The Washington Post - 05.03.2020

THURSDAy, MARCH 5 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST eZ re A

BY DAVID NAKAMURA AND CAROL D. LEONNIG

Joe Biden’s presidential cam-
paign on Wednesday began pri-
vately deliberating whether to
formally request Secret Service
protection for the candidate, ac-
cording to a person with knowl-
edge of the situation, a day after
protesters rushed the stage at his
event in Los Angeles in what
experts called a major security
breach.
Both Biden and fellow candi-
date Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
rely on private security firms to
handle their public appearances,
which is unusual this late in a
presidential campaign cycle in
comparison with 2016, 2012 and

But their emergence over
the past week as the clear front-
runners in the Democratic prima-
ries has prompted calls for the
Department of Homeland Securi-
ty, which oversees the U.S. Secret
Service, to authorize full-time
protection for both of them.
“Taking into consideration the
remaining candidates’ large cam-
paign operations, high polling
averages, as well as physical
threats to their safety... I urge
you to immediately initiate the
consultation process to deter-
mine whether to provide USSS
protection” t o Biden and Sanders,
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss),
the chairman of the House Home-
land Security Committee, wrote
in a letter Wednesday to acting
DHS secretary Chad Wolf.
Rep. Cedric L. Richmond
(D-La.), a member of the Home-
land Security Committee and co-
chair of Biden’s campaign, told
reporters that Democratic law-
makers were “worried about” se-
curity for the Democrats on the
campaign trail even before the
incident at Biden’s speech on Su-
per Tuesday.
The Biden campaign has begun
deliberating over whether to
move forward with a formal re-
quest to the Secret Service, ac-
cording to the person familiar
with the situation, who spoke on
the condition of anonymity to
comment freely about a sensitive
security matter. The Sanders
campaign did not immediately
respond to questions on the sub-
ject. The DHS also did not re-
spond to a request for comment.
The onstage skirmish during
the former vice president’s re-
marks in Los Angeles highlighted
the potential risks for candidates
addressing large crowds. A pair of
vegan activists holding signs
reading “Let Dairy Die” rushed
the stage before being physically
pushed and pulled away by by-
standers including Biden’s wife,
Jill, and a campaign aide in a
video that has circulated widely
online.
The incident was a “massive
security failure,” said Jonathan
Wackrow, a risk-management
consultant at Teneo who served

as a Secret Service agent in the agency’s Presidential Protective Division. “These were environ- mental activists. Anyone aligning with a specific ideology is poten- tially dangerous. I think both Bernie and Biden would want it at this point.” The question over which presidential candidates deserve tax-

payer-funded Secret Service protection, and when such protection should begin, can be a tricky calculation — for federal officials and the candidates themselves. Under federal guidelines, a candidate must meet minimum stan- dards that include being a “major” candidate in his or her party — generally defined as a someone

who is regularly appearing at rallies, conducting a national campaign and receiving at least 15 percent support in established polls. Biden and Sanders both meet such requirements. Campaigns must request protection from the DHS, and a bipartisan congressional adviso- ry committee — led by the Senate

majority leader, currently Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — helps review the request before the DHS secretary makes a decision. Outsourcing security to the federal government can be a boon for cash-strapped campaigns and also bestow a heightened legiti- macy on candidates. But some candidates in past presidential

campaign cycles have tried to hold off over concerns that a large security entourage could hamper their ability to interact more di- rectly with supporters. Both Biden, during his eight years as vice president, and Sand- ers, during his 2016 contest against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, have received Secret Service protection in the past. “Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden need secret service protection,” Robert Gibbs, a White House press secretary under President Barack Obama, said on MSNBC on Tuesday. Of the skirmish at Biden’s event, he added: “What happened tonight was nothing short of genuinely scary.... They should have Secret Service protection in the next 24 t o 48 hours.” Obama received Secret Service protection earlier than any other candidate — i n May 2007, nearly a year and a half before the 2008 election. The congressional advi- sory committee at the time warned that the first viable Afri- can American candidate for the White House faced an unusually high security risk. (Hillary Clin- ton, who also was running for the Democratic nomination at the time, already received Secret Ser- vice protection in her capacity as a former first lady.) In 2012, the eventual Republi- can nominee, Mitt Romney, got protection in February of that year, while Donald Trump and Ben Carson, running for the GOP nomination in the 2016 cycle, began receiving Secret Service coverage in November 2015. In 2016, Trump and Clinton had instances at their campaign events in which Secret Service agents jumped onstage to sur- round them over concerns about protesters. As president, Trump receives round-the-clock protection. For- mer presidents continue to have smaller Secret Service details — but Biden no longer is granted such protections as a former vice president. Wackrow, the former agent, has not seen intelligence reports about the 2020 candidates. But he suggested Biden’s threat profile might be magnified because of President Trump’s unfounded allegations that the former vice president had acted improperly when his son Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukraini- an energy company. That accusation led Trump last summer to privately pressure Ukraine’s president to open an investigation into the Bidens, a demand that ultimately led House Democrats to impeach Trump. The president has berated the Bidens in public remarks and called on China to open an investigation into Hunter Biden’s busi- ness activities in that country. “They’ve now made him a tar- get,” Wackrow said. “It’s all rhetoric, but rhetoric can transcend to physical harm.” [email protected] [email protected]

Matt Viser, Cleve r. wootson Jr. and sean sullivan contributed to this report.

Biden camp weighs seeking Secret Service protection

Concern high after activists rush the stage a t Super Tuesday rally

MelINA MArA/THe wAsHINgToN PosT Jill Biden, second from right, pivots into a blocking position to prevent a vegan activist from reaching her husband, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, onstage at a rally in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. Two activists rushed the stage and were wrestled off.

sAlwAN georges/THe wAsHINgToN PosT Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), also a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, greets a crush of supporters in Springfield, Va., last month. Candidates consider such interaction vital to their outreach, but it poses enormous security challenges for campaign officials.

election 2020

previous outings, amid what was otherwise a shouting match. The next morning, Clyburn ended what little suspense was left. “I know Joe. We k now Joe. But most importantly, Joe knows us,” C lyburn said. Butterfield said a close friend who worked for To m Steyer, the billionaire businessman who spent more than $20 million in the Palmetto State, informed him that his share of the black vote plummeted. “The minute Clyburn endorsed Biden, he could feel the ground shifting, because the black vote th at S teyer had was soft,” Butterfield said. Still, at t his great moment of national acclaim, Clyburn feels a hole in his heart. “We can have a private conversation, and we can say something t hat would remind him of Emily and something she had said to him. And he will just pause for a moment,” B utterfield said. Late Tuesday, a fter another cable TV h it, Clyburn’s d aughter texted to tell him that he looked exhausted, his eyes turning red from lack of sleep. So, Clyburn told the Biden campaign t hat he cannot make it to Michigan to campaign this weekend, and he asked for some much-deserved time off. “I’m going home to get some rest,” h e said. [email protected]

After meeting decades ago, Clyburn and Biden t alked about their childhoods and Biden’s experiences around Wilmington, Del., a racially charged city in the 1960s and 1970s. When they served in Congress together, Clyburn liked to appear alongside Biden, then a senator, on cable talk shows. When Emily Clyburn died in September, a fter a long illness, Biden attended a service in Charleston for her, one of many presidential contenders who made the journey. But as Biden’s c ampaign got started, Clyburn s aw t he same mistakes everyone else did. Stories about Biden’s r ecord o n busing and allegations that he was too gregarious with supporters — s ometimes kissing women on the forehead without asking permission — l eft him unsure of his instincts. “He was out of kilter,” C lyburn said. “Joe Biden g ot knocked off stride.” Two days before the debate, Clyburn met with Biden and gave him forceful advice, trying to clear his head of the many ideas aides gave him. Answer every question, Clyburn told him, in three parts: Te ll voters how an issue connects to their lives individually, to their family and then more broadly to their community. Biden won fairly good reviews for being more focused than in

local level, until winning a newly drawn district in 1992 stretching from Columbia to Charleston. He q uickly became an influential figure i n the Congressional B lack Caucus and in 2003 won a junior post on Pelosi’s leadership team. When Democrats won the majority in the 2006 m idterms, Clyburn became majority whip, a position that only one other Congressional B lack Caucus member held. Since South Carolina got this early spot on the quadrennial calendar, Clyburn has served as the ambassador to the state’s Democratic primary. He stayed neutral in the epic 2008 battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton but stepped in several times to criticize actions by Bill Clinton. In 2 016, Clyburn b acked Hillary Clinton over Sanders just before the Nevada caucuses. She won Nevada and then won South Carolina in a landslide. This time, Clyburn s wore publicly t hat he would not endorse anyone until after the Feb. 25 debate in Charleston — but his friends say they knew where his heart was all along. “He was always a Biden person. He a lways had great respect and admiration for Joe Biden,” R ep. G.K. Butterfield (D- N.C.), a former Congressional Black Caucus chairman, said Wednesday.

youth, Clyburn was arrested for organizing a sit-in in 1960 in South Carolina. In j ail, he met Emily England, a fellow college student who split a hamburger in two for them to share. About 18 months later, they were married, and the first of three daughters was born in 1962. By 1971, Clyburn became the

highest-ranking black adviser t o a South Carolina governor, and after a major speech in Charleston, he got in the car with his wife for the two-hour drive to Columbia. He f inally asked what she thought. “I just wonder when you’re going to stop talking about the problems o f South Carolina and start doing something,” E mily Clyburn said, according to her husband’s r ecollection. He s et h is sights on elective office, with stops and starts at t he

With Biden in place as Democratic delegate-leader, Clyburn’s f riends have spent the past 72 h ours marveling at h ow the presidential race has pivoted from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), someone most Democrats have a cool relationship with, back into the arms of Biden. “Jim Clyburn’s endorsement was an earthquake that will be written about in the history books,” R ep. Hakeem Jeffries (D- N.Y.), a member o f Democratic leadership, said Wednesday morning. For more t han a week Clyburn and h is r ed zip s weater, the c olor of his alma mater, South Carolina State University, h ave been ever-present o n national TV, taking victory laps a s a kingmaker. It’s a n unfamiliar role for a man w ho has spent more than 17 years on the leadership t eam o f House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), usually following h er lead. “The country has now seen what we experienced working with Jim Clyburn day after day,” Jeffries said. Clyburn, who said he would decline any job in a Biden administration, joked that he wanted to be “ambassador to the PGA,” a posting the avid golfer would have to first create. Instead, he plans to file paperwork Friday to run for a 15th term in the House. A civil rights activist as a

James E. Clyburn
met the young
senator from
Delaware about
40 years ago, well
before Joe Biden launched any of
his three bids for president and
decades ahead of his eight-year
run as vice president.
The duo spent years tending to
each other at t imes of personal
despair and boosting each other
at k ey m oments — n one more
critical than Clyburn, 79, now the
House majority whip and
highest-ranking black member in
Congress, bestowing his
endorsement on Biden l ast week.
The former vice president’s
campaign f or the White House
got off to a horrible start in early
states and, by last week, support
among African Americans
remained wobbly — u ntil
Clyburn (D-S.C.) spoke up. Biden
was lifted to victory in South
Carolina on Saturday by winning
more than 60 percent of black
voters, a share he repeated in
many states Tuesday, w inning
10 of the 14 s tates on the ballot.
Despite all the doubts about
Biden’s s tanding, the 14-term
lawmaker said he knew whom his
constituents wanted to support,
but they just needed the signal to
rally around Biden.
“Get t o know the people that
you want to vote f or you,” C lyburn
said in a 30-minute interview
Wednesday. “I knew that they
were waiting t o hear from me.”

Clyburn’s endorsement of Biden signaled Democrats, propelling a political surge

@PKCapitol

PAUL KANE

“Jim Clyburn’s

endorsement was an

earthquake that will

be written about in

the history books.” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.)

The Washington Post - 05.03.2020

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