multiple lawmakers, latest lindsey graham saying that julia pierson needs to go. in her multihour testimony yesterday, at the she failed to tell the house oversight committee about that incident in the elevator. >> what percentage of the time do you inform the president if his personal security is in any way, shape or form been breached? >> percent of the time, 100% of the time we would advise the president. >> in calendar year 2014, how many times has that happened? >> i have not briefed him with the exception of one occasion for the september 19th incident. >> joining me now, the author of this book "the first family detail" ronald kessler. welcome. >> good to be with you. >> let's begin with this incident in the elevator. the fact that they didn't know until after the fact and until after this guy had a cell phone out and he was trying to take pictures of the president and they told him to put it down did they realize he had a gun. what's protocol if you get in the elevator with the president? >> protocol is you never allow anybody in the elevator with the pres

pi pierson. just earlier this morning josh was saying the president has full confidence and now the president has come to the concludes that my confidence and trust has eroded. i do not feel comfortable with her in that position. that's super elijah cummings, the democrat who is in charge of things. but this is not new. we -- a guy landed a helicopters on the white house lawn. we have a fine look back. >> shep, it was only tasked with protecting the president after preside president roosevelt was -- but a man with a revolver was reportedly allowed to meet him after he told security the president was expecting him. another intruder with the weapon made it into president taft's white house. he actually made it past security, but was taught in the corridor. turned out-had a knife in his pocket. over the years secret service adjusted to the threat, but they were caught by surprise in 1974, when an army private landed a stolen chopper right on the white house lan twice. the first time they didn't show

secret service director julia pierson steps down after the agency reels from a series of controversies over the president's safety. >>> and 12 years gone. a texas girl allegedly kidnapped by her mother more than a decade ago is found living near mexico city. captioning funded by cbs unded by cbs >>> this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, october 2nd, 2014. good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. this morning a hospital patient in hawaii is being held in isolation while doctors figure out whether or not he has ebola. the patient checked into the honolulu hospital yesterday. it's unclear whether the man had traveled to west africa. ebola is just one condition he's being tested for. >>> meanwhile texas hospital officials admit they dropped the ball on the first confirmed u.s. case of ebola. this morning the question is how many others have been put at risk. omar villafranca is in dallas. omar, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, anne-marie. now, we've learned that the patient is in serious condition here at texas health presbyterian, and while he's being monito

should director pierson step down? does president obama think that's the right course of action at this point? >> the president and the white house have confidence in pierson's ability to do this job. we have confidence in the review that she's undertaking about exactly what happened, the incident that you referred to that happened a couple weeks ago. it's something they're taking seriously. they've upped some of the security procedures already. and she's undertaking that review. we're letting that process go forward. the president has confidence that she has the ability to run the department. and to conduct this review. we'll see what comes of that. >> i know josh continues to say the president has confidence in the secret service. i guess the question is why. because lawmakers on capitol hill yesterday who i was speaking with, just a lot of americans, say they're losing confidence. so why does the president still have confidence, particularly when we're just learning about this breach? atlanta that occurred when he w

for julia pierson, that time came today. the first female director of the secret service was forced out after one security lapse after another, including one that was revealed yesterday even as she was being grilled by congress. we'll begin tonight with senior white house correspondent bill plante. >> reporter: support for julia pierson's leadership of the secret service was already waning after her experience before a house committee yesterday. it evaporated with the revelation that agents were unaware that during a visit last month to the c.d.c. in atlanta, a security contractor who had been previously arrested was allowed on an elevator with the president. it wasn't until he took photos of the president that he was questioned and then fired and agents discovered that he was carrying a gun. in a meeting this afternoon with homeland security secretary jay johnson, pierson resigned. white house press secretary joshua earnest. >> we've seen recent reports raising questions about the performance of the agency. and the presiden

as gloria said, look at what got them to julia pierson.chief of staff and also a she and it was coming off of a very big scandal where it looked like it was a boy's club and they wanted to have a woman in there and it didn't work out. ironically for the same reasons that the men had problems because it was a culture of cover-up and not having actual accountability so it was gender neutral. but finding somebody who is going to be appropriate, but not too heavy handed is not easy. >> it will have to come from the outside, i think. they went inside and stuck with the culture, now i think they have to go somewhere else. >> they need somebody with a lot of credibility and experience, someone who can take that secret service and make it what it is supposed to be, the elite organization that protects the president and the first family. all of those who work at the white house. guys, thanks very much. you can follow us on twitter, tweet me at wolf blitzer or tweet the show at cnn sit room. and join us tomorrow right here at the situation room or d

julia pierson, director of the secret service has resigned.urable weeks heading an agency that nobody believes stands up to its historic legacy. it came last night with the "washington post" report that an

>>> by mid afternoon, julia pierson delivered her resignation to jay johnson. in an interview, pierson said i think it's the best interest of the secret service and the american public if i stepped down. congress has lost confidence in my ability to run this agency. the media made it clear that this is what they expected. the president's family woke up to this headline this morning in their local paper. man with gun was feet from obama. that was the latest in a series of stunning revelations by "the washington post." this morning's washington post front page was clearly the last straw for the white house. the white house press briefing was delayed three hours today and began immediately after the secret service director submitted her resignation. >> this afternoon, the president had the opportunity to telephone director pierson to express his appreciation for her service to the agency and to the country. director pierson offered her resignation today because she believed that it was in the best interest of the agency to which she has dedicated her career. the s

julia pierson neglected to tell people any of this stuff. i need to mention the post's writer who owns this story and is responsible for these revelations, and in terms of needing a new director of the secret service, i don't think you need much more than a knife-yielding maniac getting over the fence and into the white house. that's clearly all the president needed. the president just learned just hours it was in the press that he was next to a crazy armed felon guy in an elevator weeks zblag we don't know if he was crazy but he was an armed felon in the elevator with the president. the secret service didn't know about his past and the fact he was armed. that is a big national security concern. >> apparently he was acting, if not crazy, he was giddy just to be next to the president and the secret service didn't discover until later when they pulled him aside and were interviewing him and his boss came in to fire him from the local security detail and said hand me your gun and that's when they learned he was armed. they had been the known un

pierson resigned. she was under fire for a series of embarrassing breaches for presidential security. >>> steve handled man is live on capitol hill with the latest. >> thanks. first the nuts and bolts. julia pierson submitted her resignation and accepted immediately by homeland security jay johnson with the knowledge of the president. clearly from the top down to her level, they were not pleased with three things. number one, her performance up here at that hearing yesterday, very contentious. she seemed kind of not cooperative and defensive about the fence jumping incident. lawmakers, including prominently maryland senior drink elijah cummings said he lost sleep last night over the hearing an the new revelation from the "washington po" confirmed quickly by nbc news there was another major security breach by the secret service just 15 days ago with the cdc in atlanta when a man with a gunnd an arrest record was allowed by the secret service on an elevator with the president. she not only -- pierson not

pierson, julia pierson, the director of course, resigned yesterday, telling bloomberg news, quote, if the secret service of the american public if i step down. congress has lost confidence in my ability to run the agency. the media made it clear this is what they expected. officials say -- officials say -- well, i'll tell you. president obama lost faith after learning he shared an elevator last month at the cdc with an armed man with a criminal record. pierson only told president obama moments before it was reported. >> i can tell you, though, that the white house first learned of that incident yesterday afternoon, shortly before it was reported, before it was publicly reported. >> the agency did foot tell the white house about it. he didn't know about it until yesterday. >> until it was reported publicly, that's correct. we've seen recent and accumulating reports raising questions about the performance the agency. and the president concluded new leadership of that agency was required. >> so what we've gotten from sources close to the white house and the secret service is that there

pierson's testimony on capitol hill yesterday did her no favors. she was pummeled by questions from members of congress who questioned her about the fence jumper who managed to make his way across the white house lawn and into the executive mansion and into the east room before finally, thankfully being stopped. we are joined by justice correspondent pamela brown and jim acosta and justice reporter evan perez. mr. acosta, let us start with you. how did this all play out? >> according to white house press secretary josh earnest, earlier this morning the white house had confidence in secret service director julia pierson and things changed during the course of the day. senior democratic lawmakers are starting to break ranks with this white house and saying they did not have confidence in julia pierson and it was at a meeting earlier this afternoon with dhs secretary jay johnson that julia pierson offered her resignation and following that meeting the president called her to thank her for her years of service. you mentioned this latest security incide

julia pierson, director of the secret service has resigned. it turns out unendurable weeks heading an agency that nobody believes stands up to its historic legacy. it came last night with the "washington post" report that an armed man with a criminal record, an armed man was allowed to ride in the elevator with the president of the united states. that must have been an unchallengeable challenge to miss pierson. a bigger challenge confront as bigger fish. how is the president going to get people to follow him through a dimly lit tunnel. endlessly bad news about a spreading terrorism and a spreading disease. it is now part of a trinity of horrors. ebola which we'll go deeper into the next segment. isis which continues reaching for more territory. a land ruled by the harshest of islamist rule. that's what we're facing with the president. he being out on point. all these crisis have no quick fixes. president obama ran on hope and the new. right now everything new is bad. and this right now is the age of containment and it will require him to come

he didn't violate any laws. >> reporter: pierson insisted that the president and his family are safe, but committee members were unrelenting. stephen lynch of massachusetts: >> and i wish to god you-- you protected the white house like you're protecting your reputation here today. >> reporter: and nevada's stephen horsford: >> let be frank-- i believe you have done a disservice to the teesident of the united states. >> reporter: the white house says the president still has full confidence in the security agency. and, scott, despite some veiled hints from members of congress y,day, secret service director julia pierson has not offered to resign. >> pelley: senior white house correspondent bill plante. bill, thanks very much. tonight, there is new urgency in the hunt for a survivalist who is charged with shooting two pennsylvania state troopers, killing one and wounding the other. eric frein has been on the run, presumably in the pocono mountains, for 18 days. vladimir duthiers reports on today's discovery. >> these are very similar devices. >> reporter: the pictures are of two explosiv

everybody is ganging up on pierson, who has just been in the job a little over a year. she came to congress and said i need some tools to have better personnel perform wrans, and she suggested first some changes in educational requirements which she wanted increased. some better changes. she wanted authority for management. people could stay in management positions that are qualified, and then last of all and we saw this with the v.a., we finally gave v.a. the ability to hire and fire people who don't do their jobs. just holding people accountable. whether you have julia pierson or someone else, you've got to have the ability to control your agency and get good people. >> so yes or no, you're not calling for her resignation? yes or no. >> no, inlt. i think at this time it's actually premature. whether she stays or goes, whoever is in charge -- congress has had some of her proposals. we don't need all these commissions. they have the authority. pass the law. do your job. we could give her the tools to clean up the mess. >> there's no time to have a bunch of hearings beca

with pressure mounting on the secret service, director, julia pierson today offered her resignation. >> she believed it was to the best interest of the agency of which she dedicated her career. pierson was on the hot seat at capitol hill, as lawmakers from both parties blasted the secret service how they handled the security breach at the whitehouse. >> this is disgraceful. >> omar gonzales, a homeless iraq war veteran jumped the fence and made it all the way to the east room. this prompted growing concerns about the secret service, pierson was the head of the agency for just 18 months. lawmakers called for her resignation. >> i don't see how she can make the changes necessary in this position or how she could stay in this position. >> it's incident on september 16th was the last straw, president obama was visiting the cdc that day and in the elevator, he encountered a security guard and started to act unprofessionally and taking photos. and they did a back grown check and found he committed a crime in the past, he would not have been allowed to be there. >> white house fence jumper

reaction to director pierson resigning. right thing to do? were you surprised she wasn't able to survive the scandal? >> i was a little surprised it came so quickly. but i think it is the right step. there are the president through josh earnest, his press secretary yesterday, said he had lost confidence in her ability to lead the agency. jay johnson, also feeling the same way. she supposedly did this on her own, submitted her resignation, but yes, it's a step towards accountability. and it's something that the agency desperately needed at this point. >> your reporting certainly seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back for this director of a troubled agency. is there any sense that you get that she might not have been told about that elevator incident at the cdc, where an armed contractor was in the elevator with the president of the united states. or would standard protocol be for all of those breaches, lapses in security, have been reported to her? >> well i was told there is a culture of cover-up at the agency, unfortunately, that'

they said that julia pierson stepped up and offered her resignation. i pressed him and said why did they not fire her after these breaches? he just said basically they did not know about that incident in that atlanta elevator at the cdc where a security guard who had a gun and a criminal record, the secret service was not aware of, got inches from the president. the president was left out of the loop that his safety had been in jeopardy again, just a couple of weeks ago. i'm also told one last bit of color, that when julia pierson wernlt up to the -- to offer his resignation, he not only immediately accepted it, but said it would be effective immediately. they're not even going to give her time for a transition, they realize they have got to turn the page on this fast. >>> now to the ebola scare, earlier we got an update on the condition of the patient in a dallas hospital. >> we're categorizing his condition as serious but stable. >>> we also heard from rick perry on some children who came in contact with the ebola patient. >> we also learned that som

. >> and does the president think that julia pierson let him down? >> well, like i said, the president took time out of his day this afternoon to call director pierson to thank her for her service to the agency and to the country. and the president is deeply appreciative of her service. she spent 30 years at the united states secret service because she believes so strongly in the core mission of the agency. >> if i can ask one question about the cdc, on september 16th the president said in the unlikely event that someone with ebola does reach our shores, he used those words, unlikely event, as we know there is a case down in dallas, did the president -- >> there you go. the update from the white house on the change of the guard now at the secret service. we can drop the thing now. it is still astounding and worth repeating it seems to me, that yesterday, after we knew a man and had a -- had a record, was in the elevator with the president, that some guy ran across the front yard and got into the white house, that just a few years before, someone had

pierson was appointed director in march of last year to the s reputation. question, how's she doing? part of the secret service's leadership since 2008. she served for predecessor mark sullivan who did such a stellar job, he was in charge during the colombian prostitution scandal and two agents were pulled from the president's detail. one for leaving a bullet in a woman's hotel room and another for sending sexually suggestive e-mails to a subordinate. pierson was director in march of this year when the secret service sent three agents home from the netherlands after a night of heavy drinking. how do we know it was heavy drinking? one of the agents slept it off in a hotel hallway! i just love the idea of the united states secret service being represented so brilliantly. >>> and this latest security breakdown is really a much bigger deal, and to allow the residence of office of the president of the united states to be this vulnerable should result in a complete and utter management house cleaning. and homeland security as well as the secret service. at least

we, obviously, this morning have been focusing on julia pierson.ing some questions. them us a bit about who she is. >> well, julia pierson is the first ever female to head up the secret service with a lot of different facets to her career, which started in law enforcement in the 1980s three years later, she was in the secret service as a special agent, herself, with the miami office. she went on to serve as a four-year student with the presidential protective division. that position does not require senate confirmation. pierson held several different titles throughout her 30-year career and comparing to the last, to her predecessor, it's similar. you know the bicker question i guess you can ask, she was brought in to clean up the frat boy culture. but it looks like everybody who leaves has actually been brought up in that culture. and you wonder about the choice for a lot of reasons, but let's get to the news in terms of what has happened and what we have learned since the case of the white house jumper broke and the hearings began, this then we di

. >> the big question, will julia pierson survive? >> if someone opens a window or a window is broken at my house, i have an alarm, have you ever heard of these guys? >> let's talk, live in "the newsroom." good morning, i'm carol costello. thank you for joining me. u.s. health officials are scrambling to contain the public fear and possible spread of the first ebola case diagnosed on american soil. right now the unidentified patient is in an isolation ward at a dallas hospital. he traveled from the ebola hot spot of liberia and west africa. he left liberia on the 19th of september, not showing any symptoms. he arrived in dallas the next day september 20th, still not showing any symptoms. it wasn't until four days later on the 24th that he started getting sick. two days later on the 26th, he went to a medical facility where they sent him home with anti-biotics. two days after that on the 28th he was hospitalized and isolated and just yesterday the cdc confirmed he has ebola. cdc team is in dallas this morning and the search is on for a

pierson has been completely transparent with us. >> is her job on the line? >> 9 director of the secret service said this -- >> this is unacceptable. and i take full responsibility. >> she then went on to defensively make excuses for every terrible display of utter incompetence the secret service has given us in their protection of the white house and the first family. she tried to give defensive speeches instead of answers to very simple questions. >> your agency previously had reported an indictment against mr. gonzalez, asserted that he was arrested in that entry area. isn't it true that he actually penetrated the cross hall, the east room, and, in fact, was arrested in the vicinity of the green room. >> referring to your map on the wall, as i have been briefed, mr. gonzalez entered the front double doors. >> ma'am, i want a short answer. i have very little time. >> that was the day that i agreed with darrell issa. that's not the darrel issa i have seen in other hearings. that was darrel issa being perfectly reasonable today and final bly losing patience w

secret service director julia pierson has resigned in the wake of security lapses at the white house. fox's own ed henry is standing by in the briefing room with the very latest tonight. ed. >> reporter: sean, a really dramatic turn of events because as of this morning josh earnest, the press secretary, was doing various television interviews saying the president still had full confidence in julia pierson. what changed in those few hour sns a number of things. one, white house officials say they only learned late yesterday about this second breach in recent days. but this elevator incident where a security guard with a gun who had a criminal record got very close to the president. and it turned out julia pierson while briefing the president recently about the fence jumping incident that really started all this did not disclose what had happened in atlanta. that was a problem. but i've pressed josh earnest on why it took a resignation from the director. why didn't the white house push to get her out if they were so troubled by this? listen. why didn't senior people here at the white ho

pierson could no longer defend the culture. , mr. clancy coming out of the -- coming to the helm of the secret service. happening now in montgomery county, police are investigating the deaths of two people as a murder suicide. tuesday afternoon, police first discovered a deadly car wreck. but it's later, a couple of miles away, police responded to a fire and found a body in a garage. the victim is identified as carolyn meddling the -- matt ingly. at this hour, police believe andrew racca carried out the murder-suicide as retaliation for an incident at work. appearance for the man charged with hannah graham's abduction is delayed until december. jesse matthew was expected to appear in court tomorrow for the first time to respond to that abduction charge. instead, the court will only address charges of reckless driving against him. at this hour, investigators are using drones to search for graham. the technology will help them reach areas particularly hard for people on foot. abc 7 will be in the courtroom in charlottesville tomorrow f

under now former director julia pierson staffing shortages have grown so severe that the agency had to fly in field agents from across the country for two-week temporary details paying their travel, hotel and per diem costs. pierson also rejected an internal recommendation for boosted security around the perimeter of the white house and she regularly accommodated the white house staff wishes for lower security levels over the warnings of her own tactical teams. at one point ahead of the presidential summit with african leaders, the secret service chief reportedly told staff we need to be more like disney world. we need to be more friendly, inviting. today the white house announced a retired secret service agent joseph clancy will officially begin as interim director on monday. he will serve as corporate director of comcast which is the parent company of nbc universal since 2011. is it a new day? don't hold your breath. according to one longtime agent, chancy is one of the most genteel guys, but he doesn't like conflict. they need to clean house, he is not the guy to do it. joining me n

director julia pierson admits agents did not follow protocol. >> i don't sense from you, director pierson, a sense of outrage about that. >> i wish to god you -- you protected the white house like you're protecting your reputation here today. >> reporter: omar gonzalez is in court today facing three counts for jumping the fence and making it all the way into the east room of the white house. initially the secret service said he was stopped just inside the door. >> were you lying to the american people, or were you misled by your own agents about where the intruder was tackled? >> the secret service is conducting an ongoing investigation. >> tremendous restraint is not what we're looking for. the message should be overwhelming force. >> americans know that the next attempt to take the white house may not be by a crazed solo knife-wielding veteran with ptsd. it could well be a planned attack from a terrorist organization. >> reporter: and there's another concern, too, that agents, the rank-and-file, may be afraid to speak up to their superiors. director pierson tells congress that is unacce

lot of reaction coming we are now hearing from people about julia pierson's resignation. here is a comment we found on social media. >> who did not see that coming? just asys, probably well. however, questions need to be addressed as well. we would like you to join our conversation with going to our wjla facebook agent telling us what you think about julia pierson's resignation. >> our senior political reporter was in the courtroom for today's hearing. we will get some perspective from him on what he saw and heard, coming up on abc 7 news at 5:00. tothe first death connected a rare respiratory virus sweeping the nation. staff died from a infection associated with enterovirus d68. combination is very rare. this is an isolated case, which obviously led to a tragic outcome, but it's not something we expect to see again. >> enterovirus d68 oestreich and more than 450 people in 41 states, including maryland, virginia, and the district he read the department of health said only a small number of people infected will experience symptoms be on runny nose or a fever. >> there's no

for more on the pierson resignation, we turn to carol leonnig of "the washington post."'s broken several major stories on the secret service's lapses, and she joins us now from the post's newsroom. the scales as of this morning, the white house seems to still express confidence in her. why did she resign? >> well, if you saw the white house previousing, josh earnest was asked sort of pointedly that exact same question, and he was asked, "was this because lawmakers had increasingly sort of lost confidence in her after her pretty unremarkable performance on the hill yesterday?" and he said, "no, the president had concluded we needed an agency change in leadership as a result of, you know, these recent and accumulating accounts of bad performance in the agency." i mean, you have to think about all the things the president has been learning in the last couple of days. one, the details about how a shooting at his home was fumbled by the secret service in 2011. the fact that he got on an elevator with an armed security guard who had not been checked by the secret service and h

neil: pierson among them? >> i would argue yes, unfortunately. they developed relationship with the white house staff, with people in the business sector. look at what some of the former directors and former upper management. look what they've done. it's almost, neil, a quasi form of regulatory capture in the secret service. neil: who leaked that it was actually an off-duty agent who tackled this guy who entered the white house to the grounds? not an active on-duty agent. who would say that unless to embarrass active duty agents? >> they're willing to take the embarrassment at this point to get rid of this management team. they're fed up, neil. i get the calls every day. they're upset about this. neil: dan, thank you very much. curious about that. good seeing you again. >>> now there is pressure to cap spending. the push to cut spending on defense that could leave our forces defenseless. and flyers, you could get sick on your next flight, it depends where you're sitting on that flight. why lizzie is very happy she's ensconced in first class? ♪ mr

. >> director pierson should resign today. yords why she has not resigned as a matter of honor and duty and service to their country. she has got to go. >> do you think she should go? >> i think so. >> look at why julia pierson blamed the media. the press pushing back hard against the president, appearing to shift the blame for underestimating isis in his intelligence agencies, but the media also fall short in covering these dire warnings? the nonstop coverage of the ebola virus dominating the news. >>> hat hour, health officials casting a wide net in an effort to track down everyone that was exposed to ebola here in the united states. >> we here are talking about ebola the last few days. do we need to? >> are we reaching the point where the mainstream media are scaring people? >>> plus when the miami harold exposed a fling with diana rice? a new look at that bit of monkey business. i'm howard kurts, and this is media buzz. >>> begin with a series of washington post scoop. the service botched the probe of the white house being

things are only getting worse for pierson. as the agency confirmed that an armed security contractor with criminal convictions was allowed inside an elevator with the president earlier this month. pierson spent more than three hours answering tough questions from lawmakers during that congressional hearing yesterday. she said that emergency locks that will automatically lock have been placed on the front door of the white house and promised a robust investigation of the incident. pierson also said on the day gonzalez allegedly jumped the fence, two secret service officers recognized him from a run-in this summer. she says they didn't report his presence because he wasn't acting inappropriately and didn't violate any laws. gonzalez was allegedly carrying a knife when he made it past several agents into the white house before being captured. >> mistakes were made. the proper protocols were not followed. i do want our officers and agents to execute appropriate force for anyone attempting to challenge or breach the white house. >>

secret service director julia pierson has resigned following a big hearing regarding the man who jumped the fence and made it well into the white house before being stopped. her replacement will be joseph clancy. this news follows yesterday's heated hearing on capital hill. moments ago the white house press secretary addressed the issue. >> she spent several hours in front of the cameras yesterday answering difficult questions from members of congress. in the context of that interaction she took responsibility for the short comings of the agency she led and she took responsibility for fixing them and that quite simply, i think, is a testament to her professionalism and character. >> president obama called her to suppress his appreciation for her time served in the agency. i want to talk now with congressman cummings. is this the move that had to be made? >> it absolutely had to be made because a culture has developed in the secret service whereby secret service agents feel more comfortable coming before a member of congress and talking about the problems in the secret service and reveal

julia pierson, 30-year veteran, will be replaced at least in the interim by a veteran agent known to all in the organization as clancy, joseph clancy, formerly in charge of presidential protection often seen at the president's side, he retired in 2011, but he's been called back into service. nbc's kristen welker has our report. >> reporter: it's a much more visibly secure white house than it was 12 days ago. more guards, a locked front door and now a change at the top of the secret service. >> the president and secretary concluded that new leadership was required. >> reporter: director julia pierson resigned after her support eroded after the wake of this unprecedented security breach and her rocky hearing on capitol hill yesterday. >> ma'am, i want a short answer. i have very little time. >> reporter: the breaking point for many lawmakers? the revelation that secret service agents permitted president obama to ride in an elevator with an armed security contractor with a criminal history during a recent trip to atlanta. a detail she never disclosed during her more than three hours of

i think that was probably the final bro for julia pierson -- blow for julia pierson. gwen: we spent a lot of time on this program talking about the veterans affairs administration and all the terrible things that happened in the v.a. that led to the resignation of the guy at the top, which didn't fix the problems. so i'm wondering if now that we have led to the resignation of the person at the top here at the secret service, whether there's still more digging to be done. >> oh, absolutely. agents have talked to me all the time, they say the problem is called the eighth floor. it's a series of leaders where e meritocriyy doesn't rule up.gets low level rank and file are so demoralized because they get dinged for forgetting to file their paperwork. there is a terrible lack of leadership at that level because of the way they've allowed this agency to be eroded from a budget standpoint. from a staffing stand point. they're flying in field agentses from other offices at huge expense now because they don't have enough guards on the white house grounds to monitor the complex

what happened with director julia pierson on that incident? >> i can tell you we first learned about that incident shortly before was reported lou: we will be talking with louie gohmert on whether the embattled agency is going to go forward from here. also today, benjamin netanyahu urging the president to show leadership and to end the iranian pursuits of weapons. president obama showing more support at the u.n. general assembly. >> the violence engulfing the region has made too many israelis ready to a been in the hard work of peace and that is something where the of reflection within israel. and let's be clear, the status quo in west bank and gossett is not sustainable. >> we also recognize that we have to find ways to change the status quo so that both israeli citizens are safe and school children are safe in their schools from the possibility of rocket fire. lou: an important difference of emphasis. a former israeli ambassador to the united states joins us now on what it feels to face radical islamic terrorists. and new concerns about the

julie pierson might still be running the secret service if not for media. details the white house didn't know. a fence jumper with a knife made it all the way to the east room after he overpowered an agent. the post also disclosed the botching of a probe when seven bullets struck the white house back in 2011 and "the washington examiner" revealed the service had allowed an armed felon to share an elevator ride with president obama two weeks ago. pierson's weak and defensive performance during a house hearing produced a media drum beat for her ouster. >> i didn't hear a complete endorsement of julia pierson. >> it's just a matter of time now before that person will be replaced. >> director pierson should resign today. >> the white house briefly struggled yesterday to defend her. >> so are you telling me this morning that the president of the united states and the first lady have confidence in julie pierson to run an agency that is supposed to protect two daughters. >> yes, joe, they have confidence in them. >> hours later pierson resigned telling bloomberg n

after 11 days of mounting controversy and damaging leaks, secret service director julia pierson faced who is it till questions on capitol hill. >> this is unacceptable and i had take full responsibility and make sure it does not happen again. >> americans know the next attempt to take the white house could well be a planned attack from a terrorist organization. >> this recent incident, unfortunately, causes many people to ask whether there is a much broader problem with the secret service. >> reporter: among the most persistent questions, how omar gonzalez got deep inside the executive mansion while the first family was away with a three-and-a-half inch knife in his pocket and why dogs weren't released or shots fired. >> tremendous restraint is not what we're looking for. the message should be overwhelming force. >> reporter: gonzalez, who was indicted by a grand jury today on weapons and unlawful entry charges, ran across the north lawn after leaping the fence. in her testimony today, director pierson confirmed gonzalez then entered the unlocked front door of the executive mansion, p

a 2012 scandal triggered pierson's selection to head and clean up the secret service. agents were found to have hired prostitutes in colombia while preparing for a trip there. no one charges peer sop's departure was caused by sexcism. social media questioned whether pierson was qualified for the job or based on gender preference. one commentator raised the point about the glass cliff and studies show that women tend to get big opportunities when a company or organization is in trouble. they slide off quickly when things are not fixed. does her resignation have wider implications for women at the heads of corporations or major government organizations? >> i don't think it does and i will tell you that because the secret service is a unique agency. it will have terrible implications for the women in the secret service and that is what we should focus on. >> she was not the first person the president had selected. it was a man who was a former secret service agent who runs some global security company. and he stepped down or did not take the appointment. she was second ru

(pierson 103507) 's clear that our security plan was not properly executed. (clancy) the agency is now g run by joe clancy, who came of retirement to become actg director. (tues432 this is a still of obama on phone sep ) unli gonzalez incident in sept the white house whe the fencewashington. canada't be intimidated minister says his country wl not be intimidated by terrorists. michael za-haaf be-bow ( mie zehaf-bibeau) was shot and killed by an officer after opened fire at country's parliament in ottawa yester just before that attacked... be-bow allegedly shot and kd a soldier at the national war memorial. president obama spoke to canada's prime minister last night. (sot president obama / no cn necessary) "i pledged as al to make sure that our natiol security teams are coordina very closely. the suspect was a recent cot to islam. investigators have not ruled out the possibility the gunman may have been inspiry terror groups like isis. a man is accusing l-a clipps power forward blake griffinf attacking him in las vegas. alleged victim told t-m-z tt griffin sla

in an interview with bloomberg news, julia pierson said it is in the best interest of secret service and american public if i step down. she went on to say congress lost confidence in my ability to run the agency. the media made it clear that this is what they expected, unquote. yet as we look at this, kristin, just yesterday, white house communications director telling you that the president had full confidence in pierson's leadership, then white house spokesman josh earnest said the same thing, but said this hours later after she resigned. let's listen to that. >> we have seen recent reports raising questions about the performance of the agency, and the president concluded that new leadership of that agency was required. >> so tell us about the change in a manner of hours, point a to point b here. >> reporter: well, the breaking point was the revelation that president obama during a recent trip to atlanta as you pointed out rode in an elevator with an armed contractor who had a criminal history. julia pierson briefed president obama last week about the fence jumper and never mentio

after these revelations it seemed that pierson had to go. are you surprised by the avalanche of revelations we've seen coming out of "the washington post" these last few days? >> no, i mean, i think ever since the cartagena incident a couple years ago there's been blood in the water and we've been on a downward spiral from a public affairs and public perception since then. the secret service, to its credit, and i think very important to the mission that they're trying to accomplish is used to operating in an environment where details about incidents are kept confidential. and, unfortunately, this has created an environment where any time anything goes wrong, no matter how large or small, people are rushing out to get it on camera, to talk to reporters and tell folks about why it represents a security breach. >> i understand this correctly. you thing the problem here that this stuff is coming to light? >> i think that creates a challenge. part of the issues over the past several weeks have been, frankly, that the secret service has placed a v

lisa, is the white house confident that pierson's departure was the right move? >> after the bipartisan criticism of her on capitol hill, she had lost the confidence of the president. >> a 30 year career comes to an end, with julia pierson resigning as secret service director, done in by security breaches from which she was unable to recover. >> over the last several days, we've seen recent and accumulating reports raising questions about the performance of the agency. the president concluded that new leadership of that agency was required. >> the latest controversy during president obama's trip to the c.d.c. last month, when an armed security contractor with a criminal history was allowed to ride with the president in an elevator. she failed to mention the incident to the president, apparently until she was forced to. >> the white house first learned of that incident yesterday afternoon shortly before it was reported -- before it was publicly reported. >> nor did pierson talk about the breach during her two hour testimony thursday where she faced blistering crit