By JM Rieger and Bridget Bowman

U.S. Secret Service Director Joseph P. Clancy faced pointed questions Tuesday from members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about officer misconduct and a lack of accountability for rank-and-file agents. Clancy, who has deferred to the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general investigation, often opted not to comment on specifics of the March 4 incident where two senior agents allegedly drove their car into White House barricades during investigation of a suspicious package, which infuriated Chairman Jason Chaffetz when Clancy could not answer why it took 11 minutes for Secret Service to alert the Metropolitan Police Department of the bomb investigation. “How do you not — this is what’s so infuriating! You’re the director of the Secret Service. It’s almost three weeks after the incident and you don’t know why it takes 11 minutes to pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey, Metro Police Department, we’ve got a problem down here, we need you to help,’” Chaffetz said. “This is the United States of America! The threat is real. But I don’t feel it, I don’t see it, and it’s unacceptable.”