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Secret Service Bosses Shared Racist Jokes

Emails ridicule blacks, joke about Jackson assassination

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted May 10, 2008 11:45 AM CDT

(Newser) – Secret Service supervisors exchanged racist remarks in emails made public yesterday in a lawsuit filed by black agents, the New York Times reports. The messages were shared between at least 20 top agents between 2003 and 2005. One anecdote jokes about assassinating Jesse Jackson. And, according to the lawsuit, the head of the Presidential Protective Detail sent a crude joke about interracial sex to a colleague.

A lawyer for the black agents, whose long-running lawsuit charges that they were unfairly denied promotion, said they were "shocked but not surprised" by the evidence of racism high up in the service. Last month, a noose was found hanging in a room used by a black instructor at a Secret Service training center.  

U.S. Secret Service agents stand watch as Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., campaigns at Haverford College in Haverford, Pa., April 17.
U.S. Secret Service agents stand watch as Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., campaigns at Haverford College in Haverford, Pa., April 17.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Secret Service agents follow Hillary Clinton as she arrives at California State University to campaign in Northridge, Calif. Jan. 17.
Secret Service agents follow Hillary Clinton as she arrives at California State University to campaign in Northridge, Calif. Jan. 17.   (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Secret Service agents keep watch as Hillary Clinton campaigns. Internal emails from the service reveal that supervisors shared racist jokes with each other.
Secret Service agents keep watch as Hillary Clinton campaigns. Internal emails from the service reveal that supervisors shared racist jokes with each other.   (Getty Images )
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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
Alan
Feb 26, 2009 2:01 AM CST
Racism still exists in our country. I am amazed that these peolple in the Secret Service are so stupid that they express their racist views in e-mails so they build evidence against themselves. They should be fired not because of their racist views, but because their judgement is so flawed.

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