Obama's Secret Service is at it again

Obama's Secret Service is back in the headlines with none other than the Associated Press taking exception to the treatment being dished out by the morally bankrupt agency.

"More than a dozen Secret Service agents contacted by The Associated Press have abruptly hung up or declined to return multiple messages to discuss their agency and former coworkers," the esteemed publication reported.

One would think the SS agents would welcome the opportunity to set the record straight, mention any good deeds by their peers that have escaped notice during the scandal and remain as open and forthright as the Obama administration promised would happen in Washington when he took charge.

Not so, says the AP, who likened the sudden shut down of communication to a "circling of the wagons."

And that's not all, as the AP also said that one agent "reported it to headquarters when an AP reporter visited his home in the evening," while some retired SS officials went so far as to give feedback to the agency about the types of questions being asked by the AP.

But all that is par for the course for an agency dedicated to secrets, right? They want to know where the press is moving next in the fluid scandal sure to continue to generate headlines.

And while loose lips were promised in the early stages of the scandal--and will undoubtedly be forthcoming when Congressional hearings take place in the coming days--they've tightened up this week.

One thing that is a little surprising, however, is the new show of physical force by law enforcement to try and force reporters from the story, with the AP reporting that "A police officer came to the Anapolis, Md., home of Greg Stokes--one of the employees who already has lost his job in the scandal--and directed an AP reporter to leave his property."

And the officer wasn't the only law enforcement personnel to use might to keep reporters away, as the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office is spending taxpayer dollars to outfit Sarah Palin's goggling agent with as many as two patrol cars at his residence to ward off reporters.

In fact, when an AP reporter attempted contact at David Chaney's Virginia home, "a deputy reprimanded reporters who came to the front door," the AP reported.

If the disgraced Secret Service agents ever want to tell their side of things and gain public sympathy (as if), playing the press against the police wasn't their best call in the matter.

But it is unlikely that they drew that line in the sand in the first place, as the AP reported that the order for silence came down from on high, and it includes the dismantling of agent Facebook accounts too.

"What ever happened to one's pride in being discreet and keeping a confidence?" said Pete Cavicchia, president of the Association of Former Agents of the U.S. Secret Service.

Since when should someone take pride in covering up the unprofessional behavior--and the potentially dangerous national security risks taken by Secret Service agents?

Cavicchia's email rallying the former agents to secrecy merely points to a desired continuing culture of illicit secrets. But does America really need or want any more of that?

(Photo Credit: Flicker/Malcom Carlaw)

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