assigned to him. “There may be 35 people with him in a freight elevator in a sporting arena, or just a few in a cramped one in an old-school Chicago high rise,” one veteran said. Other aides, members of the press, and additional Secret Service agents will be shuttled in other marked elevators or will take the stairs, depending on the site. Occasionally a space for an “elevator operator” is reserved, especially when the president is set to move in a freight elevator, but often they are not named on the manifest.

“Elevator manifests are a standard procedure,” said a law enforcement official, citing the logistical challenge of moving the president, his aides, his bodyguards, and the traveling press without a hitch. Which is another reason the Secret Service will remain in the sights of Congressional overseers even after Wednesday’s announced resignation by Julia Pierson, the agency’s beleaguered director.

PHOTOS: Go Behind the Scenes with Joe Clancy, the New Director of the Secret Service

Barack Obama, Reggie Love
Clancy, left, crosses Pennsylvania Avenue with President Barack Obama, and Obama's aide Reggie Love, rear, while walking back to the White House in Washington D.C., on March 1, 2010. Charles Dharapak—AP
President Barack Obama departs Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.Photo by Brooks Kraft/Corbis
Clancy holds the door for Barack Obama as the President departs Andrews Air Force Base in Md. on Feb. 12, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis
President Barack Obama greets supporters at the airport Fort Meyers, Florida.Photo by Brooks Kraft/Corbis
President Barack Obama greets supporters at the Fort Meyers airport in Florida, as Clancy stands watch behind the President's left shoulder, Feb. 10, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis
Obama Inauguration
Blink and you might miss him, but here's Clancy again, flanking President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as they wave to crowds along the inaugural parade route in Washington D.C. on Jan. 20, 2009. Charles Dharapak—AP
Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Sasha Obama, Malia Obama, Joseph Clancy
Clancy is seen speaking over the radio into his palm mic as he glances in the camera's direction as President Barack Obama and his family walk back to the White House after attending St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington D.C. on Oct. 11, 2009.Susan Walsh—AP
U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron Marine One arrive in Toronto
Clancy braves the rain as umbrella-carrying President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron walk from Marine One in Toronto, after their flight from the G8 Summit to the G20 Summit on June 26, 2010. Jason Reed—Reuters
President Barack Obama speaks at the Arizona State University commencement ceremony at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, ArizPhoto by Brooks Kraft/Corbis
Clancy blends in on stage as Obama speaks at the Arizona State University commencement ceremony at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. on May 13, 2009.Brooks Kraft—Corbis
President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., are accompanied by Col. Howard Belote as they look at solar panels at Nellis Air Force Base in NevadaPhoto by Brooks Kraft/Corbis
Solar panels make good camouflage as Clancy and another Secret Service agent accompany the President and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, on May 27, 2009.Brooks Kraft—Corbis
Barack Obama
President Barack Obama jogs up the steps to speak at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee and Sen. Barbara Boxer, with Clancy watching closely from the wings, at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, April 19, 2010.Alex Brandon—AP
US President Barack Obama (C) shakes han
Eyeing those extended arms warily, Clancy keeps hold on President Barack Obama as he shakes hands with people outside of the Top Pot Doughnuts shop in Seattle on Oct. 21, 2010.Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images
Obama Holds Discussion On Economy At Private Home In Ohio
Clancy in the foreground, as Obama is reflected in a garage window in a backyard at the Weithman family home on Aug 18, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio.Mike Munden—Getty Images
Barack Obama, Bill Clinton
Clancy scans the crowd seated just behind Obama and former President Bill Clinton as the two talk at a memorial service for Sen. Robert Byrd on July 2, 2010, at the Capitol in Charleston, WV.Charles Dharapak—AP
President Barack Obama holds hands with daughter, Sasha, as they walk away from Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving home from their vacation in Hawaii, January 4, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.
President Barack Obama holds hands with daughter Sasha as they walk away from Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington D.C. after arriving home from their vacation in Hawaii, with Clancy facing outward nearby, on Jan. 4, 2010. Lawrence Jackson—The White House
President Barack Obama waves as he arrives at the White House in Washington D.C. on Oct. 15, 2010.
With hands folded, Clancy watches the press watching President Barack Obama wave as he arrives at the White House in Washington D.C. on Oct. 15, 2010.Nicholas Kamm—AFP/Getty Images
President Barack Obama meets with NCTC Director Michael Leiter, center right, leadership and analysts in the Secure Video Teleconference Room at the National Counterterrorism Center in McLean, Va, Oct. 6, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.
President Barack Obama meets with NCTC Director Michael Leiter, center right, leadership and analysts in the Secure Video Teleconference Room at the National Counterterrorism Center in McLean, Va, on Oct. 6, 2009. Samantha Appleton—The White House
National Security Advisor General James Jones, left, and USSS Special Agent in Charge Joe Clancy coordinate arrival details by telephone for President Barack Obama's visit to Baghdad on April 7, 2009. Joined also by White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod; Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel; Jim Messina, Deputy Chief of Staff; White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, and National Security Counsel Chief of Staff Mark Lippert, background-right. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
National Security Advisor General James Jones, left, and Clancy coordinate arrival details by telephone for President Barack Obama's visit to Baghdad on April 7, 2009. Pete Souza—The White House
President Barack Obama talks to the media aboard Air Force One upon arrival in Springfield, ILPhoto by Brooks Kraft/Corbis
A flood of bright lights fall on Clancy and other agents as the President waves to press watching the arrival of Air Force One in Springfield, Ill. on Feb. 12, 2009.Brooks Kraft—Corbis
Barack Obama
Clancy has President Barack Obama's back during a frenzied meet-and-greet with the audience after speaking about health care reform at the Patriot Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. on March 19, 2010. Charles Dharapak—AP
President Barack Obama boards Air Force One at Buckley Air Force Base in Denver, Colo., en route to Las Vegas, Nev., Feb. 18, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.
Clancy stands watch as the President boards Air Force One at Buckley Air Force Base in Denver, Colo., en route to Las Vegas, Nev. on Feb. 18, 2010.Pete Souza—The White House

A private contractor at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta boarded the presidential elevator on Sept. 16 and wouldn’t heed orders to stop photographing Obama. Agents pulled the man aside for questioning after Obama left the elevator, at which point the man’s supervisor fired him on the spot for his behavior. It was only then that officers discovered that the man, who was arrested several times, was carrying a firearm, officials said.

The security breach came days before an armed man leaped over the White House fence and charged past an agent at the North Portico door before being arrested near the Green Room, an incident that prompted renewed public scrutiny for the agency.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday that Obama was not informed of the elevator incident until minutes before it was first reported by the Washington Examiner on Tuesday afternoon. Congressional sources said outgoing Secret Service Director Julia Pierson did not mention the security lapse in her classified testimony to lawmakers Tuesday, despite being asked whether there were any undisclosed security incidents that she was aware of. Pierson tendered her resignation Wednesday after losing the support of Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. “The President concluded that new leadership of that agency was required,” Earnest said.

Whether the still-unidentified individual was named on the manifest, was unnamed, or had simply managed to enter the elevator with the president is one subject of the ongoing internal probe into the incident. Either way, officials said, the man should not have been able to carry the weapon that close to the President. The Secret Service would not comment on the status of the ongoing investigation.

With reporting by Alex Rogers / Washington

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