
Pulitzer winner Carol Leonnig exposes the Secret Service's alarming failures through interviews with 180 insiders across eight administrations. From JFK's assassination to agents with MAGA hats, this bestseller reveals how America's elite guardians endangered the presidents they swore to protect.
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A gunshot cracks through the air. Agent Tim McCarthy doesn't duck-he spreads his arms wide and turns toward the shooter, making his body a human shield. The bullet tears into his midsection as President Reagan crumples into the limousine. This is the Secret Service at its finest: instant, selfless action in the face of death. Yet decades later, a Delta Force sergeant major would deliver a crushing verdict to Counter Assault Team member Brad Gable: "The Service has really let you down. You'll never be able to stop a real attack." How did an agency built on such extraordinary courage become what insiders now call "a paper tiger"? The truth is uncomfortable. Behind the sunglasses and earpieces lies an organization crippled by leadership failures, budget constraints, and a culture that rewards loyalty over competence. Through hundreds of interviews with agents, directors, and presidents, a disturbing pattern emerges: the Secret Service learns only through bloodshed, implementing reforms after assassinations rather than preventing them. November 22, 1963, should have been routine. Instead, it became the day that exposed just how vulnerable American presidents really were. The Secret Service protecting Kennedy resembled a modest city police force more than an elite protective unit-just thirty-four agents assigned to the White House detail, no specialized training program, and protocols learned through informal mentoring rather than rigorous instruction. Kennedy himself had stacked the odds against his protectors. His frenetic travel schedule forced agents to work double shifts with minimal rest, while he regularly ordered them to keep their distance during public appearances. "He couldn't get elected dogcatcher if he didn't mingle with crowds," agents recalled him saying. The night before the assassination, nine agents-including four scheduled for early morning duty-stayed out drinking until 5 a.m., violating regulations routinely ignored throughout the Service. When the shots rang out, only Clint Hill recognized what was happening. He sprinted toward the limousine as a third bullet exploded Kennedy's skull, clinging to the accelerating vehicle and pressing Mrs. Kennedy back into her seat while shielding the couple with his body. Looking down at the catastrophic head wound, Hill gave his teammates a thumbs-down. The unthinkable had happened, and the world would never be the same.
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Cree par des anciens de Columbia University a San Francisco
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